A lot of my clients come to me asking me to rewrite a press release that they’ve written – they’ve paid good money to PRWeb or PRNewswire to distribute the press release, but when they submitted it, it was rejected.

Here’s the number one reason why:

It’s not bad grammer, it’s not lack of pertinent information, it’s not excessive length.

The reason for rejection that PRWeb and PRNewswire has given to my clients is that their press release sounds too much like an advertisement.

You need to write your press release as if it’s a news story, not a promotion. 

One big red flag: Using the word "you." As in, "You may have been wondering if now’s the right time to invest in foreclosure property". Never do that.

Instead "According to foreclosure expert Joe Smith, with recent interest rate cuts and real estate prices reaching rock bottom from their peak in 2005, now is an ideal time to invest in forecosure property. That’s why he has  released his new foreclosure investment coaching program…" etc.   

(P.S. – I personally am not saying that’s true – I think real estate prices will fall more. But what do I know.) 

So grab your newspaper and read through some news stories to get the flavor of how news is written, right before you write your press release, and make sure that you write in a "news announcement" style, not a "buy my stuff now or you’ll miss the bargain/opportunity/sale of a lifetime!" style. 

 

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