"The Best Press Release Ever": A Lession in Overstatements and Ad Speak
Creating an effective press release is not about shouting the loudest. Learn how to get the attention of your target market by eliminating overstatements and ad speak, and instead using the words that most accurately describe your company, products, and services.
"Good", "better" and "best" – they're all positive words, but they may be having a negative effect on your press release campaign. If you're interested in creating and distributing an effective press release, it's important to know how to identify overstatements and so-called "ad speak", and to understand how those words can impact the success of your press release efforts.
As a business owner, it's natural to think that the products and services your company offers are the best. After all, if you didn't think they were the best – or at least better than the products and services of your competition – you probably wouldn't be in business at all. Just like you think your products and services are the best, however, it's likely that every business owner on the internet (including your competition) thinks the same thing.
As a result, consumers are constantly bombarded with advertisers and companies claiming that their products and services are "the best." If you've searched for many products on the internet, you know this already. You also know that after seeing "good," "better" or "best" a certain number of times, you become completely desensitized to the meaning of the words. If you see them enough, they may even cause you to automatically rule out any business that describes their products or services in that way.
If, as a consumer, you would rule out a business for using words like "best," chances are good that consumers will do the same thing if you frame your business in this way. Furthermore, it's not just words like "good", "better", and "best" that cause problems. Words like "cheap", "luxury", and "unique" can do the same thing – even if your products and services are exactly that.
Fortunately, there's a fairly easy solution to the problem. To create an effective press release:
- Know where you stand in your own industry
- Decide on appropriate words to describe your position
- Use those words with consistency in your online marketing campaign
Smart advertisers call it positioning, but it can be summed up as knowing and articulating where you stand in your industry. If, for example, you're a shoe retailer, your shoes might be high-fashion, they might be economical but rather unfashionable, or they might be somewhere in the middle. Intuitively, you might want to call your shoes "cheap" or "luxury" because you think that's what most people want, but in fact, there are shoe shoppers who fall all along the price/fashion spectrum. To write a successful press release, take a good look at your products and services and know where you stand in your industry.
After you've decided where you stand, it's time to choose the appropriate words to describe your position. Businesses that claim their products and services are "better than the competition" or "the best" say nothing specific about those products and services. Why are they the best? Are the prices the lowest available within that product category? Are the products made from all-natural materials? Do they offer consumers the greatest return on their investment? These questions, when turned into statements, are far better ways to describe your products and services than using non-descriptive words like "good", "better", and "best".
Finally, use your selected descriptor words in all of your marketing efforts. Whether you're distributing an online press release or putting an ad in the local paper, repetition can really drive home a message. Consistently deliver the same message and consumers will remember you and they will remember you the way you want them to.
You too can create an effective, integrated marketing effort that translates into marketing success – beginning with your press release.
Order Press Release Writing
If you need an easier solution and you are interested in having someone write a press release for you, you can order press release writing from Network Solutions. A professional copywriter will create the release for you, helping you send out a clear message about your particular products or services. To order press release writing, browse the Network Solutions® website.