Press releases are a great vehicle for gaining publicity about your products. However, it is very important to remember that press releases are about disseminating news, and editors never intend for them to serve as free advertising for your products.

In fact, press releases written with a sales slant will normally head straight into an editor’s trash can. So when developing press releases, you want to write them in a straightforward who, what, where, when and why news style, and you need to avoid using the hype and superlatives that may be acceptable in a print ad or sales letter.

Fortunately, the one area of a press release where you can inject a little sizzle about your product is within quotes attributed to company executives or third-party experts.

If product performance claims or one-sided opinions are attributed to specific individuals, it’s clear to readers that the publication in which the release is printed is not making the claim, which puts editors at ease.

Every quote in your press releases should be strategically written as opposed to being chance statements, which is the norm in journalism. In public relations, you want to shape and craft every quote so it serves a specific strategic purpose.

Below is an example of a raw statement a fictitious executive named Brian Peters might say to you in an interview about his abdominal exercise product called HPP.

Raw statement: "I really think the HPP is going to go over well with athletes because it has greater projection and a small base diameter. I think it will let athletes work their abs better so they can get the look they really want. The HPP also fits in well with our other upper body exercise products, and it’s available in a lot of different sizes, which is what athletes have been asking for."

Next, is an example of how you might take this raw statement and turn it into a polished quote that can appear in your press release.

Polished statement. Brian Peters, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Member Athletics Products, believes the HPP will be well received by athletes. "With greater projection and a small base diameter, the HPP is ideal for nearly every body type, making it easier for athletes to achieve greater definition of their abdominal muscles."

Mr. Peters goes on to say, "The HPP greatly complements our popular line of complete upper body workout devices. We’ve also met a key market demand by making it available in a full range of sizes, which is what athletes have been asking for."

By putting some polish on Mr. Peters’ raw quote, we have crafted a much more powerful benefit statement that is more likely to meet the objectives of the HPP marketing campaign.

When crafting raw quotes into polished quotes, be subtle and don’t overdo it. Although you can pepper press release quotes with a little excitement, they should provide only relevant information.

After you have crafted your quotes, always get permission from the people you are attributing them to. Even if you’re using direct quotes from people you’ve interviewed, get their sign-off before using them in a press release.

Casey Demchak is an independent copywriter and consultant who specializes in writing compelling B2B sales copy for the medical industry. He is also the author of the book, Essential Sales Writing Secrets. He can be reached at casey@caseydemchak.com; or at (303) 697-4793.

Casey Demchak
Copywriter & Consultant
10437 W. Hampden Ave. #202
Lakewood, CO 80227
(303) 697-4793

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