Interesting and eye-catching press releases are not only the backbone of a publication, but are also one of the best marketing tools for a company. There is hardly any other form of marketing tool that allows such direct access to existing or potential customers than a well-written text with good illustrations.

However, how to write it well is the key. Being an author of such an article, it is very tempting to place emphasis on the wrong issues. A typical mistake is to use the company name as often as possible, believing that it increases the reader’s awareness of the company. Nonetheless, the fact is that readers who find an article interesting will always find out what company is featured. Nothing turns an experienced reader more quickly away from a text than a constant repetition of the same company name in almost every sentence. It will read like an advertisement slogan and that should not be the intention. An author should also try to maintain a reasonable length for his article. A press release does not automatically get better as it gets longer. On the contrary, in order to reach a client, frequently published shorter articles are much more effective than a very long one once a year.

Some of the best topics are new projects, technologies, major changes in organizations or infrastructure: anything of this nature is interesting for readers. One should also not underestimate the effect of good pictures. The human eye automatically focuses on pictures first and often then makes a "visual decision" to read an article or not. It is important to make sure that the pictures are of sufficient quality and resolution. Furthermore, the pictures should have a message. One very good illustration makes a much better impression than many of medium quality.

A "no-go" in articles is to mention the competition or even to write something negative about the competition, even if one does not mention such companies by name.A good editorial office will of course delete such phrases, but if published, it may very well be counter-productive.

A well-written article can be a continuing benefit for a company for an extended period, even after publication. Maintaining it in PPT, PDF or HTML format, one can use it as an attachment in E-mail, put it online, or distribute "Separate Print" versions during exhibitions or meetings. A published text also carries a certain reputation, since it has been accepted by the editorial office of a magazine. Why not make use of this easily accessible technology?

If an author follows some of the basic guidelines for a read worthy article, he will have one of the best marketing tools literately at his fingertips.

MFN has been in the very fortunate position to have access to many excellent writers in the industry, and is looking forward to a future of expanding its base of writers in years to come.

Best Regards
Andrzej Wojtas (Ph.D.), Chief Editor of MFN, E-mail: andrzej@mfn.li

Author: Andrzej Wojtas