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Congratulations, you’re releasing a new product! Now it’s time to write a new product press release to announce it to the world and get free publicity.
Writing a press release for a new product is not hard, but it is key that you understand several key things as you write it. That’s why, in this article, we will discuss keys to new product press release success, give you a free template, and show you multiple examples you can use as models as you write your own.
New Product Press Release – Keys to Success
As you write a press release to promote your new product, there are several key factors that are important to its success:
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You must identify a newsworthy angle for your press release
I know you’re excited about your new product, and from your company’s standpoint, this is huge news! But the media aren’t going to pick up your story unless you can find and communicate something that makes it newsworthy to their audience.
So, it’s important to identify who your targeted audience is for this press release.
If you’re writing it specifically for your industry’s trade magazines, blogs, social media influences, and other industry-specific media, the fact you’re introducing a new product may be enough to get their attention, especially if your new product or service has new-to-the-market features, is significantly different than competitive offerings, or has superior specifications than what is currently offered in the market.
But, if you’re trying to target general media, whose audience is the general public, that probably won’t be enough, unless you’re Apple, Tesla, or another media darling.
In that case, you’re likely going to have to work to find a newsworthy aspect for your release.
Ideally, your new product is superior to everything else in the market, and that point of superiority is of interest to the general public. In that case, that’s probably the newsworthy aspect of your story.
(By the way, you should probably consider creating two press releases for your new product – one for the industry press, and a separate one for the media serving the general public. You’ll probably get better pickup of your story if you do that!)
To succeed with a press release that’s not targeting your industry media sources, you’re going to need to craft a story hook that makes your product different and relevant to the general public.
Oftentimes, this is accomplished through a use case – describing how it can make a normal person’s life better, safer, easier, less expensive, or otherwise different than it would be if they didn’t have that product.
For example, when Apple introduced the SOS feature in their new iPhones, enabling people to make an emergency phone call even if they were outside of cell range, they were able to get multiple news stories published describing people whose lives were saved by using it when lost or victims of an accident. I can’t state this for a fact, but there’s a very high likelihood that Apple’s PR department is watching for those stories and seeding them into the press to get that coverage.
Another example – when I was growing up we had a local ice cream shop that introduced “The Kitchen Sink,” a new dessert product that came in a bowl that looked like a kitchen sink. It contained so much ice cream and toppings that they offered it free to any one person who could eat the whole thing, without leaving the table, in less than an hour. That got them press and attention, and they were able to tap into it again when a couple of people succeeded in eating it all during that first year. I know that publicity worked, because I went to that restaurant specifically to try out the Kitchen Sink, ordered it on several double dates, and the four of us had trouble eating it all!
Both of these are examples of how they got media coverage, not because of the new product per se, but through how it could be used by normal people (though I would argue that whoever ate The Kitchen Sink was far from a normal human being!)
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You must write your new product press release in the right way for it to be picked up by the media.
Over many years, traditions have developed around how a press release should be structured. Now, the media expects all press releases to follow that pattern.
This is great because it makes writing press releases much easier. Simply follow the template below, which will ensure that your press release follows the correct format.
Download Your Free Press Release Template
Download Your Free Press Release Template in Microsoft Word Format Here 
(no email or signup required).
And here’s a press release template in Google Docs format (no email or signup required).
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You must format your press release properly
In addition to following the template provided above, there are a number of other formatting rules you should follow:
- The first line of your press release should be a release date, the earliest date/time this story can be made available to the public. In many cases, the release date will be “For Immediate Release.”
- Your press release should start with a compelling headline, designed to catch the attention of the reporter covering your story, so it should focus on the newsworthy hook of this press release.
- Optionally, you could include a secondary headline, focusing on a newsworthy aspect of your new product.
- The body of the release should start with a dateline, stating when and where the story originated and followed by a colon.
Example: Las Vegas, Nevada, January 28, 20XX: - Then your lead sentence should summarize the story and the hook you’re using to attract attention.
- Then the body of your press release.
- Contact information for the press representative for this story, which can be someone from the company or a PR agency.
- End your press release with three hash marks (# # #) which is journalism speak for “the end.”
Want more guidance on how to write each of these sections? Here’s a complete, step-by-step manual to help you write your press releases.
I also understand that this can be a daunting task. If that’s the case for you, what if you just let our team of professional writers and editors write your press release for you?
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Key elements you may want to include in your new product press release
A press release announcing a new product can contain many different elements. Some of those you may want to include are:
- Why this new product is newsworthy
- The customer needs it uniquely answers
- A brief account of the history of its development (for example it took over 100,000 hours of research and testing, including over 2,000 failed experiments before this unique formula was identified.)
