Do press releases still work? Short answer- It can work. Press releases can still do their job, but the digital age also made its impact on this part of traditional marketing.
A Major Benefit about a press release is basically getting coverage from the media websites and blogs for free and consequently bringing traffic to your own website and get better ranking on Google.
Press releases somehow resemble guest blogging with its intentions, you want to get published on other websites and get your benefits from that, but the thing is press releases are much more powerful. With one copy, you can get tons of media coverage, if you do it right.
The big question- How do you do it right?
Being Newsworthy
The first most important thing is to write something newsworthy. To measure that, think what would be valuable for the general public to know.
As a real estate professional, you may be used to thinking and communicating within your niche, when writing a press release, remember that it is meant for the average joe.
To be newsworthy doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do something huge, it just has to be beneficial for people to know about: maybe you conducted a study about the local market or organized an event or launched a new service.
If you find the right angle, most “new” stuff you do can become newsworthy.
Hooks and Angles
Okay, even if you’re transforming the industry singlehandedly and your news is so newsworthy, it should be broadcasted on National TV, even local newspapers won’t publish it, if you can’t find the right hook and angle.
What do we mean by this? Basically, you have to identify how your news can be delivered and “marketed” to appeal to the bigger audiences.
Think about this: why should they care? What’s the most interesting part about the news and put it in easily understandable words.
To sum up, you have to think as a reader and write as a journalist.
Headline
This is the most important part for both journalists and readers. If your headline doesn’t stand out, no one will even read your press release, including the media outlets you send it to.
Now, the headline shouldn’t sound scammy and it shouldn’t promise too much. Tell the entire story in it and most importantly it shouldn’t be boring.
Forget about sounding “serious” or “about business”, this is the world of journalism and creativity is a “must”. Plus, why not do both if you can?
The Lead
This is not the same lead you are used to as a real estate professional. The lead in journalism means the first paragraph in your “article”, where you tell your readers what’s the news and what should they expect from the rest of your content.
One thing you shouldn’t do with the lead is that you shouldn’t bury it. The core value of your content, “the meat” as journalists call it should be in the first paragraph.
This is the number one rule in journalism and if you want your press release to find its place in publications you should write it as a journalist would.
Objectivity
Here is a little industry secret: If it’s not a huge story, journalists don’t like to work on press releases, however if you write a really good one, it will have much more chance to be copied and pasted and published.
For your content to be copy and pastable, you basically should write an article, not a copy, as in: Sound Objective.
This probably goes without saying, but write in third person- forget about “we” and “I” pronouns.
The best press releases are high-quality articles.
Multimedia
If you have videos, photos or even infographics made about your “news” you should definitely include them in your release.
It will increase your chances to get published, since the multimedia content is appealing to journalists and readers.
Bottom Line
Press releases do work in today’s market. Getting press coverage gives your real estate company credibility and traffic.
However for it to work, you need to find the right angle to whatever your news is, come up with the creative headline with enough intrigue left and write the release objectively, or at least, sound like it.
Last, but not least- send it to the right outlets, think about who would be interested most according to the audiences they work for. My advice: focus on local news outlets, they are starving for information and can be very important for local real estate businesses.
One last piece of advice: to write good articles, you should read a lot of them. So before you start perfecting your craft, read others and get your inspiration.
Got a question? Leave it in the comments down below.
If you want to know more about real estate marketing read our blog How Much Do Real Estate Agents Spend on Marketing or Content Marketing Made Simple For Real Estate Agents.
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