A startup is built with great hopes and it requires a careful strategy to ensure its growth. One of the initial marketing methods employed by startups is a press release. A press release carries the potential of generating a quick buzz for your business along with building its brand value. Therefore instead of just writing a press release for a startup, you must spend a little more time to understand some related aspects of a press release that can ensure better results. This article has covered dimensions like template, example, tips and distribution mechanism to make you familiar with full aspects of a good press release for an announcement related to a startup. So without any further delay, let’s explore these dimensions one by one:
Aim: To create press release for a startup and to get good coverage for it.
Tools: To successfully execute the press release write-up and distribution for a startup, the tools given here are template, example, tips for writing, benefits and understanding and selecting a distribution partner.
Sample Template: The template for a startup press release is given below
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[Headline] /* Start Up name + main focus of press release (new launch/agreement/partner etc) + attractive news angle */
[Sub-heading] /*A summary of 2-3 sentences.*/
[Location City], [Date]. [Startup Name], a [emerging/new] name in [type of industry/sector], is excited to announce [type of announcement like new launch/partner/agreement] at [location, if applicable]. [How do they provide a solution + how it will be helpful for customers/people + why it matters]. [Any special offer for new customers, if any]
[What is the reason (for launch/expansion etc) + facilities available + key team members and their best work/experience/achievements]. (3-4 sentences)
[Quote from CEO/CMO/CFO/President of the company]
[Talk about the recent trends in the related industry + future scope of industry + how this announcement is relevant to the present scenario + add facts/figures if you have] (3-4 sentences)
[Quote from a client/partner/investor]
For detailed information on this announcement, visit [website/social media].
About [Startup Company]
[Company background (when established, by whom, initial days) + vision + mission (2-3 sentences max)].
Media Contact:
[Name]
[Job Title]
[Email address] /*official email, not free ones like gmail, yahoo*/
[Phone number]
[Website URL]
[Location city and state]
Startup press release benefits
The benefits your startup can get by marketing through press release are:
Getting Quick Attention
Growing a startup organically takes more time. A press release distribution on the other hand can publish your announcement on multiple sites in a short period of time due to which it gains a huge number of views. If some SEO efforts have been applied for targeting a low competition keyword, then it gives an added advantage of getting a good ranking in Google which starts the process of getting traffic passively for a long period of time.
Improving the Link Portfolio
Backlinks are one of the most important parameters in ranking a website on Google. By using a press release, the official website link mentioned in it gets a diverse amount of links at once from multiple sources, this improves the link profile of the site which helps in increasing the ranking, authority and traffic of the site.
Makes Your Startup More Recognized
When people type the name of your startup in Google, it provides links to all sites that mention your startup. If there are very few sites that show up when people search for your brand name, then it doesn’t create a good impression about your business/service. Press release can change this scenario as they enable your startup to be visible on a large number of sites.
Helps in Bringing More Business
As a startup, you may have different marketing plans. If you approach an entity for partnership or investing, then the other side would first like to explore more about your startup before making any decision. If your startup doesn’t have a good online presence, then the chances of you getting a positive reply will be much lower.
Helps in Getting Media Attention
People in media lookout for new news and changes in different industries. Similarly industry-specific blogs and portals also keep an eye on new startups. If you regularly issue press releases you stand a good chance to get noticed by influential sites which can put your marketing efforts on an accelerating mode.
Top Tips for Writing a Startup Press Release
1 What is in for Them?
Before writing the PR, make a clear picture of your target demographic who might be interested in your product/service. After this, think of how you can attract them towards your business/service by offering something good and unique. Mention all possible key benefits that they can get from your business/service. This is crucial because people are innately self-centric and they get attracted by things that benefit them.
2 Don’t be an Academic-level Writer
When it comes to writing a press release, your academic skills must not be showcased through the use of complex or rarely used words. The person at another end who will be reading your press release will not take his time to try to understand your PR. If it sounds complex to understand, he will just abandon it. This is true for almost all press releases. So simple is better for press release writing.
3 Unleash Best Creativity in Headline
Journalists come across 100’s of press releases every day through different mechanisms like subscribed feeds, email notifications, etc. It is impractical for them to read each and every one of them. One a few that stand out from the rest will get their attention and headline plays the most important role in this decision making. So think of a different combination for headlines and choose the one that seems more attention-grabbing. But make sure that the headline does not become too long else most PR portals won’t accept it.
4 Don’t Elongate the PR
For ensuring that the content actually gets a good number of reads, keep the word limit in check. If you think that detailed information is necessary, provide a link to the URL where people can read more about it. As a general rule, keep the content length under 500-600 words.
5 No Blog Style Writing
Press releases are professionally written content and they are different from the writing style of a typical blog. The usage of words like I, You, etc are not allowed in press releases (except in quotes). Press releases are required to be in third person only.
6 Check it Thoroughly for Mistakes
Though big PR distribution sites have a policy of checking press releases before sending them for publishing, you must not be reliant on their editorial check because ultimately it will be your brand image that will be at stake. Also, if there are some factual errors or contrary statements, you can also face legal risks in some cases as a press release is deemed as an official statement.
7 Use Photos and Videos for Better Experience
Though PR portals limit the usage of photos and videos directly in content, you can easily bypass this restriction by uploading these files on your website and then providing the URL link in the press release. The biggest advantage of using these files is that people respond and interact better with images and videos than simple text. Also, the chances of voluntary sharing of videos and images are way higher than text material.
8 What to Look in a PR Distribution Service?
With a number of choices for distribution services, people who don’t understand much about PR distribution take quantity as the main criteria. Going by quantity of sites where PR will be published is a wrong criterion as off-late Google indexes only a few of them because the content is same. So the major criteria must be the quality of sites. If you can get PR visible on big names like Yahoo and AP, then not only you can get good traffic but can also get a good ranking if the PR is optimized for a keyword.
