The Importance of the First Verb in a Press Release

Among all the little things that go into making a press release succeed or fail at making its way into print, no single item is more important than the very first verb. Grammatical finickiness may seem sophomoric, but we'll limit our coverage to elements that really do make a difference.

Tense.

Would you regard as more newsworthy something that just happened, or the same something happening now? Too many releases begin with "so-and-so today announced..." and try to carry an air of timeliness by showing the date of the release. Why a past tense verb? Even within this
fabric, saying "so-and-so announces..." takes the mood out of history and into the present. As an aside, let us add that dating within a release, while necessary, tends to age a release more quickly; we indicate only month and year, using the month following the month of mailing to help the material seem fresh longer. Back to the subject, present tense offers a much stronger sense of newsworthiness than past tense. Some of our favorite verbs: announces, introduces, now offers, is launching.

Voice.

The best releases exhibit active voice throughout; passive voice is used by less craftsmanlike writers. In case grammar wasn't one of the subjects at the top of your all-time fond-memories list, let's review. In active voice, subject (noun) acts on (verb) object (noun). In passive voice, object is acted on by subject. Active: "So-and-so announces a new product." Passive: "A new product is announced by so-and-so." As you might expect, active voice presents an aura of deliberate action and activistic activity, passive an onus of passivist submission to circumstance and helplessness. This may be redundant, and even melodramatic, but it does make the point.

Intention.

The specific verb must immediately accomplish the goals of the release. Is it a new product announcement? A new product introduction? A new version? A major sale? A special limited-time promotion? A change in availability? Benefit positioning? Market positioning? Channel positioning? A user application story release? A reseller success story? Whatever the intent of the release, the right first verb can go a long way to making a strong first impression.

Impact.

Intensity is another important factor in choosing a lead verb. If it's overdone, you can lose credibility; if underdone, impact. For a new product announcement, consider the differences between these: announces, introduces, launches, unveils, invades with, premiers, breaks in with or now offers.