Whatever be the intended purpose of your conference, you need to get people to take note of it. For this, getting a press release issued through any good agency/service is the best and most convenient way out. So go through this conference press release template to get a quick guide on writing a good press release for your conference announcement. You will also find crucial press release writing tips and benefits in this blog post.
Aim: To write and publish a conference press release and to get it distributed across good sources online.
Tools: To realize the aim given above, you will find a conference press release template, an example, the advantages provided by press releases, and the top things to consider before writing a press release.
Template: Use the below template for your conference press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[Headline] /* [Name of Organization/Business Hosting the Conference] + Announces a Conference for [Purpose of the Conference] + attractive news angle (if any) */
[Sub-heading] /* 2-3 sentence for summary */
[Location City], [Date]. [Organization/Business Hosting the Conference], located in [location name], is excited to launch a conference on [topic/purpose of conference] on [Date] at [Location]. [Give brief and core benefit to attendees]
[Speciality of the conference + key people/speaker/person/attraction + their experience + how their skill/experience can help attendees] (3-4 sentences)
[Quote from Key Person Related to the Conference]
[Explain how people can attend this conference and how this conference will affect related niche/sector/industry] (2-3 sentences)
[Quote from any past attendee/beneficiary/industry-specific person]
[results from any previous conference earlier + future plans] (3-4 sentences)
To learn more about the conference, visit [social media page or website URL].
About [Conference Organizing Company/Business]
[Background (when established, by whom) + vision + mission (2-3 sentences max)].
Media Contact:
[Name]
[Job Title]
[Email address] /* official email */
[Phone number]
[Website URL]
[Location city and state]
Key Benefits Availed from a Press Release
When you issue a press release, the most significant benefits that you get are discussed below:
1) Much-Needed Visibility Becomes Easy
For most businesses out there, one of their key concerns is how they can get more people to become aware of their announcement. This striving for quick visibility is resolved by issuing press releases. The presence of a vast amount of sites in a press release distribution allows any conference (or business) to get much-needed attention to their announcement. By selecting a quality partner for PR distribution along with good optimization of their PR content, one can multiply the visibility effects. Depending upon the authority of sites involved in the circulation of your press release, it is very likely that your announcement might even start showing up on the first page of Google for certain targeted keywords.
2) Makes You Appear on Top News Sites
For getting your conference-related content to appear on sites like Marketwatch, Yahoo, Associated Press, etc, you do not need to hire an expensive marketing agency. Any high-quality press release service provider can easily and effortlessly provide you with the desired outcome for just a fraction of the cost of what any marketing agency would typically charge. For this, you must confirm with the PR distributor about the list of sites where it can get your PR content published as only a small number of press release distributors can make it to such big sites.
3) Get More Backlinks to Conference-Related Website
Backlinks are a big determining factor for how well a website gets positioned in search engines. Every time you send out a press release, 100’s of new links get created and they aid in bumping your conference details carrying website rank in search engines for many sets of keywords. The quality of backlinks that will be created due to the distribution of the press release will also depend on the quality of the press release wire service chosen by you.
4) Helps to Achieve Transparency
The element of transparency can easily be brought about by using the power of press releases. You might have come across many press releases that periodically announce their quarterly financial results, new appointments/changes, new investments, etc. These announcements made using press releases allow the concerned people like potential customers and journalists to better analyze the respective businesses. It is also noteworthy to take into account the fact that most of the potential investors try to gain a better insight into the business using materials found online and offline before making the decision of investment and press releases can definitely provide the much need information in this regard.
5) Brings “As Seen On…” Factor
One of the key achievements for a business is being covered on big news sites and portals so that the business can proudly use the “As seen on…” element on its website. By showcasing that the business is covered by prominent news sites, any visitor landing on the site gets an additional and powerful reason to trust the business. A business can very easily and rightfully use this “As seen on…” element on its website by sending out a press release through any high-standard press release wire service so that the content lands on some top-notch sites that are worth mentioning in the marketing materials and on the website.
Important Tips to Pay Attention To
Press releases are written professionally and extra care is given to the content written in a press release. So note the following tips before you write a press release announcing the conference.
1) Blend Uniqueness and Creativity
Filling up the press release content with conventional announcements is not a good way to get more views and attention as 1000’s of press releases issued each day follow a similar format. If you look at some of the best-performing press releases, you will find an element of uniqueness and creativity in them. So think of ways to make your press release attractive to the reader by interlinking some different aspects to it.
2) Don’t Pass on Jargon in Content
For a press release to get a good number of views, one of the requirements is that it must be easily understood by people. This in turn requires that the press release content must be straightforward to comprehend. Industry-specific jargon and information must be explained in such a way that any person outside of that sector must not have much trouble grasping the content.
3) Fully Satisfy the Basic Questions
For any announcement done by the company in the form of a press release, many direct and indirect questions are liable to arise. One must therefore sort these probable questions and must try to provide quick 1-2 line answers (in the press release) to the questions that feel more directly related to the announcement. One can also state in the press release the contact email/phone of the suitable person who can be contacted for providing more details regarding the announcement made by the press release.
4) Ascertain that Everything is Right Before the Publication
A good thing about a press release is that it will spread out to hundreds of sites but the same thing is also bad if you realize later that the content contains some mistakes as it will not be feasible to get mistakes corrected on all such sites. So whenever you sit down to write a press release, make sure that all data, facts, and every bit of information contained in it is 100% right and won’t require making any corrections anytime later.
5) Get Good Engagement with a Good Headline
The headline is a key component in determining the extent to which your press release will get noticed by people. As headlines are the first point of interaction for a press release, a formally written press release headline is unlikely to get much engagement. A better approach is to come up with a different set of headlines for the press release followed by selecting the best one out of them.
6) Note the Difference in Writing Style
As in this blog post and many others, there is no restriction on the writing style and you can include first-person, second-person, third-person writing styles as and when required. However, press releases restrict the usage of the first and second-person writing styles and allow them only if they are a part of direct speech said by any person. In short, use a third-person writing style for a press release.
7) Lay Down Accountable Contact Details
After a press release gets published, many people might read it and some of them can also contact your business for various reasons ranging from partnership opportunities, investment opportunities, interview opportunities, doubts, etc. In order to ascertain that such opportunities don’t go unaddressed or lost, it is very critical that you assign a responsible person for handling the incoming queries from the press release by adding his/her contact details at the end of the press release in the form of media contact.
8) Don’t Write Anything Unsubstantiated
Press releases can also become a source of legal problems for your business if they contain any unsubstantial claims or allegations about other businesses. Unlike a blog post where you can go back and edit it, press release won’t allow you that privilege due to massive syndication across several sites. This will further intensify your problems if any allegations are present in your press release. So avoid such things in your press release content.
9) Don’t Get Lost in Bad Distribution
Getting your press release on popular sites vs getting your press release on several little-known and low-traffic sites can cause a big difference in end results. This explains the importance of choosing the right wire service for sending out your press release. The right choice of service provider for press release distribution can even get you on some of the heavyweight and most popular sites in the world like Associated Press, Yahoo Finance, etc.
