If you take a look at all the major press release sites, and the press releases that have been submitted to these sites, you will notice a common structure amongst many of the press releases. A successful press release is written to a predefined format and structure. If you follow this format and structure you will have the most success with the press releases you submit. We are going to take a look at the different elements of the press release, and then we are going to take a look at how to incorporate your keywords and hook in the correct places throughout your press release in order to maximize your penetration for your chosen keywords within the search engines.
How many words?
Something to note is that you should try to keep all your press releases below the 500 word count. Optimally you should aim for about 300 words. I have not had any trouble going up to 500 words. The times I have gone over 500 words I have had issues getting my press releases spidered by Google. Remember the main aim of your press releases is not to sell your product to get the reader to click through to your sales page.
Starting at the beginning, the title is one of the most important elements of your press release. Not only will the search engines use your title to index your press release, but how your title is written will heavily influence the amount of click throughs your press release gets. It is important to include both your hook and as many of your keywords as you can into your title. Of course it is also important that your title makes sense in being read by a human. You should try to write your title in a manner that is eye-catching, witty, or to invoke curiosity from the reader.
Some examples of good titles:Any title that is the question that invokes an open ended answer. By that I mean that the reader can't simply answer your question with the yes or no. If that were the case and the answer was "no", then it is too easy for the reader to simply not click through. However with a question that has an open ended answer the reader must click through to find the answer to the question within your press release.
For example the following is a bad title:Would you like $20 off our red widget?
This question title makes it too easy for the reader to simply say no and then not click through.
The following example poses an open ended question:
Do you know why 87% of people prefer red widgets to blue?
In the above title, the reader can only get the answer to the question you pose by clicking through to your press release. That should be the name of all the titles you write. You want to get readers to click through to your press release. Once at your press release, you want to invoke enough curiosity that your reader feels compelled to read the rest of your press release. These are the same principles you should be using for all of your copywriting including the sales copy at your sales page.
In the above example we use curiosity to invoke a click through from the reader. Other tactics you could use within your titles include creating controversy. Using controversy similar to using curiosity as a motivator on the reader.
For example the following title is controversial:If red widget inventor knew what we were doing he would be turning in his grave.
In the above example we referred to the inventor of the red widget who in this instance has sadly passed away. This in itself is controversial. This gets the reader's attention. However it is curiosity that gets the reader to click through and read on. In the above example clearly any reader who does click through wants to know what you are doing with the red widgets and why this would make the inventor turn in his grave.
Some of the above examples also included the use of a hook. For example $20 off the red widget is a hook. In this instance that will is a discount on the product. With a title "Do you know why 87% of people prefer red widgets to blue?", we'd be using statistics as the hook. In that example clearly 87% is a high enough figure to prove that the majority of people prefer red widgets. To the reader of this title you are creating a fear that they may be one of the minority if they preferred blue widgets. Once the reader click through to your website could continue the theme of red widgets being superior thus tying in your sales copy with your hook.
In the above examples we have also used the words within the titles. The main key word we used throughout all the titles was red widget. If we had other keywords we were trying to target also try to incorporate those into the title while keeping it readable to humans. The main aim of including keywords in the title is to optimize your press release for those keywords within the search engines.
The URLWe'll cover the URL next, mainly because I strongly advocate that you include your URL link at the top of your press releases. Unlike with article marketing that has strict guidelines and rules on where you can place your URLs throughout your article, press releases are a lot more liberal with the placement of URLs.
See we are going to take advantage of that fact and place your main URL right at the top of your press release before the first paragraph. This way anybody that has their attention grabbed by your title and navigates to your press release has the option to click straight through to your sales copy without scrolling the page.
We'll cover the structure of the first paragraph shortly but at the end of the first paragraph you should also direct the reader to your main URL. It's quite acceptable to include a reference to your main URL somewhere else in the middle of your press release. Alternatively you may wish to reference the secondary URL for a specific page within your main site.
Finally at the bottom of your press release after your closing paragraph should once again include a one line benefits statement product or service and then direct the reader to your main URL.The first paragraph
The first paragraph of your press release says a number of purposes. This is where you will first introduce your product, service or website. The first paragraph next to flow on from your title. So if your title posed the question, you will want to go some way to answering that question within your first paragraph. The first paragraph should provide an overview of the benefits of your product service or website. The first paragraph also needs to include all four of your keywords at least once within the paragraph. This point is extremely important for optimizing your press release for your given keywords. Of course as with the title, you need to make sure the structure of your sentences and the flow of the paragraph makes sense and the readable for the human eye. There is no use in making your press release highly optimized to put off the readers you are trying to get to click through to your sales page.
