For businesses, organizations, and other entities, a press release is an important tool for disseminating news. A press release can be used to inform the public of a new product launch, announce upcoming events, share newsworthy updates from the company, and more. However, writing a successful press release is not always easy, and knowing what should not be included is as important as understanding what is not.
Here are four things that you should avoid including in your press release.
Personal Opinions
The primary goal of a press release is to inform the public about a particular event, product, or organization. It is not intended to be an opinion piece. Avoid expressing your opinions in the press release – stick to facts and leave any judgments out of it.
Think about it this way: A press release should be written in a way that can be read by many different people, regardless of things like their political leanings or personal biases. So you want your message to be clear and unbiased.
Irrelevant Information
You want to keep the content in your press release concise and focused on the topic at hand so as not to detract from the message you are trying to convey. Stick to relevant facts, figures, and statements that are pertinent to your story.
For example, say you’re writing about the launch of a brand new Radio Frequency Identification RFID inlay insertion machine. You may include information about the machine’s production speed, power consumption, and other technical specifications. But you wouldn’t want to include details about the company’s customer service policies or its corporate structure as these topics are irrelevant to the story and could potentially confuse the reader.
Unprofessional Language
Press releases are meant to be professional documents. Thus, it’s important to use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Avoid using slang, jargon, or any other type of unprofessional language that could make the press release seem unpolished or inauthentic.
For instance, say you’re writing about the imminent 50th-anniversary celebration of your business. You may use words like “milestone”, “proud”, and “historical” to capture the celebratory tone you’re trying to convey – but stay away from informal language such as “awesome” or “totally rad”.
Confidential Information
Press releases are an effective way to get your story out, but it’s important to remember that anything you write in the press release becomes public information. So avoid including any confidential or sensitive information in your press release. The dangers of divulging confidential information in a press release include not only potential breaches of confidentiality agreements and legal repercussions but also the risk of compromising your business or organization’s reputation.
What counts as confidential information? It can be anything from trade secrets and financial information to customer data and employee records. The definition of confidential information varies from one organization to the next, so make sure you find out exactly what is off-limits before writing your press release.
By avoiding these four things in your press release, you’ll be on the right track to drafting a successful and effective communication piece. Keep in mind that the content should be engaging, informative, and professional – not opinionated or filled with irrelevant details. And most importantly, avoid including any confidential information that could land your business or organization in trouble.