Write Direct to Consumer Press Releases

If you're looking to reach targeted consumers, and build your business and customer list, one of the best methods to take is direct to consumer press releases.  Conventional press releases are written like news items, and they're sent out to news organizations, and get run on the internet, through newspapers and similar venues.  The drawback of this approach is that, since it's going to the widest possible band of readers, it's also going to be aimed for the "most common" information.  It can build product awareness, but doesn't do much for product persuasion.

Perhaps even worse, because the market for information is so saturated, it's very easy for consumers to sort of ignore the traditional press release, which undermines the "product awareness" goal in general.  The counterpoint to the traditional press release is something called a "direct to consumer" press release, which goes through a targeted distribution system.  ("targeted distribution system" is advertising geek speak for "RSS feeds" and "Newsletter").  In theory, everyone who gets a direct-to-consumer press release has signed up for some sort of distribution system to provide it to them.  This means they're already interested in the category of product you're informing them about.

One of the common mistakes of doing a direct to consumer press release is treating it identically to a sales letter.  It's not.  Don't just hype the product into orbit, talking about the new features. Think about the readers you're writing the press release for, and answer the following questions, trying to do as much as you can from their perspective.

First, ask yourself what problem they're trying to solve.  They don't want to know about your product, they want to know how to solve an issue they're having in your life.  The fact that you know what distribution channel your press release is going through should give you some clue as to what challenges they face.

Second, once you know what problem they're trying to solve, focus on getting them to think about possible solutions to the problem.  A good example, for a weight loss program, might be "If you've gotten older, you've probably noticed that your pants don't fit as well as they used to."  You've identified the problem!  Now, it's time to get them to think about solutions.  "You've tried exercises, ranging from jogging to crunches to lifting weights…" Then lead into your product.  "However, you may not have heard about the EnderFlexer gymnastics system, which…"

See how that works?  You've presented the problem, the exploration of solutions that don't work, and then segued into the product information in one smooth flow of text.

Compare that to the usual press release, that reads like this:

"Marvelous Widget Company Announces The EnderFlexor gymnastic system.  'We think it's great!' says the company CEO."  Notice that that tells you what the company thinks, but doesn't relate to how it benefits the reader.  Understand that someone reading a press release is trading their valuable time in return for information about your product.  Make sure you make that transaction worth their while, and the direct to consumer press release will work for you!