For Powerful Press Releases, Create an Angle

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Few written statements can serve as many different purposes as the mighty press release. You can use it to promote yourself or anyone else, to sell a product or service or to announce an event. You can use it to gain publicity through the media or to simply to gain the attention of the recipient. Just as a noun denotes a person, place or thing, the press release can promote a person, place or thing.

We’ve written hundreds of press releases for many individual clients and corporations, each one with a different purpose. Yet they all have one thing in common; they are selling an idea, a product or a person. Let’s examine how we angle the release if we are selling a product.

For the past several newsletters, we’ve concentrated on the title or heading of the press release, using specific examples from our staff-written releases.  This article will concentrate on how to create an angle to put power in your release.

This continuing feature series, therefore, will give illustrative examples of real press releases done by the professional writing staff at Press-Release-Writing.com. Our example this week will examine the angle of the entire release and how you, too, may create an angle to best serve the purpose of your release, not only in the title but also throughout the body.

For example, a client who had a product to sell to computer users commissioned us to write a press release. The angle was directed to the computer users, how it would benefit them and why they should buy the product.

That seemed simple enough. So the angle was to sell a product to computer users. We took it a step further. We angled it not only toward the computer users but also towards small businesses and corporations that owned many computers. What were the benefits to the bosses who hired the computer users?

We touted the benefits to both computer users and corporate bosses right in the heading, the first thing they would read: Eyesaver Program Helps Computer Users Ease Eye Strain, Increases Productivity. What computer operator wouldn’t want to prevent eyestrain? Comfort and health are important issues in any workplace. What business owner wouldn’t want to increase productivity? We all know that’s the bottom line. Increased productivity increases profits.

That got their attention. Now we had to follow up with that same angle in the body of the release. First we defined the program: “Eyesaver is an ergonomic computer program to combat Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS), an acute disorder that affects the general health of all computer users”

Next we quoted some powerful statistics to back up our claim: “CVS has escalated more than 200% over the past three years.” Here’s where research comes in. That little statistic took many hours of research. Just because the release is short does not mean preparation time is short. In fact, just the opposite is true. You must get lots of information into a very limited space and it must pack a powerful punch. The press release is brief but it must be 100% accurate. Know your facts and you can use them to angle your release.

Remember, press releases are generally written for media people. That’s why they are called press releases. But also remember, press people are human too. What appeals to the public will also appeal to them. Potential public interest is what makes the news, after all.

Do media people use computers? Would this be of interest to them on a personal level as well? Of course and that must be figured into your angle. Sell the reader with the angle.

Now that we got them hooked, we hammer home our credentials. We establish further credibility by stating that the program has been “tested by the American Optometric Association.” We gather some big names of people who use the program such as “Citicorp, Blockbuster, and The Prudential.” These are pretty powerful recommendations. Don’t you feel better about a product that has been recommended by familiar names?

We named the designer, an expert on CVS; we honed in on financial statistics, “Statistics show that companies nationwide lost more than $25 billion in direct productivity losses in 1997.”

Now it was time for the close, as they say in sales’ circles. We talked about price, a bargain considering the above statistics, “By purchasing Eyesaver for as little as $.07 a day, you can prove employee productivity and company profits.”

The whole angle of the press release was to sell a product to the individual and to the business owner. We focused on that angle all the way through the body of the release. We closed with the bottom line, price in relation to consumer benefits.

Angle your release to your audience, whether it is the media, the individual user or the company chief. Sell your product with credibility, accurate statistics and a consistent angle.