manufactured quotes

Choosing quotes is tricky business. As The Guardian puts it, your quotes should offer insight, not information.

In essence, they should complement the facts—rather than reiterate what’s been said in the rest of the press release.

Let’s take a closer look at what makes a poorly written quote:

A boring quote is one that adds no value to the press release, either by stating the obvious or repeating what’s been said in the rest of the release.

A clunky quote may use run-on sentences, take too long to get to the point, or use sweeping statements.

Manufactured quotes fall in the same camp as sounding too promotional.

Here’s one that checks all the boxes on this front:

Clunky Apple quote

Dividing the workload like this whatsapp number list allows both the vendor and the affiliate to focus on their strengths. Groundbreaking, incredible, magical—followed by a loaded, information-heavy quote that should have been paraphrased.

Thankfully, Apple gets away with it because the tech major’s success speaks for itself. In any other press release, though, you’d likely cast doubt over the bold claims made.

How to craft a press release in 14 steps

Now that we’ve laid out the foundational must-knows, use this step-by-step guide to craft a good press release.

1. Understand the AP Style guidelines

The Associated Press (AP) is one of the world’s largest news agencies, and its stylebook is used as a reference point by journalists globally. It ensures consistency in your press release content.

However, AP doesn’t provide guidelines for formatting press releases. So we’ve put together some general conventions you can use:

Use a common font

Stick to one commonly used font in your press release, such as Times New Roman or Arial.