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Guidelines - Instant Authority Marketing

Press Release Submission Guidelines

At Instant Authority Marketing, we recommend letting our in-house writers handle everything to ensure success. But since we are happy to allow business owners to submit their own pre-written releases, here are the guidelines we use to decide whether a press release will be accepted by us and our partners for publishing and syndication.

Must Be Newsworthy

Releases must be news. The title/headline and the entire body of the release must revolve around something that is a recent development.

These could include new announcements of new products or services, organizational milestones/anniversaries, awards given or received, or even a reaction to a current newsworthy event. The possibilities are endless, are long as it’s news.

Announcing that a product is “now” available for sale online is not acceptable.

The body should read like a news piece, not an encyclopedic article.

Clear Source And Fully Authorized

The release must make clear who is announcing the news. You must have the authority to speak on behalf of the releasing organization. That means you either need to be a representative or officer of that organization/company or you must have an acceptable agreement with them defining you as an appropriate press contact.

In the case of distributor relationships, franchises, multi-level-marketing or other arrangements where a local branch may not necessarily be allowed to speak for the corporate brand, we reserve the right to attempt to gain written confirmation from a company officer.

Written in Proper Press Release Style

Releases should be 100% objective and free of hype, big claims, exclamation points, uppercase letters, and sales messages. Releases using the words “I,” “You,” or other non-third-person styles will not be accepted. Neither the headline nor the body copy should include any questions. Grammar and spelling should be 100% correct. Body copy should not have the effect of selling a product or service. Do not devote entire paragraphs to positive attributes of a product or service.

Releases should be written as if they could appear verbatim in a newspaper. To get used to the way news should be written, just check out any quality paper (such as the New York Times or Washington Post.)

Proper Length

Your release should land somewhere between 300-800 words. See your purchased package for maximums.

One Link Maxiumum per 150 Words

Don’t over-do it with links. Too many links can make a release look like bait for Google, rather than a news article.

Content Should Be 100% Original

We do not accept releases which contain content that is either duplicate or highly similar to other publicly released information. Do not plagiarize or misappropriate text. Submitting a Release using “Spun Content” is grounds for termination of your entire account.

No References to Inappropriate, Illegal or Sexually Explicit Material

News organizations are highly professional, and if they wouldn’t be allowed to print it as a front-page story, it doesn’t belong in a press release.

The following is a partial list of topics that are banned:

  • health and beauty products of any kind, including supplements, pharmaceuticals, creams, lotions, weight loss, or any release making efficacy claims of any kind
  • discounts, price reductions, or sales
  • mortgage, payday, cash, short-term or long-term loan services
  • sexually explicit/adult
  • escort services
  • sexual enhancement products or supplements
  • radical or political opinion/view
  • radical religious opinion/view
  • intent to harm or defame or enact revenge
  • use of the words “scam”, “fraud”, etc
  • stock ticker symbols in any form
  • online gambling
  • psychic services
  • electronic cigarettes, alcohol, tobacco
  • advertisements
  • personal opinions, blog posts, or opinion pieces

Anything that seems inappropriate along the lines of what is mentioned above will also likely be rejected.

Disclaimer

While these are clear guidelines, there are many scenarios which we did not cover in this article. Ultimately, InstantAuthorityMarketing.com reserves the right to reject any press release without prior notice, for any reason whatsoever. We also reserve the right to remove previously published press releases that we discover to be inappropriate after the fact.

Our support staff is always available to discuss rejections in detail, and we certainly do not ever take pleasure in assigning a rejection. It is unfortunately a necessary part of our business in order to maintain the credible reputation of our news organization.

These guidelines do change every so often without notice. Please visit this page regularly for updates.

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