Top Online Press Release Blunders: Are You Guilty?

Posted on 12. Jul, 2011 by Tara Geissinger in Press Release Writing Tips

Here at Online PR Media, we’re pretty amped up about press releases. So much so that we focus our customer service strategy on helping to educate our clients about how to craft the best possible PR. It doesn’t matter what level of press release you choose, if you email our support desk, we’ll do our best to answer your questions.

But sometimes, you don’t know you messed up until someone tells you. When doing online PR, the last thing you want to do is discredit yourself before you even get your message across. We thought we would take a few moments to tell you some common online PR blunders that we see all the time, in hopes that you’ll avoid making the same errors!

Size Matters

The age-old debate over whether less is more, or if you really can have too much of a good thing rages on. We see a large number of press releases each day that are far less than our 250 minimum word count, and quite a few that are simply just too long. Just because you CAN post 900 words doesn’t mean you always SHOULD!

How To Fix It: Aim for about 400 words for your release. Check out our Press Release Checklist and if you’ve delivered your news and described your company, you’ve done your job.

Don’t YELL!

Caps lock should not be a part of your press release. Not in the title, not in the body, not anywhere. Period. Caps lock gives your reader the sense that you are yelling at them, or that you cannot write well enough to give emphasis without utilizing capital letters. Remember that a press release is supposed to be similar to a written newscast. When is the last time a news anchor on TV yelled part of the story for more impact?

How To Fix It: Keep the capital letters to the first word of each sentence, and the first letter of EVERY word in your title. Even “A,” “Of,” and “And.”

Proof — Then Double Proof

Nothing makes you look less professional than a press release filled with spelling and grammatical errors. Remember that synonyms may not show up in a spell check, but should still be corrected. Our editorial staff does their best at trying to catch major spelling and grammatical errors, but please, PLEASE preview your release before submitting it!

How To Fix It: Write your release in Word, and then paste into the upload form. Word allows you to spell check, grammar check, and more. Not to mention, if there’s a system issue, you won’t be nearly as frustrated to re-enter your news!

Skipping Keywords

Unfortunately, many people know they should be doing PR, but don’t understand how keywords work. You’re missing out on a HUGE opportunity by not using all three of the available keywords.

How To Fix It: Think of what types of words or phrases your ideal industry or customers might enter into a search engine to find you or your company. Using the power of SEO PR, you can increase your traffic as well as your search engine ranking. Read the article “Are You Making These 4 Keyword Mistakes in Your Online Press Releases?”

Addressing Your Audience

A press release should be in objective third person. This means that a press release should not address the audience directly. If you read through your PR and see the words, “you” or “we,” it’s time to rewrite in the third person.

How To Fix It: Remember that it’s as if a news anchor is telling the audience your news. The only place to use “we” or “you” is within your quotes!

Your Turn!

What are some things you look for when proofreading your own PRs? What mistakes in others’ press releases really push your buttons?

**We’d like to thank Whatsername for this fantastically colorful photo of a mismatch blunder**

Tags: press release writing