Including an intelligent, genuine and relevant quote or two in your press releases is a great way of adding personality and interest to your story.
All too often writers opt for lazy, meaningless quotes which do nothing to the story other than to waste precious space. How many times have you read “We are delighted to announce etc etc …”?
Quote tips:
- Instead of asking someone for a quote, ask a question such as “What do you really think about the launch of the new widget?” and “What impact do you think the widget will have on the widget marketplace?”. People are often afraid of writing quotes. They think too much about the structure, rather than actually what they genuinely want to say. This way you’ll get something far more heartfelt.
- You have more freedom with a quote than the main press release body. They’re a good way to get across opinion-based messaging that wouldn’t be appropriate in the main body of the press release.
- Ensure the person quoted is relevant to the story and any images which accompany it. It would be odd to include an image of the Sales Director with a quote from the Managing Director.
- Don’t be afraid to obtain for third party quotes from people relevant to your story, particularly if they have a good profile and may help a)make the press release more interesting and b)help achieve media coverage. Always make sure that you have their explicit permission.