By dshah@hubspot.com (Dharmesh Shah)

Press releases remain a critical link in the communications chain. According to Cision’s 2021 Global State of the Media Report, 78% of journalists say they prefer press releases and news announcements to other content types.

The problem? Writing a press release is simple — writing a good press release is no easy task. In this piece, we’ll break down 14 common bad press release characteristics and offer suggestions to help your team avoid press release mistakes.

14 Rookie Press Release Mistakes to Avoid

While there’s no such thing as the “perfect” press release, your team can get closer to the mark by avoiding common errors. Here’s a look at 14 of the most common rookie mistakes — and how to reduce your chance of making them.

1. Forgetting to Add Links

Press releases are not just for the press. Releases will likely be published on your website, and your team might also submit releases to wire services. The result? Press releases now live in a digital world — and they need links that drive readers to other relevant content. For marketing teams still using the traditional model of press release production, however, it’s easy to miss out on links.

The result is a release that might have great content but doesn’t go anywhere, meaning your team can miss out on potential conversion opportunities.

The Solution: Ensure all press releases are reviewed prior to publishing. If there’s no obvious place for a link, revise the release to include it.

2. Not Optimizing for Search Engines

Not only should you have links to your company website, you should also craft the “link text” (or “anchor text”) of some of these links so that they contain relevant keywords for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) purposes. For example, if you are in the internet marketing software business, you would have a link in your press release somewhere such that the text of the link has internet marketing in it. On a related note, the page that you are linking to should have matching keywords in its page title and meta description.

The Solution: Check your press releases for SEO relevance using tools capable of measuring the impact of your content and offering suggestions before you publish.

3. Putting Your First Link Too Late

Try to get at least one link in the first third of your content. The reason for this is that when releases get picked up by aggregators or services, they often only include just the first paragraph or two, and the rest gets automatically placed into a subsequent page with a “read more” button.

The result? You might have two or three great links in your content that never see the light of day because readers are only skimming the first few lines of your press release.

The Solution: If you can’t find a place for links in the top third of your content, opt for a rewrite rather than running …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron