While writing a good press release is more of an art than a science, there are some tried-and-true strategies that work. To help your next press release land media coverage, we’ve compiled 40 examples of actual press releases that were able to successfully garner publicity. We’ll take a look at each and provide you with actionable advice to create your own successful news release. […]
1. Fit Small Business Promotes Priyanka Prakash To Managing Editor
First, we are going to look at a press that we at Fit Small Business recently sent out so that we can point out the attributes of a good press release. You should look out for these points when viewing the other examples below.
- Headline and secondary headline. The headline is crucial to your press release, as it is the first thing that will catch the reader’s attention. Keep it short, interesting and descriptive. Having a secondary headline is a great way to give more information without taking away from the main headline.
- Get straight to the point. Press releases are sent to people that are busy, so make sure the essence of your release is in the first two paragraphs.
- Easily quotable. Journalists will want to pull parts of your press release to use in their own stories. Make sure you have sentences that will make an impact when used separately.
- Include a photo. Sending a picture along with the press release is crucial, as it personalizes the release and makes it stick out in people’s minds. The picture we included was able to immediately put a face to the name and hopefully made people want to learn more about the woman in the photo.
You also want to make sure the press release is newsworthy. This doesn’t mean that you can only send out a press release for information that would make the front page of The New York Times. It does mean that you have to find an angle that you think journalists will find interesting and want to write about.
For our press release, we decided to take a women-in-leadership angle. This is because we noticed a lot of buzz recently about women in leadership roles, which, in the past, was dominated by men. This approach worked well for us. We had our press release written about in over 30% of the outlets we sent the release to, including coverage in Talking New Media and Street Fight Mag.
If you’re looking for more detailed instructions and an easy-to-use template for press releases, check out our free press release template and formatting guide.
2. TV Ears Unveils the First Senior-friendly HDTV at Consumer Electronics Show
I drafted this press release on the first-ever senior-friendly TV put out by TV EARS. The timing was ideal since it was leading up to the Consumer Electronic Show (CES). This release was published on numerous sites and also resulted in feature stories and live interviews at CES with national media outlets. There are a few tips from this particular release.
To increase your chances of getting coverage on your press release, it needs to have an attention-grabbing headline. It’s also imperative to send along images of the product to accompany the story. Don’t use the “spray-and-pray” method; instead, tailor your press release to each person separately. That includes writing their name at the beginning and why the news is relevant to their audience. If possible, distribute your press release around a relevant event. Luckily, the product launch on the TV was right around CES, so that helped with exposure.
—Aly Jamison, APR, Principal, Jamison PR
3. So You Think There’s No Such Thing as Ghosts…
Faded Banner Publications has made its mark in Civil War and regional history titles, so a book on the paranormal meant taking a whole new approach to our publicity.
We were looking to target the paranormal field but not limit ourselves to that field. We were looking to establish I Met a Ghost as a mainstream book, a serious look at the unexplained phenomenon so prevalent at many historic sites. As such, we emphasized the book as a journalistic endeavor. The press release worked and worked well—we attracted the attention of a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as numerous radio interviews across the nation and in Europe. The release landed me an hour-long PBS interview, and, of course, we achieved the main goal of the press release: selling books.
—Don Allison, Publisher, Faded Banner Publications
4. Shopify Plus/VL OMNI Official Partnership Announcement Press Release
What made this press release successful was the intersection of the exclusivity of the announcement (there were only a select few companies who were made official Shopify Plus partners in the first round, and we were one of them), the fact that it was newsworthy, and having a great partner tied into the announcement itself. The latter point was especially critical to the PR, and the notoriety of the Shopify brand really gave the release “legs” in terms of how far it was distributed and the impact it made.
—Jessica Thiele, Marketing Manager, Virtual Logistics Inc.
5. The Powerline Group Announces New College Scholarship Program for Long Island, National Students
Our most recent press release, which actually went out today, has been picked up by Business Insider and Yahoo. Successful press releases include information that is well-written, worth sharing and provides value to those reading. Craft a catchy title to garner the attention of notable sources and publications. On the other hand, get to the point with your actual press announcement while remaining professional and communicating an effective message. Be sure there are no grammatical issues or spelling errors. Last but not least, always include relevant contact information so you can be reached by potential consumers, partners, representatives and anybody else interested in the contents of your press release.
—Morgan Mandriota, Digital Project Manager, The Powerline Group
6. Turkey Day Juice Kicks off Shoreline Lake’s New Wine-tasting Series
In addition to being picked up by journalists, this press effort has also resulted in additional write-ups and mentions since then and continues to bring Shoreline Lake to the attention of oenophiles and others wanting unique wine-based—and related—experiences in Silicon Valley. This was not a standalone effort, however, but, rather, a tactic used to achieve some very specific market communications goals (which were all met).
Press releases should always be written according to the comprehensive and cohesive market communication strategy already in place, which is based on an in-depth analysis (demographics, psychographics, and socio-graphics) of your target audience, and framed to help reporters convince their editors of your topic’s newsworthiness.
Be judicious, and only write press releases when you have real newsAl impression of desperation (and amateurishness).
—Maria Gonzalez, Senior Partner, Gonzberg Agency
7. The Biggest Loser Trainer, Pauline Nordin, Launches a New Brand, App to De-fatten America
Here’s a press release that was created for fitness expert Pauline Nordin. It starts with the most important information—a new app release—and follows with a reason why you should care (Nordin outsold famed fitness trainer Jillian Michaels). It was effective because it gave all of the facts and was easily quotable for journalists interested in the story.
8. TicketCity Celebrates 25th Birthday by Giving Everything Away
I originally wrote a more traditional (read: boring) release around our company’s 25th anniversary, but, after getting bored just proofreading it, I decided to scrap the whole thing and make it something people would actually enjoy reading. The press release not only conveyed our message, but by taking a tongue-in-cheek approach, it also conveyed our brand’s fun-loving personality.
—Ashley Kubiszyn, Marketing and Communications Director, TicketCity
9. Cupcakes & Rubber Ducks—What’s Not to Like!
When you have done something as unique and fun as we did, such as returning the whole rubber duck industry back to America where it began, it’s a cool emotional story that strikes an emotional chord in people regarding U.S. manufacturing and, thus, gets a lot of attention in the media. In fact, the HGTV/DYI/Discover network filmed our N.Y. factory for a show that went out to their 60 million viewer reach in the spring on making ducks in America!
—Craig Wolfe, President, CelebriDucks
10. Robert Graham of “Bachelor Nation” Enjoys Brighter, Straighter Teeth with Porcelain Veneers from Desert Smiles
Our team had the opportunity to be creative with this press release by tapping into the lingo common among the fandom of the “Bachelor” TV shows and connecting it to the world of dentistry.
The press release is also effective because of its multifaceted storytelling. It highlights a public figure’s connection to the local community (the same area served by our client). It balances writing about the dentist and his practice with the famous person who became his patient, and it uses multimedia—Graham spoke about his experience with our client on camera and appeared in a number of pictures in the client’s office, which enriched our press release with unique content that is worth more than a thousand words.
—Adam Rowan, Content Specialist, Page1Solutions
11. Hebrew Free Loan Fund Helps in Time of Need
In my experience, if it reads like the lead to a story, then it makes it easier for a news outlet to publish as is or for a reporter to pick up the ball and run with it from there. I am not saying every news outlet will use your exact lead or even publish the release in full, but it does give them a good idea of how they might approach your story. I have had a lot of success having my press releases picked up and run as is.
—Susan Miller, President and Founder, Garton-Miller Media
12. One Woman Changing the Business World
One of the strongest things of this particular release is our headline. With so many sexist problems that are flying through the media, we decided to highlight while she is just one woman, she truly is changing the business game for everyone. We also tried to highlight her past and how that plays into her career now, as well as showcase how others perceive her. There is nothing better that speaks to someone’s leadership and integrity than actually hearing from followers.
When writing a press release, it’s important to remain consistent in your language but naturally make your writing engaging. There are thousands of releases every day, and, as PR professionals, we are to make our own news engaging and exciting. You want people to read your work and 1.) think it’s cool and 2.) be impacted in some way.
—Katie Wenclewicz, PR Specialist, One Click Ventures
13. Rentec Direct Releases Ultimate Guide on How to Rent an Apartment
A good press release immediately grabs the reader’s attention by explaining why it’s relevant. For a product release, like the free e-book mentioned in this example, readers want to know who the intended audience is and how the product will benefit them.
Since press releases are also designed for the media to pick up and share with their audience, a reporter or editor wants to know how many people will be interested in this product or service. This particular release is targeted at renters, and since there are over 40 million renter-occupied households in the United States, we knew that the media would be excited to share a free educational guide with such a large audience.
—Kaycee Wegener, Marketing Director, Rentec Direct
14. Day Translations Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary
We recently launched a press release for our 10-year anniversary. It was picked up by nearly 300 news publications in a few days. It is a great press release, because it highlights our anniversary. Any big landmark in a competitive industry is worth celebrating. It also has quotable content about our company stats and gives the audience value since we are offering a 10% discount on all translation services.
This press release is also very concise; it states the facts right away, then follows up with value for the audience. We also add a quote from our CEO, which is valuable, and quotes Day Translations’ first employee, who is still with the company today.
—Stephen Seifert, SEO Manager, Day Translations. Inc.
15. Search Engine Marketing for Small Business Works
This press release about search engine marketing for small business was quite successful, because it was picked up by 182 online publications with a potential audience of 195 million readers, including International Business Times and The San Jose Mercury News.
—Carl Mazzanti, President and Co-founder, eMazzanti Technologies
16. ‘Tis the Season for Shopping Local: Prime Now and Amazon Handmade Team up to Add Handcrafted Items from Local Artisans for Ultra-fast Delivery
In time for the holidays, this press release from Amazon announced that they have made their fastest delivery service available to select small businesses using Amazon to sell their products. The article said that “a specially curated list of products from Amazon Handmade artisans are available through Prime Now this holiday season.” The press release is expected to increase Amazon seller and Amazon Prime subscriptions, as well as sales for small businesses that sell on Amazon.
17. The Special-needs Community Has Made News with Survey Highlighting Disabled Reporter
I specialize in writing press releases aimed at small businesses and have been doing this for many years. One of the ways that my press releases are successful is that almost all of my press releases make it to Google News and/or Bing News, thus giving them a much wider exposure. This particular press release is an example of how to tie in your piece with a headline-making story. It also received a very high pick-up from web services.
—Rhonda Rees, PR Expert, Rhonda Rees Public Relations Company
18. The Southern Bank Celebrates 80 Years—Then & Now
This press release celebrated a big milestone by acknowledging both past success and planned future expansion—then and now. A community bank exists because of personal relationships and hometown service, so it was important to recognize this strong legacy and presence in our community after 80 years. At the same time, finance and banking have changed drastically over the years, and we wanted to show our customers that we are poised for the future. This press release achieved our goal of celebrating past and future.
—Connor Cranford, Marketing Director, altLINE
19. Apple Launches Online Store in China
The following is a great press release example. It has a sales aspect to it (something you typically want), it’s on a topic that’s worthy of being written about, it reads like an actual article (another key attribute), and it’s got some good quotes in it, as well.
An effective press release takes time and effort in order to be put together correctly. If you are just sending them out with no strategy or purpose involved, most of the time they simply fall on deaf ears.
—Andrew Schrage, Founder & CEO, Money Crashers
20. iPartnerMedia Donates Website to Vengeance Woodworks in Recognition of Military Appreciation Month
In [our press release], you will see that the first sentence or two tells the whole story (what we call “the five ‘W’s”). There are also multimedia components to the news release, such as logos for the companies, social media links and images of the products the company sells.
—Randy Mitchelson, Vice President Sales & Marketing, iPartnerMedia
21. The Frame by Samsung Featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things List 2017 as a Must-have Item This Holiday Season
This press release from Samsung features their new Smart TV designed to unite entertainment with elegant art display. When a product lands on Oprah’s wish list, the “Oprah effect” often occurs. By virtue of the TV mogul’s popularity, the product gets instant brand recognition and an increase in sales. [This makes it] definitely worth a press release, and it’s something that the company can continue to talk about for a long time.
22. MoonGlow PR Offers Signed Editions of Beatles Books
The press release was an announcement that my clients’ books were available at the Fest for Beatles Fans event in Chicago and they can be purchased already signed by the authors. Not only did this create a boom for my author’s books, it generated traffic to the Fest website which has won me brownie points with the owners. This release is also timeless and can be linked to on social media again and again.
—Jennifer Vanderslice, Owner, MoonGlow PR
23. Thrill of the Hunt to Host Dog Scavenger Hunts Nationally
The subject alone caught people’s attention and gave Thrill of the Hunt exposure to increase ticket sales, further promoting our events without additional effort. It was used as a vehicle for interested parties to reach out to Thrill of the Hunt asking for dog scavenger hunts in specific dog-friendly areas or for fundraising opportunities for communities and charities.
This press release gave us exposure in several dog magazines, including San Diego Dog and NOVADog (Virginia), online media such as Edge Media Network, a local radio station, and with local charities who promoted the event in their area.
The press release also promoted our event to potential sponsors, local businesses and national brands. After the launch of the press release, I had potential sponsors interested in one or several of our dog scavenger hunts and sponsorship opportunities.
—Heather Piper, Co-owner, Thrill of the Hunt
24. DollarDays Doubles Donations to 10%
Giving back is what separates one company from another, [according to] a recent poll. Our customer base of B2B companies and nonprofit organizations crosses all generations, so we thought it was important to remind our customers that DollarDays’ social mission to help communities is a core component of our identity—[a]nd what better way to do that but to double the donations during the month of March.
—Marc Joseph, CEO & President, DollarDays
25. The Bethel Inn Resort Celebrates 100 Years of Hospitality
Here’s a link to my favorite press release that I wrote for the Bethel Inn Resort’s 100th anniversary a couple years ago. Celebrating an anniversary is always a newsworthy event, especially if it hits the century mark. I particularly like this release because it brings into context other major events of 1913. Carrying on the major events theme of 1913, the resort posted a “This Day in History” [for] 1913 at the front desk. I discovered that the first crossword puzzle was published and that Robert Mondavi was born (parking a wine special in the tavern), among other exciting happenings, including the institution of the dreaded federal income tax.
—Wendy Gray, Gray Marketing
26. Survey: Majority of Employees Would Choose Certain Perks over Standard Salary Increase
We conduct research studies throughout the year on various topics that we feel are relevant and of interest to our target audience. We sent out a press release a couple of months ago featuring our data-monitoring survey that received a lot of positive feedback. It was picked up by various publications, including TLNT and Recruiter.com.
Our study found that 56% of office workers deemed perks were at least moderately important when evaluating a job, and we were surprised to discover that a majority of employees would prefer certain work perks over a raise, including flexible hours and remote work opportunities.
—Jacel Egan, Media Relations Coordinator, TechnologyAdvice
27. My Single City: All-new Mobile App for Singles
The idea behind this press release was to educate people about a new dating app (small business) as well as empathize with any single person who reads it. We placed a small insert about why we developed the app and let readers know that we, too, are single and feel what they’re going through.
I believe the press release was successful because we let readers know that we, too, are like them, and that was the reason behind developing the app.
—Shari Linton, My Single City
28. Sleep with a Ghost—Guaranteed
The results speak for themselves—near-100% occupancy in the hotel in October. It was picked up in Historic Hotels of America’s “Haunted Historic Hotels” release and also sent out nationwide to radio, TV and newspapers. We have had very good luck over the past 10 years of having our annual ghostly story picked up and run all over the world. I have done radio interviews with stations from England, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and from all across the 50 states.
Most people think that you can only submit a press release when your business releases a new product or wins an award. This creative press release plays on people’s fascination with the supernatural in order to gain traction in the media. It also has an attention-grabbing title and was sent out at the end of September in order to be perfectly timed with the upcoming Halloween holiday.
29. Terranova® Celebrates Mother Earth with the Arbor Day Foundation
The idea behind this press release and why it’s effective is it was written to promote our commitment to creating products that use natural ingredients while showing our support for reputable nonprofit organizations—like the Arbor Day Foundation—that give back to the community and help our planet. This press release reinforces our commitment to being green, shows philanthropic support, and creates goodwill with our new and existing customers.
—Christine White, Marketing & Sales, Terranova
30. “Early Bird Café” a Vividly Written Love Story
This was sent out by my publisher to market my novel to the public and to bookstores worldwide. [Was it] effective? Yes—this helped my book to be picked up by bookstores and websites from here to Russia, China, Australia, etc. By including a description of the book in the press release, we were able to get people interested in the novel. I’m even in my local Barnes & Noble. It was a great way for me to debut my writing and get out there in the publishing world!
—Carrie Aulenbacher, Author
31. Former Casino Employee Takes Gamble on Provocative Tell-all Insider Book on Industry
This press release was successful because, obviously, the content was of interest to the media, and it had a catchy, attention-grabbing headline. I feel that we used the narrative to not only gain interest in the story but to gain sympathy and understanding of the author’s plight, which contributed to the press release success (more than 5,000 hits). One must tell a compelling story in a limited amount of space in a press release. It’s more than the who, what, when and where model—you want the reader to be drawn in immediately.