As stated previously you should end your first paragraph with a reference to your main URL. For instance you could say something like "... you can find out more about this great product service by clicking here: www.MyProduct.com".
The first quoteThe next section of your press release after your first paragraph is what I call the first quote. This is essentially your second paragraph. You need to include a quote from somebody in this section. The quote can be from somebody within your company, it can be from you. The quote is essentially either a testimonial for your product, service or website, or it is a quote from somebody within your company explaining more about the benefits of the product, service or website.
You structure the quotes within your press release like this:[Name] from [company or city/country] said "quote".
For example:
John Citizen from London said "Red widgets really are amazing. Can't believe I have been using blue widgets this whole time. With red widgets to get a better design, more features and with your discount they are cheaper than blue widgets".
Another example if it was from a person within your company:Peter from red widgets said "we really wanted to design a widget that was more affordable and had better features for the end consumer. Our red widgets tick all the boxes."
So how do you get testimonials from your customer? One way is to ask them! Once a customer completes the transaction with you can send them a brief e-mail asking them for feedback on the product and the buying experience. If you're finding it hard to get feedback from customers you can't include some kind of motivation for them to fill in a brief survey. For example you could create a short e-book and offer this as a bonus for anybody who fills in the survey. Be sure to include a disclaimer at the bottom of your survey page stating that all feedback may be used as testimonials in your promotional and sales material.
So for the above example of red widgets we could create short e-book called "10 ways to maximize your red widget usage", and this could be given away to all customers who complete our survey.
There is several tools online that you can use for creating surveys. A good website that allows you to create a free survey is called www.surveymonkey.com.The second paragraph
Your second paragraph should expand on the list of benefits from your first paragraph in should explain more about your hook that was first mentioned in your title and then expanded on in your first paragraph. Additionally the second paragraph builds on any theme that was introduced in your first quote.
For example if your first quote was a testimonial from a happy customer, could say something like:
Keywords in nonessential to be included in the second paragraph. By default as you explain your benefits would probably include some of your keywords. But do not focus on the keywords as a second paragraph is the one place that you should not feel empowered to use them and you should focus on explaining the benefits in the best way possible.
As stated earlier if you feel the need to please include your URL again or a secondary URL if you have one you want to reference.The second quote
The second quote is your chance to include another testimonial from your customers or to include a quote from one of your staff members expanding on the benefits of the product service or website. The second quote should follow the same structure as the first quote, except change “said” to “added” as below:
[Name] from [company or city/country] added "quote".The length of your quotes is not so much of an issue as long as you keep the total word count of your press release within the guidelines mentioned above (average 300 words and below 500 words) however should point out that if you quote has excessive line spaces or bullet points you may have issues in getting your press release indexed. So it is best to keep your quotes one solid paragraph of text each.
It is important to note that these quotes are not just included within the press release so you can showcase your testimonials and customer feedback. The quotes are an important element of the press release as news sites that index your press release see the inclusion of quotes as indication of a bona fide press release. So please make sure your fellow exact structure as outlined in the press release profits video and this e-book.
The final paragraphWe're almost there! The final paragraph is where you wrap everything up and tie everything together. If you have any unresolved questions from your title or throughout the body of your press release than the answer to those questions should be resolved here. The final paragraph also needs to reference all four of the keywords. This is important for the optimization of your press release. As always you will need to make sure that when including your keywords that the sentences structured so as to be readable by humans. You will also need to make reference to your hook in your final paragraph in this leads to your call to action.
One of the most important elements of your final paragraph is your call to action. If the reader has read this far even if they have only scanned your press release then they are interested enough in what you are offering to make them prime candidate to click on your URL. For that reason you should state exactly what you want the reader to do from this point onward. What you want the reader to do is to click on your URL.
To achieve this all you need to do is say something like:"to find out more about how red widgets can revolutionize your life click here: www.RedWidgets.com".
All you need to do to simply ask for the reader to click through to your website. With this call to action make sure that it is a separate paragraph below the final paragraph. This way the actual call to action stands out from the body of the press release, so anybody that is scanning will notice your call to action and your website link.
That's it for the creation of your press release. Now you can create your press release using a simple text editor like notepad, Microsoft Word or using software specifically designed to help you lay out your press release and save it for future reference.
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