Press releases are your gateway to getting ample media coverage and reaching the target audience effectively. If you think getting into your desired media outlets is easy, then you are wrong. It is a harsh competitive environment out there. Journalists get bombarded by hundreds of press releases every day. They don’t really have the time to go through the entire text of all the press releases.
Most of them just read the headline and decide whether they want to read them or not. If your PR headline is not attractive or powerful enough to draw the attention of the journalists, they will not even be read. If you want to get published in the major media outlets in your specific industry, give priority to your press release headlines. Here is the step-by-step process on how to write a press release headline:
1. Know who you are writing for
Before you craft your headline, remember who your readers are. The press releases are not just directed to the journalists. Your customers are going to read them as well. Your headlines must speak to them.
- It must be written in a way so the readers think it is worth their time.
- They should be interested in the message that your headline conveys.
- It should be written keeping a very limited number of audiences in mind.
2. Keep it short and compact
A press release headline should always be short. The days of long press release titles are gone. As most PRs are now published digitally, you have to keep in mind that the Google algorithm is designed in a way that rejects long titles. It also cuts off the headlines mid-way making your PR title look incomplete. An ideal press release title should have a count of 100-110 characters including space. But while making it short don’t lose the actual message of the PR. Describe what the PR is about in a compact way.
3. Add Keywords
The headlines are the first thing that your readers are going to notice. It is also the first thing that appears in the search results. Whenever your target audience is searching for a product or service in your industry, you have to make sure that your press release appears higher in the search results.
• Research the current market trends to find out the most effective keywords.
• Learn what phrases your customers are using for searching and use them as keywords.
4. Use numbers if possible
Numbers are very helpful in offering the full picture to your readers. If some sort of statistic or numerical data can fit your announcement, make sure to add them to your press release headlines. It helps attract the attention of the readers both journalists and consumers fast, adding extra value to the story. Just make sure to use factual information in your headline. Providing false data might hamper your reputation in the market. It is one of the most effective press release headline writing tips that is used by pros.
5. Don’t use sales language
Press releases are closer to news than advertisements. So, make your PRs informative and not promotional. The same goes for the headlines. Fill it with factual details and not salesy words. Don’t describe your brand as the best or most efficient in the headline. Rather, write it from the perspective of an observer and deliver what it is about and why it is important in the title.
6. Check for errors
The last step of writing the press release headline is to proofread it. No matter how careful you are while writing it, there is a high chance of making errors, be it grammatical, spelling, or just a typo. You can use error-checking applications to find out the mistakes and fix them. An error-filled content can ruin your reputation in front of the press and target audience.
7. Write the headline last
This one is a piece of very effective advice for PR writers who struggle to write the perfect PR headline. When you write the title after you have written the entire piece, you will find it easier to write the title. Writing the title first may make you leave out important points. So it’s better to write it at the end so get the whole idea of the story.
