Wedding PR - 5 Steps to Writing a Winning Press Release

Wedding Professionals:

One of the most effective ways to get the word out about your business is to create and distribute a press release. In the past, I’ve blogged about what to do with your press release after you’ve written it. However, I’ve never actually told you my secrets for writing the actual press release.

For some wedding professionals, it makes sense to hire a publicist but for those who are not able to do that or if you simply want to understand the mechanics of a good press release, then follow these five steps:

1. Use the format that everyone else uses. Each press release should include a strong headline and a compelling opening sentence that sums up the most important details of the announcement that you are making. The first paragraph should answer the questions - who, what, where, when and why. The second and third paragraphs should include more details that will support the first paragraph. Finally, quote yourself and/or add a quote from an authoritative source that is relevant to the announcement. You’ll find that the media will often grab these quotes and use them.

2. Be concise. Assume that a reader will skim your press release. So, you should only include necessary information. Bloggers and magazines will contact you if they need anything else.

3. Be professional. Deliver the facts but also feel free to add some personality to your writing. And as I say for all of your marketing materials (i.e. websites, blogs, emails, business cards, etc.), there should be absolutely no typos in a press release. Be sure to have one or two friends or coworkers proofread it before you send it out.

4. Make sure your press release is optimized for search engines. I’ll blog about this next week. Stay tuned to find out how your press release can help your name rise to the top of Google’s results.

5. Include you and your company’s contact information. At the bottom of each press release, include an ‘About’ section about your business. This should only be one short paragraph. And finally, include your name, email address and phone number for members of the media who have additional questions. The bottom line is – you want to make sure that you are accessible.

If you’d like to view some examples of BridalTweet’s press releases, CLICK HERE.

Do you have any helpful tips to share about how to write a winning press release? If so, share your comments with our wedding community.

About This Blog: Christine Dyer is the Creator and Founder of BridalTweet. Christine has an MBA in marketing and shares over ten years of marketing expertise with the wedding community. In this weekly blog, you'll find advice on an array of wedding business topics such as how to market to brides, social networking, wedding PR, wedding sales, vendor networking, branding, pricing and much more. Please pass this news along to your own professional wedding network. To receive this advice in your email inbox each week,
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