Get Some Street Cred

Throughout April, every week I will be talking about one topic: Credibility. Each week we will discuss a different method of improving the credibility of your press releases.

Credibility is defined as believability or reliability. It’s basically the word on the streets. If a person is credible, they have a good reputation and people trust them. If a press release is credible, it is a believable and trustworthy source of news.

Credibility isn't developed overnight... it’s built up over time. In public relations, you earn credibility in newsrooms and online by repeatedly generating accurate and newsworthy content.

I want to share an analogy with you. My favorite way to describe credibility is to relate it to your email inbox:

If you’re like me, you receive hundreds of emails every day. However, not all of those emails are from credible sources. The ones that aren't are (hopefully) identified as spam and escorted to a bulk mail folder. Those messages – about low-cost pharmaceuticals or male enhancement – were not believed to be from a trustworthy source due to their obvious sales tone.

So, what do spam messages have to do with credibility? Spam emails are advertisements, and ads generally don’t come from credible sources. A press release should never be confused for an advertisement. Check out this post for more information on words you should avoid. Here are a few more things you can do to prevent your news release from sounding like an ad:

Don’t Believe the Hype

Hype is extravagant or exaggerated claims used to generate interest. It’s usually found in promotional materials and advertisements. Press releases should be neutral in tone. Your audience will recognize hype immediately.

Think back to those emails I mentioned in my spam filter. They are loaded with words and phrases inflating the product. For example, I’m looking at one now which states the (unnamed) company is “A leading internet only pharmacy selling the most popular dietary supplements.” This sentence is meant to make me believe the product and company are reliable. However, their use of the word “leading” makes me think this group isn’t a leader at all. My internal lie detector is going off.

Hype words in press releases are meant to sell a product or business. People often have a hard time trusting salespeople, so you should steer clear of all language that gives your readers the impression you’re trying to sell them something. Stick with basic facts and figures that can be easily backed up.

Don’t Step Out of Line

Keep the punctuation in your press releases simple. Use only commas and periods if possible. If you’ve written a sentence with parentheses, a colon, or dashes, ask yourself if you could accomplish the same effect with more basic punctuation.

Nothing says “I’m selling something,” like an exclamation point. News doesn’t need extra emphasis... ads do! If you want proof, check out your spam folder. The emails in there are overflowing with exclamation points.

Get Back to Basics

When writing your press releases stick with basic formatting. Don’t use strange fonts or colors, but feel free to bold, italicize or underline text sparingly. Use them to draw attention to occasional (but important) words or phrases. If over-used, they have the same effect as capital letters. Certainly don’t bold or italicize every instance of your name in your press release!

The content of your press releases is always the most important thing. Make sure it is easy to read. You’re doing your news a disservice if you’re over-formatting. Break out the advanced formatting for special occasions (lists, bulleted items, charts, and section headings).

It’s important to remember that credibility is a reflection of the organization sending the message. By distributing high-quality, newsworthy content you will establish yourself as a trustworthy and important source of news.

Stay tuned throughout April for more information on how to improve the credibility of your press releases. Coming next week... Statistics!

Comments

[Julius]

Instantly establishing credibility is vital to your business/site's success, especially online where people are still very distrustful of what they see and read.