Struggling with How to Write a Press Release for Your Home Care Agency?

how to write a press release

Public relations plays an important role within your marketing strategy. When you want to share events or exciting news about your home care agency publicly, a press release gets the job done. It’s not one of those tools in your marketing toolkit that you use every day, but when the right circumstances come along, you need to know how to write a press release correctly.

If writing a press release for your home care agency feels foreign to you, here’s a guide to understanding the correct format for a press release, how to write a good press release, how to submit one, and where to send it to.

How to Write a Good Press Release that Gets Attention

Before we get started, it’s helpful to understand the purpose of writing a press release. Public relations is important to your agency because it helps to inform key audiences, keep them engaged, and build trust. By definition, a press release is a media communication that mutually benefits the relationship between an organization and the public.

The right media attention highlights your home care agency’s accomplishments and gives your brand credibility.

Let’s get started with three steps to attracting media attention for your home care agency:

1. Map out your story.

Make a list of your home care agency’s achievements including awards, certifications, innovative services, and notable events. Write your story using a professional and enthusiastic tone.

2. Position yourself it has the primary expert in home care services.

Press releases offer good opportunities to announce events for home care professionals like workshops and seminars. You could even offer CEUs for professional attendance. Choose topics that are currently trending in the area of home care services.

3. Develop a sales workflow.

Press releases offer you new opportunities to sell your services. Be prepared for an influx of phone calls and emails. Train you are employees that answer phone calls and emails and how they can turn inquiries into sales.

How to Format a Press Release So It Gets Printed

Media publications get requests for press releases on a regular basis. Editors and news directors get to choose the ones they print and the ones they don’t. Media outlets are keenly aware of the correct format for a press release. If yours doesn’t meet the proper standards, they’re bound to just toss it, and your efforts will be wasted.

Here are five steps for how to format a press release:

1. Create a general template for your press releases.

2. Put the words “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” at the top of the page. Bold it and center it.

3. Start the first paragraph with either a dateline or the city and state where your home care agency is located.

4. Add your contact information either at the top or the bottom of the page. It should include the name of your agency, your email address, and the title of the media contact.

5. Add three number symbols (###-for a little trivia, the official term for this symbol is an octothorpe) and center them at the bottom of the page. This signals the end of your press release.

How to Write a Good Press Release: What to Include

Editors will be looking for certain characteristics in a good press release. Here are some tips for how to capture their attention:

·   Craft a title that’s simple yet engaging. Make sure it’s on topic and keep it under 10 words.

·   Use the first paragraph to summarize the content and include the most important details. Editors and reporters often stop reading after the first paragraph.

·   Wright your content in a pyramid style in the same way that journalists do. Use third-person voice and write the most important information first. Engage them with something interesting such as a photo, video, or a relevant quote.

·   Personalize your press release and either send them individually or use blind carbon copy (BCC) so they can’t see the other publications that you’re sending it to. Remember that they’re looking for news that’s current and unique.

·   Follow up with the recipients by contacting them personally just before and after you send your press release. You’ll have a better chance that they’ll look for it and decide that it’s newsworthy.

Where Do You Send a Press Release for a Home Care Agency?

As you write more press releases, you’ll have a better idea about which of them are the most viable. I’ve developed a list of some of the most common places to send a press release for home care agencies that get good results.

1. Daily newspapers. Your daily newspaper accepts online and print press releases. Start with the editor or an editor that’s known for publishing articles on home care topics.

2. Weekly newspapers. These publications may be offered in print or online, as well. Again, editors are the best contacts.

3. Magazines. Press releases for magazines are the same as for other publications. Once again, the editor is your point of contact.

4. Radio and television stations. Address your press release to the news director.

5. Bloggers and social media influencers. Use online directories and search engines to locate the email addresses of bloggers and social media influencers in the senior care space.

6. Paid distribution services. The small fee you pay for greater exposure could pay off in big results.

As another little tip, you’ll have a better chance of getting your press release printed if you send it early in the day or early in the week. The exception is if you are planning around a certain event. As for how to submit a press release, you can fax, email, or mail it in.

Press releases are a simple and professional way to get the word out about your senior care agency. If you’re still lacking confidence in how to write an effective press release, you’ll find plenty of examples online, or call on us for help.