—Crystal Brown Tatum, Crystal Clear Communications
32. Death of the Press Release
At Media Minefield, we believe there are more effective ways to get the message to the media rather than press releases. That’s why we created a press release announcing the death of the press release (headline: “Death of the Press Release”). We posted it on our website and on social media on April Fool’s Day as a #KiddingNotKidding.
It’s gotten attention on social media from members of the media who support what we believe about press releases, and it’s gotten our point across in a fun way.
—Allison Ortiz, Media & Messaging Specialist, Media Minefield
33. Emirates, FlyDubai Partnership Announces First Shared Routes
Emirates Airlines have always been known for their service quality, while FlyDubai is popular for low-cost fares. By announcing their collaboration, both service providers benefit from gaining access to customers who would normally stay with one of the airlines. This opens up opportunities for more travel options and more flexible price points for airfares. The press release effectively relays these points to consumers and is expected to increase sales for both airlines as they gain access to a wider consumer base.
34. E-Complish Announces PCI 3.0 Compliance, Making It One of the First Level-one Payment-processing Companies in the World to Achieve This Level of Certification
We wanted to craft a release that went beyond simply patting our company on the back and, rather, explained the relevance that achieving this milestone meant for the industry. Within the release, we pulled together an explanation of why PCI 3.0 certification is important for credit-card processing companies with day-to-day consumers in mind.
Rather than focusing singularly on the client, we felt it was important to focus on implications this certification has on the end user and really, the industry as a whole.
—Jessica Camp, PR Associate, Blue Fountain Media
35. FreightCenter Plans to Create 40 New Jobs in the Tampa Bay Area in 2016
There were two purposes to the release—to increase our number of applicants and to create a little buzz about our expected growth. My strategy was to present FreightCenter as an exciting place to work [with] many opportunities to grow. Right away, I supported this claim in my lead when I said FreightCenter will announce “a major overhaul of its company positioning and brand.” This statement was purposely used to create curiosity so the reader would continue reading. […] To further support my claim and satisfy the reader’s curiosity, I included a quote from our COO, Doug Walls, in the third paragraph. The quote should answer any questions the reader might have.
—Danielle Hutchins, FreightCenter.com
36. Americans Bummed About Their Bottoms
My best press release was the use of a survey we did for eDiets.com. We asked our website visitors and e-newsletter subscribers to complete a poll about the best celebrity bodies and “butts.” In the poll results, Jennifer Aniston was rated higher than Jennifer Lopez, who, at that time, had the most talked-about derriere.
We sent out the press release, and the media loved [it]. Well over a hundred media outlets ran the story, and it was even used as a question on the game show “Hollywood Squares.”
This was so successful because we added survey questions to intentionally generate PR-good headlines through the on-site polling.
—Jay Berkowitz, Ten Golden Rules
37. FocalPointK12 Offers Free Practice Tests for Schools
“Free” is one of the most persuasive words in the English language and makes this press release title eye-catching. Also included in the press release is a link to the free practice test. This gives the reader immediate information without requiring back and forth emailing or other inconvenient actions.
38. Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Justice League” Teams up with AT&T to Take over Times Square
Prior to the movie release of “Justice League,” Warner Bros. Pictures announced in a press release an event, in collaboration with AT&T, to advertise the upcoming superhero movie. AT&T has three stores in Times Square that are perfect for a massive advertising campaign, and by letting Warner Bros. deck their stores with the movie’s iconic figures, AT&T benefits from the increased attention and foot traffic. This press release generated excitement for the movie premiere while [allowing] AT&T […] to increase its marketing opportunities.
39. Four Gooey-good Reasons to Love Yumbutter™
We wrote a press release called “Yumbutter by the Numbers.” There are multiple reasons as to why this press release was successful. We successfully demonstrated the brand’s fun and playful energy while engaging consumers with informative but easy-to-read content.
—Olivia Davi, Accounts Assistant, Christie Communications
40. Adigica Health, Inc., Launches BioClarity™ for Acne Treatment in Teenagers, Young Adults
Our parent company, Adigica Health, is an e-commerce company focused on the development of healthcare products. We recently developed a new proprietary skin care regimen specifically formulated for the treatment of acne in teenagers and young adults, and we sent out a press release announcing the new product.
We included statistics in the press release of how many teenagers and young adults reported clearer acne after using our product, which, I believe, is what helped us gain over 8,000 followers on our Instagram and 3,000 on our Facebook account.
—Rick Sliter, President and CEO, BioClarity
Original article here: https://fitsmallbusiness.com/press-release-examples/