How to Write a Press Release for Accounting Firms
Press Releases: do accounting firms need them? It feels a little self-important right? Well, you couldn’t be further from the truth. Recently, we had Mickey Kennedy, founder of eReleases who totally changed our mind on the importance of press releases for accounting firms and folks who run small businesses.
What exactly is a press release?
A press release is just an announcement to the media, written in the third person, that is about the launch of a new product. Within that text, there may be a first-person quote. In general, it feels a bit more journalistic than your typical marketing materials. Beyond that, there are PR firms that can pitch these releases directly to journalists that they have a relationship with if it could be picked up for a news story.
What’s the benefit of a press release?
The biggest benefit of a press release is the potential for acquiring new leads. Beyond that, it’s a great way to increase your visibility. If a story is picked up by a journalist, it could be the sort of thing that exponentially increases your traction in that industry. In the PR world, this is called earned media. The real goal of a press release is to get those articles where a journalist has looked at the press release and then drafted an original article based on that.
Is it worth it?
Because of the unpredictability of how it will be received, the ROI on a press release varies A LOT. That said, it doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it. Many companies use it as a branding exercise. If you DO have a successful press release, it’s entirely worth it to SAVE those articles and use them for your own marketing materials. Some businesses will even put together a “brag” book of their clippings that they give to their sales folks.
Any earned media is entirely worth it for your business’s credibility boost. You’re immediately vetted by a third party corroboration – proof that you’re legit when a journalist writes about your company. In many ways, it acts like a referral for your business.
What can you write about?
This is all well and good, but it’s hard to come up with stuff if you don’t have new products launching all the time, right? Well, you can provide beneficial information on your industry – act a an authority on your position. Is there new legislation in the market place and there’s confusion around it? Share a tip or provide insight on what’s going on! It’ll instantly make you stand out as an expert.
An important thing to remember is that you’ll have to stay active in your community. Look at trends and what people are forecasting for 2024. People love a good prediction – especially if it’s well-reasoned and feels paradigm-shifty.
The best thing to include: STATS. Journalists love data and numbers. Any time you can put together data and numbers and release that as the author of a survey or study, you can get serious media attention.
The quick and dirty rules of a press release
- Keep it in in the third person. (Like a news story).
- Tie it to a journalistic idea (could be what’s trending, a new law, new products etc).
- Include one first-person quote from someone on your team.
- Include data and hard facts for best results.
Is there more? Absolutely. Listen to our podcast with Mickey to find out everything else you’ll need to know. This was a great discussion, and one that went down some surprising paths that even made us re-think some things! We think you’ll love it. Let us know!