10 Reprehensible Press Release Blunders to Avoid
Sending a press release that you haven't double checked can hurt your reputation. Here are some of the most common mistakes made by companies that send out bad press releases:
Your Subject Line Is Screaming for Attention
The first step to writing a good press release is making sure you have a good subject line. The best subject lines are short, but they still need to be clear enough that people will want to open them.
If your headline isn't grabbing attention, then it won't matter how great the rest of your email is—it won't get read! This means that while there are many different ways you can write a compelling headline, here are some basic principles:
Make it short (but not too short). Ideally this should be no longer than 70 characters or so; anything over 100 characters can be hard for most people's eyes and brains to process quickly enough. If possible, try using an abbreviation instead of writing out each word separately (e.g., "New Study Reveals..." instead of just "Study Reveals...").
Use question marks liberally throughout the body text so readers know what they're reading about before opening up their emails and clicking through from links within emails themselves! Remember: Readers love when writers ask questions instead asking readers directly themselves—so go ahead and ask yourself questions before sending out newsletters or blog posts too! For example: "Has anyone seen these products yet?" Or even better yet--just ask yourself; maybe something happened today which warrants mentioning here at all?
You Sent It to the Wrong People
Don't send it to the wrong people. Your audience is not just the press, but also their readers and viewers, so make sure you're sending your message to the right people.
Don't send it to people who won't be interested in reading or watching it. Sending an email blast full of information that could potentially be useful for only one person is a waste of time and resources! Instead, focus on those who will appreciate what you have to say—and if possible, try targeting specific individuals within those groups so they'll receive more relevant content than others (e.g., if there's an event coming up where I'm speaking).
Don't send it at all if someone isn't available or busy enough to read through all its contents within 24 hours--it might take longer than this because there may be multiple recipients involved in each person's inboxes...however! You should still try contacting someone first before resorting to social media platforms like Facebook Messenger or Twitter DM; sometimes these channels offer better options than emails due to their ease-of-use nature but don't forget about writing letters too because they work great too! Just remember not everyone has access outside work hours so plan accordingly when sending out newsletters/newsletters via snailmail instead."
Your Press Release is Too Long or Too Short
The first mistake you can make with your press release is to include too much information. A good rule of thumb is that if it's not necessary, don't include it in your press release. If you need more information or an attachment, then use a separate document or link as an attachment at the end of your document. This will help keep everything focused on what matters most: the key points from your story and its context (when appropriate).
Your Content Reads Like an Ad
A press release is a business communication intended to inform the media, public and/or investors of new information regarding the company. It's written in an engaging manner with the goal of attracting attention, which means you want your content to read like an ad. This means:
Keeping it short and simple
Avoiding jargon or technical terms (unless necessary)
Using simple language when possible
You Forgot to Include Key Details
What are the key details?
What are the consequences of forgetting to include them?
How can you make sure you include the key details in the future?
Your Contact Information is Outdated or Missing
If you're sending a press release, it's important to include your contact information. This includes:
Your email address (and if possible, the @ symbol)
A phone number
A website address
You Missed the Boat With Timing
Timing is everything. The timing of your press release can determine whether it’s noticed, read and remembered by readers or ignored altogether.
Too early: If you send out a press release too early, it will be lost in the daily news cycle—and probably forgotten by all but your most dedicated followers. If possible, wait until after the company has been mentioned elsewhere in the media (such as on an industry blog) before sending out another piece of content related to that news item; this will help ensure that readers know what they're talking about when they see your new publication.
Too late: On the flip side, if you don't send out a timely announcement at all (or worse yet wait until after), then even if there's something important going on with your company or product line right now (such as being featured in Forbes' 30 Under 30 list), people might still forget about it by next week!
It Doesn't Follow Proper Formatting
The best way to avoid these mistakes is to use a standard format and template for your press release. If you're not sure what that looks like, here are some examples:
Use a standard font (i.e., Times New Roman, Arial) and style (bold).
Don't use more than one font! This means no italics or boldface text in any size at all unless it's absolutely necessary for the tone of your document; otherwise stick with only one typeface throughout the entire piece because different styles all have different uses depending on their context within a piece of writing (such as titles vs body copy).
Also keep in mind that if you do decide on using multiple fonts—like italicized ones—make sure they appear together as opposed to separately since this can confuse readers who may think they're getting something new when really they're just seeing two versions of an old style all mashed together under one title block."
It Oversells Instead of Informing
You should avoid overselling your product or service. In general, people don't want to be sold on you. If they feel like you're trying too hard to get them on board with your pitch, they'll lose interest in what you have to offer and move on before hearing the rest of your story. This means that when it comes time for the end of any press release—whether yours or someone else's—you need to be careful not to try too hard at getting their attention with flashy language or images and then once again try too hard at explaining exactly why all this cool stuff is important enough for them (and potential customers) to care about how awesome it all is!
You Didn't Proof It Enough
Proofreading is a must. Your press release should be free of spelling and grammar mistakes, as well as formatting errors. You don't want to make an error that can be easily spotted by readers and cause you serious brand damage.
Before publishing your press release, run it through a spell checker and style consistency checker to ensure that each word on the page is used correctly (and in context). It's also important to make sure all content is consistent with other pieces you've written—including blog posts, social media content, or other communications such as newsletters or email newsletters—so that people will know what kind of company they're dealing with when they open their inboxes every morning!
Sending a press release that you haven't double checked can hurt your reputation.
Sending a press release that you haven't double checked can hurt your reputation.
Proofreading: A spelling mistake is one of the most common mistakes made by businesses, especially those with limited English proficiency. Press releases are no exception to this rule and proofreading should be your top priority when creating them. You may have already taken care of some of these issues while writing, but spelling checks are still important because it isn't uncommon for people to misspell words or misread them altogether (which can lead to embarrassing results). If you have time before sending out your release, take some time to make sure everything looks appropriate—scan through again and compare with others in similar fields so far as possible before sending out anything else!
Grammatical Errors: These errors include sentence structure problems such as run-on sentences or comma splices/dashes; improper punctuation like missing commas or quotation marks; incorrect capitalization ("I am"), etc., among others.* Formatting Errors: These include things such as using all capitals instead of small caps (or vice versa), switching from upper case lettering style without changing the length between words by adding spaces between them in order not waste space unnecessarily.*
Conclusion
It may seem easy to send out a press release, but there’s a lot of information involved in crafting one that will be read by the right people. If you want your press release to reach the media and generate interest from readers, then use these tips to make sure it gets noticed.

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