- A brief profile of its inventor
- The number of additional employment opportunities this product and its manufacturing is anticipated to add
- Additional benefits this product creates (reduced emissions, lower power consumption, recyclability, 100% local manufacturing, percentage of profits donated to charity)
- Quote(s) from a company leader talking about its superiority versus the competition and/or its newsworthy aspect
- Ties to an event (grand opening, groundbreaking, etc.)
- Suggested retail pricing
- Where and when it will be available
- A link to the page on your site that features your new product or service
- Pictures of your new product
- A video featuring your new product
- A link to the media kit for your new product
- Key product specs
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Major mistakes companies make when creating new product press releases
Unfortunately, some companies make major mistakes when creating a press release for a new product. Here are some of the mistakes we see most frequently:
- The press release overhypes the new product, making the product seem too good to be true, or turning the press release into a salesy document. The media wants news, not to be your salesforce in print.
- The press release isn’t newsworthy for the audience of that media source. If you can’t find something newsworthy to say, you shouldn’t waste your time sending a press release.
- A press release full of industry jargon is sent to a general audience media source. There’s not much of a chance that a general audience newspaper is going to get excited about printing an article about a new gigabit ethernet switch, even if it is unmanaged, and delivers 2000 megabytes in full duplex mode unless you strip out that jargon and talk about the unique advantages it offers.
- The press release is vague and non-specific – it’s your product, and you know more about it than anyone. Your job in the press release is to give precise details about why the reporter should care enough to write an article about your subject.
- The press release doesn’t contain pictures, video, or other multimedia. You should add images wherever possible to your new product press releases, including a link to obtain high-resolution images and videos for publication.
- The press release isn’t distributed to the right people. There are two parts to this: 1) distributing it to the wrong people, journalists whose audience wouldn’t be interested in this story, and 2) not sending it to journalists who have audiences that are interested, so you miss out on the opportunity to have them cover your story.
Distributing Your New Product Press Release
Now that you’ve written your press release, it’s time to distribute it to the media!
Many companies have a standard list of local and industry media contacts to whom they send press releases. But that usually means you’ll get a fraction of the media coverage you could receive if you distributed it to a wider audience.
But who, and how are you supposed to do that?
You could spend a ton of time and money trying to put together that list yourself. But I can virtually guarantee you won’t be happy with the results. The likelihood of your getting your release in the inbox of the right person at every media outlet is almost zero.
And I also don’t recommend using one of the free and $100 or less press release distribution services out there. They’re almost useless. They’ll get your release published on a couple of internet websites that nobody will see, and that no reporter will ever turn to for ideas/information.
That’s why we recommend you utilize the press release distribution services offered by eReleases.com.
At eReleases, our entire job is getting small business press releases into the local and national news.
We do it by creating and maintaining relationships with members of the media – reporters, editors, bloggers, influencers, etc. who write and publish the news, so they pay attention to the press releases we send them and seriously consider whether they are right for their audience.
Plus, we are the only national full-service partner with PR Newswire, the leading and most trusted press release newswire in the United States.
And, when you work with us, you’ll never talk with a salesperson, just our staff of professional editors, who are devoted to helping you get stories written about you and your products.
Learn more about why eReleases is the best small business press release distributor and how we can help you grow your publicity here.
New Product Press Release Examples
Remember how I promised you several examples of new product press releases?
Here are three!
New Product Press Release Sample: New Service
Link to this press release. |
New Product Press Release Example: Helping Babies Sleep
And here’s a new product press release to help babies sleep:
| Link to this press release.
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New Product Press Release Sample For A Hospital
Here’s another example of how a new product is being utilized by a hospital (note, they didn’t develop this new product, they bought it from another company – showing the versatility of new product press releases.)
| Link to this press release.
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More New Product Press Release Samples
Are you still looking for a model that matches your new product launch situation? Here are links to several more:
- New food product
- Multiple new products added to the product line
- Travel: new software announcement
- Multiple new products added to a cloud computing line
- Pizza chain adds new product offering
- Industry data firm releases new research results product
Get Free Publicity for Your New Product
New product (or service) press releases should be a key element of every product launch. They can get significant media coverage, perk peoples’ interest, and greatly expand your new product sales.
Simply use the template provided in this article, follow the format we outlined, use the provided examples, and get eReleases to distribute your press release and you’ll be much more likely to get significant coverage than if you try to do it on your own.