As the editor of MSDynamicsWorld.com, I see my fair share of ISV press releases.
From a public relations standpoint, most leave me wondering why the ISVs bothered. There is little or nothing that is newsworthy in the bulk of them. A minority of the releases contain at least a nugget of useful information, while even fewer have enough real content to catch the attention of the press or the public.
I hate to start a post with a gripe, but the truth is that for any ISV struggling with press releases, a few modest adjustments can take your next press release from forgettable to…well, at least noticeable (I thought about using “memorable”, but let’s be realistic here – we’re talking about software press releases).
A good press release will do three things: it will inform, it will demonstrate thought leadership, and it will bring it all back to the human level.
If you can string these elements together in a coherent way, then your chances of getting noticed in positive ways, both for your immediate announcement and as a thought leader, will go way up. Why? Because when you put these pieces together, you’ve given a reporter the framework for a real story. Remember, such a piece might not focus solely on you and your announcement, but the value of a small mention in a more substantial article can be substantial, due to both the increased attention and the more natural placement of your company as a leader.
If you are writing a press release for a reason other than to gain real press coverage, then perhaps the rest of this post (and the next one to follow) isn’t for you. If the value to you is the hyperlink on the news release web site or other SEO-related goals, then you’re probably measuring success differently than a PR pro would.
But if your goal is to make real announcements that will gain your company and its products positive placement in relevant publications, then understand that press releases are just one piece of the public relations puzzle. The other important pieces are thought leadership and a content strategy to accompany them and integrate the themes for best results.
In the next post on this subject I’ll share some personal views on what a reporter really wants to see if a press release is going to get more than a couple seconds of attention. You’ll find some good news: With all the junk releases out there, it’s easier to get noticed by the media than you may expect.
