Components of a go-to-market release

Different products speak to different people. While they should all fall within your potential customer base, their needs, preferences and problems may be different. A B2B fintech company, for instance, may cater one product to an IT department, another to back-office operations, another to marketing and another for the C-suite. While they all encapsulate similar messaging and should ultimately lead back to your brand’s mission and purpose, they need to be different enough that they address various audiences’ specific concerns.

The content of the press releases announcing those various products naturally need to shift slightly to appeal to those audiences and the publications they read. With that in mind, below are the core components that should be in every product announcement you draft.

Your headline drives the most SEO value. Always include your company name and a brief description of what the product achieves: “Red Fan Communications announces go-to-market offering to help startups maximize product launches.”

This will help increase SEO for your product if potential customers aren’t aware of it by name.

Another helpful hint: Use Google Trends to identify popular terms, topics or phrases to give you a better sense of what people are searching for.

Your qualifier appears immediately after the first reference of your company name: “Red Fan Communications, a full-service public relations firm for dynamic B2B tech and consumer brands…”.

The qualifier is your first chance to establish with your reader the kind of company you are, your goals and mission, what services you provide and who your audience is. It’s a short, small opportunity, but can be a great primer, especially if reporters aren’t familiar with your brand, product or service.

1.    Who does the product serve? Be specific. What type of business or customer would it most appeal to?

2.    What tangible challenge or specific problem does it address and solve? How?

3.    How will the product deliver tangible outcomes and positive ROI for potential clients?

4.    How does it differentiate from other similar products from competitors?

5.    What features or functionality are most important to a potential client? Feel free to include a list of bullet points, but always be sure to connect it back to the overall problem and solution. Don’t list features for their own sake.

6.    How much does it cost? When will it enter the market or be available?

Your product announcement should always feature a quote from the CEO, CTO or project manager. It should connect the product to your company’s mission, articulate how it solves a client’s problem and align with overall positioning.

If you’re in beta testing, have conducted a pilot or if a customer has interacted with a product in any way, determine if that customer would be willing to provide a quote. This provides external validation and proof of concept of your product.

Your boiler plate is the last paragraph of the release and acts as your detailed company description. It’s your chance to add in a few new messaging points or restate what you’ve already written. The boilerplate typically includes your headquarters location, who your customers are, a short description of your mission and a brief history of your company.

Beware, however, of making your boilerplate too long. Anything more than a few sentences and no one will read it, completely defeating its purpose.

Your release should also include a media contact, usually a marketing representative or a member of your PR firm. Include an email, office line and mobile number. When press calls, answer the phone!