Online news has become more popular than traditional newspapers with more and more people subscribing to news alerts for their domain to stay ahead. The major advantage of such a development is that your press release will make it to the interested reader without any filtering and editing. But writing for the web is an entirely different game because of the changing search landscape. You have to optimize your press release with the right keywords for higher ranking.

What's in it for me?

Before you get into the writing, make sure that people would want to know what you are talking about. Wait for the right time and the right information before launching your release, to generate maximum response. Your information should be newsworthy for the reader.

Follow the standard structure

Starting with a powerful headline, use power-words to add excitement to your release. The first line of your release should be the most impressive and informative. Starting with the date and location, the first line should give just the right amount of info to trigger the reader to read on.

Follow it up with a brief and powerful description and supporting paragraphs answering what, when, where, why, who and how questions. Give relevant quotes to highlight some of the important elements. The closing paragraph should summarize and restate the entire contents of the release. Give the "about us" section in the end.

Avoid fancy language; be direct for the web reader

A web-reader has a very short attention span. Write short and easy to understand sentences. You can give bullet points or lists in your release and using bold or italicized text if required. Write it for the reader by incorporating pronouns such as "you" and "your" in your press release. If you get stuck, keep a good press release in front of your eyes while framing yours, this will help you stick to the structure and give you more ideas. Do not forget the sources of the facts that you mention.

Provide relevant contact info at the end

Give complete contact details at the end of the release. Include name, email, phone number and mailing address if required. Remember that some of the journalists will take info from your website. Make it easier for them by providing company fact sheet, product/service documents, and high-resolution images of your logo and other pictures in the online press kit.

Submit your press release to major PR websites on the net

After you are done, submit your press release on important PR websites such as PR Web Direct, PR Newswire, etc. Find the websites that suit your domain and submit your releases. This will increase your website visitors as well.