Do Your Press Releases Suck?

A good press release can bring a healthy surge of targeted traffic to your blog or website.

But do your press releases suck?

I found a great article at Naked PR that will help you find out. It's entitled 7 Signs that Your Press Release Sucks and it's right on target–and brutally honest.

Here's one of my favorite key points from the article:

Despite what a lot of webmasters and small business owners seem to think, a press release is not an advertising / marketing tactic; it’s a publicity tool. Journalists don’t give a damn about what your customers say, or how great you think you are. If you want to run an advertisement, then buy advertising space.

I see so many press releases that are nothing but blatant advertisements for a new site or product! If you want them to be successful, make them helpful! Include useful information, explain why whatever you're writing about is "news worthy," from the journalists' and readers' perspective (not yours).

The article's "seven sins" of press releases are:

1. Your press release headline is so “cutesy” that no one could possibly tell what the hell your news is by looking at it.

2. You neglect to leave your full contact information.

3. You don’t tell us why your story is newsworthy until the conclusion of the press release.

4. Your news release resembles a novel.

5. Any 6th grader could tell you were too lazy to proofread your press release.

6. It reads like a testimonial.

7. Your mommy thinks you deserve a front page story.

The article expands on each of those points.

I strongly suggest you read–and heed–the complete article. Here's where to find it: 7 Signs that Your Press Release Sucks