How to write a press release headline

Weak headlines and first paragraphs are deal-breakers

You need strong headlines and clear opening paragraphs. News coverage is important: According to Starch Research, a news story has six times the readership and three times the credibility of an advertisement. The right PR agency can secure you the media coverage you need to grow your business and your bottom line.

When your company sends out a press release, follow these guidelines to make sure the right people notice it:

Take time to write and perfect your headline. You should invest at least as much time writing the headline as you do writing the body of the press release. With newsrooms across all industries cutting staff, today’s journalists are extremely busy. Your company’s press releases will stand out if they have excellent headlines. Don’t squander this opportunity and allow your company to go unnoticed: A sub-par headline is the No. 1 mistake among the top five mistakes in press releases.

Make your intro short and to the point. You need to get in, wow them and get out. Do not beat around the bush when delivering information. Instead, always condense the most important information into the fewest possible words. Keep in mind that journalists sort through hundreds or thousands of press releases each day; you need to hook them, and you need to do it quickly.

Quickly identify the absolute core information in your press release. Journalists work on extremely tight deadlines; they do not have time to read fluffy language that is irrelevant to their future articles. You must write your press release in a way that the main idea is clear and concise.

The headline can – and will – make or break your entire story. If it does not grab journalists’ attention, the odds of your story getting published are minimal. With a weak headline, your story doesn’t stand a chance.

If your headline is difficult to read and easy to misunderstand, journalists will lose patience with it and trash the entire story, even if the rest of it is golden. All of your hard work would go unrecognized because of your headline.

If you’re struggling to come up with an exceptional headline, Axia Public Relations can help. We are experienced in writing effective headlines and press releases that stand out to journalists. We are media relations experts and know how to secure your company the earned media coverage you need to grow. Download our e-book Learn Media Relations From the Media to get the inside scoop on exactly what journalists want from you before they’ll publish your company’s story.

Katie Boyles is currently studying public relations at University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. She will graduate in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Communication.