October 2, 2009, Newsletter Issue #230: Stop Right There! Capturing Your Audience

Tip of the Week

There are literally thousands of press releases that go out every day, just in the US. A press release’s shelf life is relatively short, and after a day, the likelihood is great that your release won’t be read. So how do you make the most of this single day of visibility?

Headlines.

A release with a strong and interesting headline is more likely to be read than one with a boring headline. See for yourself:

Borimax Wins Another Government ContractArmed with Corn, Borimax and US Army Team Up to Stop Bin Laden Which one would you read?

A headline is a teaser. It provides just enough information that the reader wants to know more. Take a look in your newspaper or online news sites. You see the headlines that get your attention, and you want to read more.

Here are tips to writing an eye-catching headline for your release:

Use the active voiceUse present tenseStick to short, simple wordsMake positive statementsBe specificLeave out exclamation marks and punctuationDon’t be “cute” If you don’t get everything you want in your main headline, consider adding a sub-headline that can further quantify your topic. This sub-headline complements the headline above:

Borimax, leading producer of Ethanol in US, wins two-year government contract to fight war on terror

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