Back in August I wrote an Outdoor Wire feature on press releases. It was your basic do's and don’ts outline for writing press releases.

We see a lot of press releases. We ran over 22,000 in 2023 and have already published over 13,000 thru July of this year.

Unfortunately, not all of those releases were well written. Some were, well, terrible. Going into the busy show season it’s important to utilize press releases. There are several opportunities to get your message out during this period, so a well-crafted release is essential.

Since not everyone has an outside agency, or even an in-house dedicated PR staff, here are some recommendations to help you get the most out of your press releases in the coming months.

#1: Write more releases

The first step is to look for more opportunities to talk about your company, service, or product. The new product/service announcements are obvious, but what about ‘expanded capabilities’, ‘partnering with XYZ’, ‘now hiring’, ‘attending XYZ show’, ‘won XYZ award’, and more?

The B2B model has a different communication strategy, and channel, than the B2C. Often it is more narrowly focused to a smaller, targeted group. But you can still find reasons – valid reasons – to send out a release. And a new business opportunity, that’s not from an existing customer, may not be getting your message. That’s kind of why the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) established the Supplier Showcase at SHOT Show.

#2: Copy off of others

Not having a PR expert at your immediate disposal does’t mean you can execute a solid PR program. Just because you don’t know how to write a press release doesn’t mean you give up. Truth is, you do know how to write a release. You cheat, and copy off of others. Trust me, this is the way.

Press releases have a fairly standard structure that’s easy to replicate with your own company/product info. Take a look at press releases from large companies within the firearm industry and use those as a template.

I once had to write one of the dreaded ‘recall’ press releases, having never written one before. Thankfully at that time there was a major company that had put in some solid practice writing recall notices. I picked their latest and copied its structure.

#3: Include a headline

Quite frankly this is rather stupid but you’d be amazed how many companies don’t include a headline in their press release. Some put the headline in the subject line of their email, or in the body of the email, but not at the top of the release itself.

Don’t do that, either. Put it where it belongs.

#4: Your capabilities brochure is not a press release

In the B2B model the sales brochure is a great tool. However, it is not a press release. Nobody can wade through all that text to figure out what you’re actually trying to get to. There’s no sales person sitting next to the reader to fill in the blanks and answer questions.

The info in your brochure is important but it needs to be distilled down to the key elements. Once a potential customer reading your release knows you can help them solve a particular problem then you can fill out the larger picture for them.

#5: Blog posts aren’t press releases

This is something we see more and more from B2C companies that have engaged a PR/marketing firm to write content for their website. They write a lengthy blog post where the first paragraph or two is spent waxing poetic about the crisp autumn air against your skin as the glow of the early morning sun marks the beginning of another opening day of deer season…blah, blah, blah.

Somewhere in their 700 to 1,200 word essay they get around to talking about ‘Elmer Fudd’s Explorer Hunting Boots’ or some such whatnot. The problem is that blog posts are for blogs and not for press releases.

If you have this kind of content on your company’s website you will need, like with a sales brochure, write it up as a press release.

#6: Include the links

Finally, with your press release you need to include all the appropriate links and contact information. It seems obvious, because it should be, but we frequently see releases from both companies and PR firms that should know better but don’t include links.

Make sure you include a link to your website. If you have social media channels, add those links. This is especially true if you use YouTube to showcase your manufacturing capabilities. I’ve sat in front of a computer as the key decision maker at a company watched a video of a machining equipment manufacturer’s latest product in use. It did more to sell the product than any written word, but you have to get to the video link to watch it.

Be sure you are adding those kinds of links in your press releases.

Things To Avoid

To keep your press releases from looking like crap – and that’s being kind – please be sure to avoid these all-too-common practices.

#1: Avoid all-caps

For some reason people love to put their headlines in ALL CAPS. This is a terrible practice because all caps in difficult to read. It works in short ad copy, or in graphics, but not for entire sentences.

You also want to avoid putting every proprietary process or term in all caps. It feels like it’s a solid marketing tactic but it’s not. It’s just annoying when you see 3, 4, or more words in a sentence in all caps.

#2: Exclamation points

We have seen press releases, from companies that should know better, with too many exclamation points. As many as five in a release and frequently with two used in the same paragraph.

Here is the pro-tip on using the correct number of exclamation points in your release. Once you type in that first ! realize you have now gone too far. Don’t use an exclamation point if you can avoid it. And trust me, you can avoid it.

This is the line I wrote for the B2C companies back in August “But, if you are going to use several in a release, just go full school girl mode and dot your ‘i’s with a heart as well. That will help convey both your company’s excitement and sincerity.”

Exclamation points are that annoying, and unfortunately that over used. Just avoid using them.

#3 Eliminate ‘thrilled’ from your release

When you start copying off others you will notice a near slave-like devotion to using the term ‘thrilled’ in the first line of the release, such as ‘Company XYZ is thrilled to announce….’

Don’t do that. Thrilled, excited, even elated – which actually made an appearance in one company’s release – aren’t needed. And using terms like that doesn’t mean your target audience is going to feel the same way.

Instead, get right to the point with the information you want the reader to come away with.

Yes, this seems like a lot of do's and don’ts for press release writing but the truth is the PR process is easier than you think. And, the good news is, it gets easier the more you do it. Soon enough you’ll find you’re a PR machine with the number of releases you distribute.

Even for a small company it’s not hard to find 30 to 40 press release opportunities during the year. I know because I have done exactly that. And those 30 to 40 press releases translate into awareness. It might not be immediate but at some point you’ll run into somebody at SHOT Show who says, “Yeah, I keep reading about your company.” With any luck it will be a manufacture looking to engage your company to help them bring their next product to market.

I have routinely spoken to small companies about what releases they can write in order to make better use of their corporate membership to the Outdoor Wire Digital Network. And I am more than happy to speak with those of you exhibiting in the Supplier Showcase, so you too can up your PR game.

– Paul Erhardt, Managing Editor, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network