Best Way - Steps to Write a Press Release to Sell Something

Press releases do just what they promise--release information to the press, or public. An effective press release is informative, concise and timely. But when it is written to sell a product, it needs to have an element of sales pitch as well.

Know Your Product

1. To sell a product effectively, you have to know the product. What are you selling? Why should someone buy it? How will this improve someone's business or personal life? Know all the details of the product, and have answers to any possible question.

Know Your Audience

2. To whom are you releasing this sales pitch? Is it the general public, or a specialty audience? If you are releasing it to the general public, you have to define any industry-related words or terms that the average person might not understand. If you are releasing to a specialty audience, such as a software product to a technical magazine, you can safely assume that the readership will know industry-related terms.

Who, What, When, Where, How and Why

3. The first paragraph of a press release is the most important. You want to write the first paragraph with the intention that if a reader reads only the first paragraph, or if a publication prints only the first paragraph, the pertinent information will still be conveyed. You need to include the who, what, when, where, how and why:
   Who are you marketing to?
   What are you selling?
   Where is it available for purchase?
   When is it available for purchase?
   How can customers purchase it?
   Why should customers purchase it?
   These questions can be answered in as little as one sentence, although they do not have to be. The important thing is including all of the information.

Testimonials

4. Testimonials, or quotes from satisfied customers or from industry experts, add credibility to your product. These are not mandatory, but they do go a long way in proving to your customers that the product is valuable and effective. Testimonials can come from an employee in your business or from someone who has tested the product. Testimonials should be written as their own paragraph anywhere after the first paragraph.

Tight and Bright

5. You need to write tight and bright. Do not waste words in a press release. Get your point across in as few words as it takes to convey accurately and effectively what you are selling and why someone should buy it. Remember--you are pitching a product through a written vehicle, and you need to capture the attention of potential customers quickly.

Examples

6. Examples of press releases in the software industry are found in the third link in the References section.