In the content marketing world, there’s so much emphasis on SEO, artificial intelligence and algorithms that we sometimes lose sight of the obvious. Real people in the media skim press releases to determine if the stories are interesting enough to report. Avoiding these five words and phrases will make your next press release stronger.
After nearly 35 years of one-on-one collaborations with the media, Media Relations Agency has a good handle on how reporters and producers will respond to a press release. We even copyrighted the term Media-Grade Content® to describe our process of writing to stringent journalistic standards.
A lot goes into structuring a well-written release. In addition to good writing, we apply our Strategically Aimed Marketing processes to ensure our releases are on point and relevant to our clients’ specific audiences.
But back to the basics. Our criteria include avoiding these five words and phrases whenever possible:
- Announced today. Nothing makes news appear stale faster than giving it a date. This phrase should only be used if your story truly is time sensitive.
- Extraneous words. “It’s currently out of stock” vs. “It’s out of stock.” Write tightly. Extra words interfere with clear communication.
- Vague information. Specifics are more likely to catch journalists’ attention.
- Industry-specific jargon and acronyms. These can obscure your message. Be mindful that even trade journal stories may be read by people new to your industry.
- Filler text. Fluff dilutes impact. Be cautious of using excessive adjectives, cliches and quotes that repeat what’s already been stated.
