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The press release has been a mainstay of public relations since its inception decades ago and is a useful marketing tool for a financial advisor. A well-written and broadly distributed release positions you as a thought leader in your industry, creates goodwill and helps your firm succeed and grow.
A press release communicates something newsworthy to members of the media. Typically, they are mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to assignment editors and journalists at newspapers, magazines, radio stations, online media, television stations or television networks.
A press or news release is not to be confused with an article submission. Although these two things are similar, there are clear guidelines and purposes for each. Either way, getting valuable information out to the public and clients, prospects, and centers of influences is an effective marketing strategy in building your financial firms branding and brand awareness.
So, why write a press release? The main purpose of a press release is to get newsworthy information to the public. It has to be something that has significance to a reporter and their readers, viewers, or listeners. It has to be something that someone outside of your firm will care about.
Follow my tips below for a clear, concise, and newsworthy press release:
Components
1. Logo
Your company logo should appear centered at the top of the page. If you are sending the information via email, you should include a high-resolution image of your logo, allowing the recipient to use the image if needed.
2. Contact Information
A reporter is interested in getting more information — but how will they know where to go? Include the necessary contact details for any media inquiries that may arise from your press release. I like to add this information at the beginning and at the very end. This way they know who it is coming from, and at the end if they have any questions.
3. Release Date
A release date is not required, but a good idea. It lets your contact know when the information is available to be published. If you choose to include a date, put it on the right margin following your logo. It can say either “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” or “FOR RELEASE ON <date> AT <time>”.
4. Headline
Write an appealing headline in bold print that is larger than the body copy that catches the reader's interest. If you have a subhead, make sure it is italicized. Keep it intelligible, simple, and appealing.
5. Dateline
The first line should be the dateline. It should include the city in which the press release originated and the date it was issued.
6. First Paragraph
The first sentence following the dateline must get the reader’s attention and make them want to keep reading. It should use the five "W's" and one "H" to explain the contents of the press release but be concise and engaging. (Who, What, Where, When, Why and How) You want to provide the relevant information, but don’t want the message to get lost in the details. Stick to the facts and avoid being salesy.
7. Body
The remainder of the body serves to complete the story you have introduced. This is where you can fill in the details and add a little extra information. Use short paragraphs that are 2-4 sentences, and you are welcome to include statistics, hyperlinks, media, and quotes.
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Media: The body can include different types of media like photos, videos, and audio. This can help you stand out on both social media and search engines.
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Quotes: It is a general rule for the quote to come from the most relevant person related to the topic of the release. The quote provides a human interest factor and also allows an opportunity to go beyond the facts.
8. Final Paragraph
The last paragraph should tie everything presented together in a cohesive manner.
9. Boilerplate
This is where you provide background information about your firm, an “about us” section of sorts, following the final paragraph of every press release. The language used here can be duplicated with every release, so be sure to save it for future use. Also, remember to hyperlink to your business homepage to drive traffic and provide more information.
10. End Notation
If your press release is more than one page, the first page should have “-more-” centered at the bottom of the page. Your last page should end with three pound signs “###” to show that it is the end of the information to be published.
11. Final Note
Add a final note at the very end of the press release such as: “If you would like more information about this topic, please contact <Name> at <Phone number> or email at <email address>.” This note encourages anyone that may have questions or needs clarification to reach out to you rather than just file your release in the trash bin.
12. Overall Format
Here are a few basic things to keep in mind as you write and format your press release:
- Keep the total length under two pages and around 400-500 words
- Avoid using “I,” “we,” or “you,” except for in a quote
- Use a standard font face, such as Times or Calibri
- Headline should be larger and bolded
- The body should be single-spaced, with one line of space between paragraphs
- Use standard 1-inch margins
- Check for grammatical errors and typos
- Use nontechnical language
- Limit confusing and hard to comprehend industry specific wording
Want help getting started? Here is a news release sample template free for you to download.
This template will help you stay on track and make sure you don’t miss anything.
Now that you your press release is written, what do you do with it? You need to get it distributed to the right people and in the right outlets to make sure it reaches readers.
Media Outlets
Media outlets will prefer to receive news releases either by mail, fax, or email. Research and follow each outlet's submission guidelines and send your release the way they prefer. If you can’t find the exact person’s direct contact information, just get the person's title correct, and that should be sufficient when sending to a generic publication inbox.
Here are some good points of contact:
- Daily Community Newspaper: Contact the City Editor or the Editor in charge of the section likely, the Business Editor
- Weekly Newspaper: Editor
- Magazine: Editor or Managing Editor
- Radio Stations: News Director
- TV Station: News Director
- Don’t forget any local or regional financial publications
Submission methods
Online
Sometimes you have the ability to upload the press release directly to the outlet’s website over a secure submission platform. If this is an option - use it! It simplifies the process, and it is already set up to reach the right people.
Email
If the outlet doesn’t specify a method or gives you options, I suggest emailing it. Sure you can still mail or fax it, but email is a much better choice. You need to address it to the appropriate editor or department to save the end source of your press release valuable time and make sure it doesn’t get discarded while trying to reach the right person.
There are a few guidelines when writing and sending your email.
Subject Line
The subject line should be the headline, not “Press Release.” This will grab the editor's attention. Use a standard AP style format.
Body
The body of an emailed press release should have the content pasted into the email. If you attached the file, a journalist may delete it because it takes too much time to download and could contain a virus.
Media Files
An attachment may cause the email to be discarded mainly because of download time and may end up in the junk folder. A better option is to send your contact person a link to your media and article through a service like Box, Dropbox, or Google Drive (which is the method I use). You can also state that photos and videos are available upon request.
Timing
Submit the press release in the morning on a Monday or Tuesday. Choose an atypical time to keep from getting lost at the top of the hour, such as 9:17 a.m. Blind carbon copy (BCC) the recipients or send your press release to one outlet at a time to make the submission seem more personal. This will also avoid the ever dreaded “reply-all.”
Distribution Services
There are distribution services out there that can do all of this for you, but I don’t recommend this for my clients. Here’s why:
- SEO value is zero
- Expensive and rarely produce ROI
- In most cases, a blog post is sufficient versus a traditional press release
- It's better to develop relationships with reporters
- More effective to cold-pitch reporters directly via email
Additional distribution tips
- Set up an email group of the media outlet contacts that you have made. This way each time you submit a release you have a streamlined process from the very beginning to get the information out as quickly and efficiently as possible.
- Post the release on your website under your blog’s in the news section, not only will this add content to your site, build your businesses branding image, but it will also help with SEO.
- Once you post it on your website, you can share via your email marketing system like Constant Contact and on your social media profiles. Social media is a great place for Financial Advisors to generate buzz and have their clients and friends congratulate them.
Conclusion
A press release is just that, a release to the public about something significant in your business. If a press release is done correctly, it can be an incredible marketing opportunity to get a positive brand image out into the community.
Crystal Lee Butler, MBA, is an entrepreneur, creative marketer and results-oriented business consultant with over a decade of experience collaborating with independent advisors. At Crystal Marketing Solutions, she creates a consistent marketing presence for financial professionals so they can focus on the things that matter most to them. Download Crystal’s Marketing Tools Guide to get the inside scoop on the best resources for financial advisors.
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