Contact SeniorCareClicks for help on how to market your home care services and bolster your public relations efforts. Call us at 954-401-9058 to find out how we can make your agency shine!

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How to Write a Newsletter That’s Engaging Enough to Read

how to write a newsletter for home care

Your home care agency newsletter is a staple of your marketing strategy. Your clients and family members generally glance at your website and scan your newsletter for updates and interesting information. Your home care agency newsletter gives you new opportunities to tell your subscribers about new and innovative services and other important events happening at your agency.

Good content will engage your subscribers and motivate them to keep reading. Here’s a look at how to attract your readers’ attention to content that’s interesting and informative while tracking your results to improve the quality of your marketing efforts. 

Is Your Home Care Newsletter Easy to Scan?

Long paragraphs are fine when your audience is reading a book. However, it doesn’t work quite as well for a newsletter. To a large degree, we can attribute this to the drastic increase in the number of people that are using mobile phones. Did you know that 46% of emails are opened using mobile devices? (Hubspot)

Short blocks of content reduce the amount of scrolling that readers have to do to read your newsletter. If they have to scroll too far, they apt to stop reading altogether. Excerpts that are concise and easy to read will keep them engaged.

Take a look at these 6 tips for creating content that’s appealing and easy to scan:

1. Limit the paragraphs in your emails to 2 or 3 sentences at the most.

2. Use bullet points or numbering to highlight lists.

3. Opt for a call-to-action button (CTA) rather than using hyperlinked text.  

4. Use headlines to separate sections.

5. Review your content to make sure it’s concise. Don’t be overly wordy or use trendy jargon.

6. Arrange content to display the first paragraph or so and link to the rest of the article.

How to Write a Business Newsletter with Informative Content

Whether they’re existing clients or prospects, your readers are looking for content that’s new and relevant. Believe it or not, there’s an easy way to publish a variety of informative topics all year long. Creating an editorial calendar is the key to planning content that won’t bore your audience to tears.

An editorial calendar will help you see your newsletter topics at a glance and lay the foundation to repurpose content for other platforms. A well-planned editorial calendar created by an email marketing expert will also help you to develop new content to expand upon in the coming months.

What kinds of relevant information is interesting to your readers?

·   News about the home care industry

·   Profiles of your caregivers

·   Upcoming events

·   Awards and achievements for your agency

·   Caregiver accomplishments

·   Testimonials about your services

·   Graphics, photos, and videos

·   Special discounts or other valuable offers

When your content is always informative, your subscribers will be eager to find out what’s new at your agency.

Write a Newsletter for Senior Care That Contains Interesting Content

In addition to telling your subscribers what they need to know, it’s considered best practices to tell them things they want to know. There are always new advancements and innovations emerging in the field of senior care. Your newsletter offers an opportunity to share this information with your subscribers.

Have you been to a senior care conference recently? Why not share what you’ve learned about the latest trends in home care services with your subscribers?

Readers may be interested to learn about new trends in senior care like:

·   GPS devices

·   Smartphone applications to control medical devices

·   Fall and wander prevention devices

·   Home safety devices and equipment

·   Automatic pill dispensers

·   Apps to control lights, play music, or entertain users

You might also consider adding interactive polls, contests, or comment sections to keep your content interesting.

Writing Newsletters for Senior Care and Tracking Results

The only way to know that you were subscribers are reading your newsletters is to track your results. It’s easier to get data than you might think.

Let me share with you some of the ways that I do it:

·   Read the comments for insight on readers’ opinions

·   Evaluate poll results to get feedback on topics or controversial trends

·   Track how long readers are spending on a page

·   Get data on how many readers open your newsletter

·   Track your newsletter’s shares on social media platforms

By tracking data on your newsletters, it helps you in two important ways:

1. Gives you feedback on the most popular topics

2. Assists you in publishing the most relevant topics

Most marketers appreciate the value that SEO and blogging bring to businesses in every industry. These same principles apply to marketing through newsletters as well.If you’re struggling with finding relevant, interesting, and informative content for your home care agency newsletters, SeniorCareClicks is ready to help! Call us at 954-401-9058 to find out how to publish the newsletter subscribers can’t wait to get.

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