The success of your new product press release getting published in the news can often decide on the success of your product/sales and can prove key to your PR and marketing strategy.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to write a press release for a new product to grab the attention of journalists, get media coverage and ultimately get your product seen by your target audience and raise brand awareness.
Towards the bottom, you’ll find a few useful new product launch press release examples that’ll get you inspired.
If you’re short on time, check out the new product announcement press release template. It includes everything you need to have the correct format. However, for the best results, read the whole piece:
How to write a press release for a product
Writing and pitching a product launch press release is no different from any other good press release in public relations. Things to keep in mind:
- Keep the standard press release format
- Pitch to relevant journalists & bloggers interested in your topic/industry.
- Establish a human connection with journalists
- Do not send your press release to everybody–personalize your outreach
Here are our top 5 tips for writing an effective press release for a product launch.
1. Stick to a standard product launch press release format
Include the following in your product press release:
- Headline – an attention-grabbing headline about your product. Make it count!
- Lead – a brief overview of the story, including answers to the questions: Who? What? When? Why? With what effect?
- Dateline – to confirm that you’re providing the most up-to-date information
- Body – an explanation of the information provided earlier in the lead, the first paragraph should include the most newsworthy information about your product and finish with secondary details
- Company details – a short paragraph including your company name, spokespeople, and background information on your company and its products to help journalists understand the nature of the business and make writing about it easier, this is your company’s boilerplate
- Media contact information – the author’s or company’s/agency’s contact information
2. Find journalists interested in your new product
A key factor in getting your press release picked up by the media is pitching to relevant journalists and bloggers—people who are interested in writing about your type of product to get the press coverage it deserves.
An easy way to find relevant media outlets interested in your product is by using a media contacts database, which also include a journalist’s contact details so you can get in touch.
You can refine your search by filtering where a journalist is located, or what topics/industries they cover.
Some PR tools like Prowly can even recommend relevant media contacts based on your product launch press release.
This is a much better approach than the “spray and pray” method of many distribution services, hoping that someone will be interested in your press release on product launch.
If you’re using a tool like Prowly, the quickest way to identify relevant journalists is by using the keyword search. Simply enter keywords related to your product or industry, and you’ll find a list of reporters that wrote about similar products in the past.
Media lists often have an extensive list of topics that journalists are focused on, ranging from beer or cosmetics to cloud computing.
If you have a bit of time, it’s worth doing some more in-depth research.
For example, if you’re writing a press release for a new product line of natural beauty products or cosmetics, check which journalists you found are actually interested in natural and organic products, and not just cosmetics in general. It’ll improve the chances of your product press release getting picked up and published.
And don’t forget to follow up.
3. Write a press release headline that grabs attention
The headline of your press release (and also the subject of your media pitch email) is crucial to getting your press release read or even email opened.
I recommend spending a bit more time on it and making sure it’s attention-grabbing and mentions your main points, i.e. your product’s USP (unique selling proposition).
Add exciting features and benefits that’ll make people stop what they’re doing and read what your product has to offer. Try including numbers in your headline/pitch subject line – they’re proven to improve open rates.
Remember – your headline needs something that’ll get your audience’s news outlets intrigued. Stay away from boring titles such as [Company] Launches “New Product” or [Company] Stakeholders Profit.
If readers are asking themselves “So what?”, then you’re doing it wrong.
4. Focus on the unique features and benefits of your product
It doesn’t make sense to write a news story about a product that seems just like every other, does it?
Focus on making your product stand out from the rest by emphasizing its unique features and benefits. Depending on your product and target audience, you’ll want to focus more on one or the other.
If you’re targeting a very particular and specific audience, especially in the B2B or small business sector, it can be a better idea to focus on the technical features of your product. Stick to the point and mention the objectively superior qualities of your product.
Otherwise, it’s best to bring attention to your product by showcasing how it’ll benefit your customers and improve their day-to-day lives. Think about how using your product can be easier, simpler, or more enjoyable than what the competition has to offer.
Here’s a list of questions to help you to create a winning product press release that’s more beneficial for journalists:
- Why is it worth writing about this particular product?
- What are its unique features?
- How will it contribute to the consumers’ lives?
- What makes it different from other products?
- Can you somehow compare it to the products offered by your competitors?
- Does your product come in different varieties and sizes?
- Is there a formal product launch event?
5. Be visual—include high-quality multimedia photos and videos displaying your new service or product
Unless you have a boring, non-visual product, adding photos & videos to your product press release is an absolute must to achieve the widest press release distribution.
If you want your product to get noticed by more than search engines, you should support it with relevant pictures, photos, videos, logos, and even animated GIFs.
However, remember to avoid attachments as much as possible. That means you shouldn’t send out emails with any attached images or videos (especially large files), resulting in a gigantic and possibly confusing email that will clog up journalists’ inboxes.
But what if you want to send out a press release that contains lots of high-quality and high-res images or videos (and because it’s a way to make your product more attractive for the press—why wouldn’t you)?
Instead of adding attachments to your product press release email, try this:
- Create a visual press release (using a press release software like Prowly, or using a CMS like WordPress)
- Add your product photos, videos & other rich media (such as Facebook posts or Twitter conversations) directly to your press release
- (Optional) Post it online to your brand newsroom, a place where you keep all your company press releases
- Send your press release to journalists by using a shareable link (plus, you’ll be able to track open and click rates and see who’s reading your emails)
New product press release examples
Below you’ll find 4 different types of new product press release examples to inspire you to create your own.
Each press release was created with Prowly’s Press Release Creator, which lets you easily create visual press releases (great for showing off your product!) with drag & drop elements and add photos, videos, call-to-action buttons, and social media threads to your press release.
New feature launch press release example
New product press release example
New book launch press release example
Get to know more about why this example of a book launch press release is well-crafted from the dedicated guide “How to Write a Book Press Release (Example and Template).”
New product line press release example
New cosmetics product press release example
New food product press release example
New product press release template
If you’re looking for a way to speed up the press release creation process, Prowly has multiple templates that you can use inside the platform, including one for a new product launch.
The templates include all the most important elements to make sure your story gets noticed by journalists and results in media coverage.
Prowly also lets you find relevant journalists for your product launch and send out your press release directly from the platform.
Ready to create a product launch press release?
By now you should know the basics of creating an effective product press release and new product announcement as well as pitching it successfully. To sum up, every product launch press release should contain:
- An attractive headline that features unique benefits & features of your product
- The standard elements of a press release: headline, dateline, lead, body, company info, media contact information
- A specific audience that it’s targeted to and the news articles they read
- Information on why your product is worth talking about and why anyone should be excited about it
- Attractive photos and/or videos of your product added directly to the press release (if possible, avoid attachments!)
