As you fine tune your press release, remember these essential components:
Headline: A press release’s headline is one of its most important required features. A well-written headline should be as descriptive as possible within Business Wire’s 250-character limit (including spaces).
Remember to include your company or brand’s name in your headline to improve your release’s SEO. Product and event names are also important and should be included as well.Dateline city: One of the most frequently omitted elements of a press release is the dateline city that the news originates from. The dateline city is often a company’s headquarter city, though for releases about specific events, it makes sense to use a local dateline city instead.
While it’s possible to include more than one dateline city on your release, Business Wire editors recommend not including more than three dateline cities.Media contact information: Another required press release feature that is often overlooked is media contact information. At minimum, Business Wire requires an email address and/or a phone number. Individuals’ names are not required, and general media or investor relations contact emails or phone numbers are acceptable.
Editors will look for media contact information in either the Word document uploaded with the order or in the special instructions provided on the order in Business Wire Connect. Be sure to include your contact information for the public in one of these spots.Beyond the required components of headline, dateline city, and media contact information, editors may suggest adding certain elements to improve your release’s readability and engagement. These include:
Multimedia captions: Journalists consistently tell Business Wire that they find press releases with multimedia elements (photos, graphics, videos, etc.) the most helpful. To supplement your visuals, include descriptive captions to add value to your multimedia. Captions are especially useful for the photo editors Business Wire reaches.
Don’t be afraid to get descriptive in multimedia captions. Use captions to clearly identify products or individuals featured in your images or videos.Hyperlinks: All press releases benefit from the inclusion of hyperlinks. Drive traffic to your site and to product or event pages by including them in your release’s text.
Don’t include hyperlinks in your headline. Links in headlines can cause a search engine not to recognize the text as a headline, negatively impacting your SEO.Increase the reach and engagement of your news with Business Wire. See how to distribute your news in five steps.
