Getting featured in the news is a big feat for any company. In healthcare, there are added challenges given its inherently technical and emotive nature. Here we’ll drill down into the nuts and bolts of how to write a powerful press release.
Two points to consider before we dive into the details:
- Media coverage should be just one tactic in your arsenal; it is a single part of your wider media mix and marketing strategy.
- You need to be crystal clear about what you are trying to achieve and who your audience is.
The end goal of a PR campaign is not to “get into Forbes” for example. The real goal could be something along the lines of “to get revenue from a new market segment”. Based on the research you’ve conducted you know they read Forbes, so featuring there supports a wider awareness campaign.Ensure you’re crafting your release with these points in mind, especially when it comes to the call to action. To learn more about crafting a winning strategy read our piece “5 steps to developing a healthcare marketing strategy”.
Just write something.
Editing is easier than writing. Our first recommendation is to get something written, that you can then refine. Start by creating a bullet point list of the information that your audience should take away as a result of reading any coverage you gain. As a rule of thumb, try to keep this to less than five points.
Here you should be thinking about:
- What are the key takeaways you want the readers to have?
- What value or newsworthy item are you adding to their day?
Tip: Official press releases need your company name in the title
Once you have your top points, you can begin crafting your first few sentences. The purpose of the introductory sentences is to give a quick, top-level view of the salient items of the release. To do this, take the top points and craft them into one to two sentences.
Within the body of the release, you want to cover each of the key points in more detail. Depending on your narrative and topic, you could delve into one point per paragraph, or build up the detail (this is sometimes called the pyramid strategy).
Tip: If you are talking about something that is disease-specific, such as a new diagnostic technique or treatment, then you should begin with the impact of the status-quo on healthcare systems, patients, and the world. This sets the stage for your solution.
Now you’ve got all your points covered, make sure that you have included how the news impacts the reader, this could be with real-life case studies if you have these, and why they should care. Think about your end goal.
Edit, edit, edit.
Check, have you covered all your key points? Have you included the how and why for your audience? Make sure to go through your first draft with your “why” hat on.
You want your press release to be engaging and informative. Think about your audience, is the language accessible to them? In healthcare PR it can be easy to use more technical language as you’re describing new data or a product with complex features. However, when you’re writing for a non-medical audience, remember to adjust the language accordingly to use plain English.
Tip: Use a grammar and spelling tool at this stage, for example Grammarly.
Clear, grammatically correct, and succinct writing makes your copy easy to read. When something is easy to read, people focus on the content, rather than battling through the words.
Finally, be sure to keep within your normal tone of voice and brand guidelines. For more on this topic, check out another one of our free Insight Articles: Why does your business need branding?
Tailor it.
You need to tailor your releases depending on how they’ll be used. We recommend thinking about your press releases from two perspectives. One is written as you’d like it to be read (i.e. by your target audience). This one will be used on your website, and sent to outlets that will use “as is”, and on the wire. The other is written specifically to entice journalists to create features on your news, this one is just the highlights, not a fully written article.
How to write a press release for websites & wires
- Be succinct: Keep the whole release under 500 words.
- Focus on your goal: Distill the key message in the first paragraph.
- Keep your audience in mind: Include details about how this news impacts the audience, and why they should care.
- Give a follow-up option: Include a call to action, boilerplate information and a media contact.
How to write a press release for media pitching
Keep in mind the volume of pitches each editor probably receives each day when writing your media pitch. There’s a lot of tips for crafting the write pitch email, but for the content itself, make sure you’re getting right to the point.
- Summarise the news in a paragraph.
- Keep the key points in bullet form.
- Offer interviews with internal and external subject matter experts.
- Include a link to media resources.
Writing tips for healthcare industry media coverage
- Independent interviewees are key here. Healthcare industry media want to ensure the research or product you are talking about is validated, and getting an unbiased key opinion leader on the record goes a long way in increasing your credibility.
- Where you can, include direct links to original research and case studies, these both add authenticity to your story.
Writing tips for gaining consumer coverage for healthcare news
- Patient stories are vital for consumer media, anything you can do to illustrate the emotional dimension of your news will increase its impact.
- Focus on the public health impact (not your product features).
- Use plain English and accessible language.
Key takeaways.
As you prepare to write a media release, take into account your end goal and your audience. Make sure your writing is suitable for your audience, tailor it to your purposes. Finally, make sure you are including why this news is relevant to your readers, and how it impacts them.
If you’ve found this article helpful or would like to learn how we can help with your communications, PR, and media strategy, get in touch at hello@evolene.co.uk.