To "quote" or not to "quote"?

Most articles about how to “write a press release” suggest that you include a quote from a manager or authority figure in your company. “It adds a human element”, they say. Do I agree?

No. I don’t agree. Here’s why:

Reporters don’t read the entire press release. They don’t have the time! They scan it quickly to see if there’s an interesting story in it; if there is, they read a bit more. If there isn’t, they trash it.

Really. I was a TV news anchor for eight years, and I read a lot of press releases. During my first month on the job I read the entire release. By my sixth month, I was reading just the headlines before deciding to keep or trash it. I have many friends in the industry who do the same thing.

Get Attention!
A press release’s job is to get the reporter’s attention. That’s all. Media outlets get literally hundreds of news releases every day. In the bigger cities they can get up to five hundred releases per day. They can’t read all those, so it’s your job to cut through all the other releases and get the reporter’s attention.

Find the most noteworthy point of your news, and put that into the headline of your release. Don’t say “New Wine List at Bob’s Wines”. Say “New Rose-Flavored Wine at Bob’s Wines”.

Here are other examples of attention-getting headlines:

• Kendall-Jackson installs solar panels in Napa vineyards.
• Confirmed: Red Wine Adds Years to Your Life
• Twisted Oak Winery Reels in Value-Minded Buyers without lowering prices
  

Notice how they all catch attention? That’s what the reporters want to see.

So before you go asking for a quotation from the big boss, take the time to dig out the really newsworthy item in your release and put it into the headline. It’ll make a big difference.

And you can quote me on that.

Gordon