Posting news on your website is an excellent way of adding content, adding value, getting backlinks and social media links. But there are some important points to follow to ensure your news is presented professionally. Remember, your news can help market your website to customers, and it can also provide information for journalists who may also give you publicity through their own online or offline media. Our simple guide will point you in the right direction.

Timing

Timing is crucial with news. Often you can write the article in advance, for example if you are moving to a new office, you will know ahead of the date and you can give your move some pre-publicity. If your news article is reactive, for example, if a bug is discovered in your CMS software, be quick to respond. Posting an article on your website may save you calls from journalists, or at least will offer an explanation to those affected. If you write an article in advance, write different article to coincide with the event.

Reaction

When your news is reactive, turn negative into positives. For example, if you have suffered a fire at your office. Post an article saying all your client records are ‘in the cloud’ or backed up offsite and you will be able to continue working and keep your deadlines.

Content

Don’t waffle. Explain everything without using any more words than necessary. Fill the first paragraph with a succinct summary of the whole article, then expand on it further down the page. Make your news accurate and easy to understand. Journalists will avoid stories that are overcomplicated or will cut out technical jargon. Their aim will be to encourage readers to read all the article. That should be your aim too. Always give a link to a contact, contact page or phone number.

Pictures

A picture paints a thousand words. Always include a picture if you can. Make it as relevant to the article as possible. If you are taking it yourself, look at the kind of pictures others use to get an idea of what is right. Have some stock pictures on your site that journalists can download in high-resolution.

Placement

News is a very important website commodity. If you have a separate news page and have regular articles, give the page link a high priority in the navigation menu.

Share it

Make sure your news page has a feed, so it can be syndicated to your visitors and journalists. Make sure it’s clear whether articles can be reproduced on other websites or in print media. If you only want to allow a link, give the link code. And make sure there is a way for readers to send the article out to thir favourite social network, such as Twitter, Facebook, Digg, etc.

Attribution

Add the author’s name to the article and a contact link. Or use quotes from a named member of staff.

Information

Make sure your site has all the information a customer or journalist will need elsewhere. An address, telephone and email address for the head office and an address for each satellite office or branch. Providing details of your company or service in ‘About us’ will provide a journalist with background information for their readers who may not know what your website is about. They are unlikely to write about a service or company that they cannot explain.

Blog

If your site has a blog, write about your news giving it a personal slant. A blog is more informal than news and it’s another way of spreading it.