Writing Future Press Releases
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What is a Future Press Release?
Press releases are official statements shared with the public media to make announcements and provide information. In the context of product development, a future press release is a hypothetical one, imagining what a press release would like for a project after it has been finished. By creating one, you paint a clear vision of what you’re working on to galvanize your team and stakeholders and build shared understanding and commitment.
For new initiatives a product manager typically starts by writing an internal press release announcing the finished product. The target audience for the press release is the new/updated product's customers, which can be retail customers or internal users of a tool or technology. Internal press releases are centered around the customer problem, how current solutions (internal or external) fail, and how the new product will blow away existing solutions. Once reviewed and approved, teams make commitments on what they’re delivering. A leader can refer to many parts of the press release and use it to remind and hold teams accountable.
Things to keep in mind when you’re writing one
If the benefits listed don't sound very interesting or exciting to customers, then perhaps they're not (and shouldn't be built). Keep iterating on the press release until you've come up with benefits that actually sound like benefits. Iterating on a press release is a lot less expensive than iterating on the product itself (and quicker!).
Try to keep it short. If the press release is more than a page and a half, it is probably too long. Keep it simple. 3-4 sentences for most paragraphs. Cut out fluff. This isn’t meant as spec. If you think you need it, you can accompany the press release with a FAQ that answers all of the other business or execution questions so the press release can stay focused on what the customer gets. If the press release is hard to write, then the product is probably going to miss the mark. Keep working at it until the outline for each paragraph flows well.
Once the project moves into development, the press release can be used as a touchstone; a guiding light. The product team can ask themselves, "Are we building what is in the press release?" If they find they're spending time building things that aren't in the press release (overbuilding), they need to ask themselves why. This keeps product development focused on achieving the customer benefits and not building extraneous stuff that takes longer to build, takes resources to maintain, and doesn't provide real customer benefit (at least not enough to warrant inclusion in the press release).
Some rules for writing
Keep your press release simple! 3–4 sentences for most paragraphs. Don’t use technical terms, which are difficult to understand. Finally, no more than one page and integrate with a F.A.Q. section to anticipate challenging questions
Set the date of your press release at a future point in time where success has been achieved and realized. Press releases at “launch” are good, but a better one is sometime after launch, where true success can be discussed
Discuss why what you’re building is was important. Discuss the accomplishments first in terms of why it is important to customers. How did the customer experience improve? Why do customer care? Then discuss other reasons why it was important and key goals
Set an audacious and clear goal and articulate clear measurable results including financial, operating, market share
Outline the principles used that led to success. This is the trickiest, and more important. Outline the hard things accomplished, the important decisions, the design principles that led to success. Discuss the issues that had to be addressed to have success
Iterate and get feedback and be passionate and have fun while doing it. It’ll show in the writing
How do you structure one?
Here' are some tips for structuring your content:
Start with a headline that clearly names your product (or service) and states what it is going to do
Write an opening paragraph that gives the most important details about your product (or service), how consumers will benefit from it, and the problem that it’s going to solve. You should write this as if it’s the only part anyone’s going to read
Include quotes from your company spokesperson and from a hypothetical satisfied customer
Conclude by briefly explaining how the customer can learn more or begin using your product (or service)
Photo by Dan Counsell on Unsplash
What do you include?
Heading
Name the product (or service) in a way the reader (i.e. your target customers) will understand.
Sub-Heading
Describe who the market for the product (or service) is and what benefit they get. One sentence only underneath the title.
Summary
Give a summary of the product (or service) and the benefit. Assume the reader will not read anything else so make this paragraph good.
Problem
Describe the problem your product (or service) solves.
Solution
Describe how your product (or service) elegantly solves the problem.
Quote from You
A quote from a spokesperson in your company.
How to Get Started
Describe how easy it is to get started.
Customer Quote
Provide a quote from a hypothetical customer that describes how they experienced the benefit.
Closing and Call to Action
Wrap it up and give pointers where the reader should go next.
FAQ (optional)
Anticipate challenging questions and answer all of the other business or execution questions that would helpful
When writing a future press release, you’re defining success for your project to drive team engagement, provide clarity, build stakeholder support, and create enthusiasm for your project.
