20 Most Overused Press Release Words in 2021: A PR Perspective

What are some words that make journalists roll their eyes when they read press releases?

According to Cision’s 2021 State of the Media report, words such as ‘best of breed’, ‘world-class’ and ‘unprecedented’ are among the most cringe-inducing ones for journalists to read in a press release.  Journalists are turned off by these fanciful and vague words, which tend to gloss over information.

To help PR professionals better understand which words to avoid overusing in press releases and how they can better connect with journalists, we speak to Thomas Skelton, PR Newswire’s Senior Communications Strategy Manager.

1. How does this list of overused press release words resonates with you? 

 I agree that the words on the list shouldn’t be overused in press releases. I’ve got a couple of other words and phrases to add to this list.

• Eagerly anticipated/Won the praise of customers: PR professionals should evaluate if such statements are from the brand’s or customer’s perspective? Never try to second guess what your customers are thinking and put these thoughts in an official release.  
• End-user: Avoid using internal language for external communication. It sounds extremely impersonal. Words like ‘client’ or ‘customer’ are perfectly fine.   
• Introduces:  A very mediocre way to introduce a concept or product in a press release. Other alternatives include ‘presents’, ‘launches’ and ‘unveils’.  
• High-Tech/Machine Learning/AI: Be specific and explain how the technology works. Otherwise, your release will be buried by more detailed releases from other technology companies.   
• Leader/Leading: Unless your brand is an industry leader, don’t use this. Even if it is a leader, I would recommend to not mention this. It is much better to play it cool and be understated. Most readers will look at this claim cynically and will doubt if your brand truly is a leader. 
• Taking over/Dominating: Avoid using war analogies in a press release. Also, some products/companies may disappear after a few years, so it is best to avoid tempting fate and reduce the hyperbole.                 

2. How press releases can attract readers’ attention despite having these overused words?

Including these overused words can be acceptable if it is backed up. If your brand’s news has created an impact, you must demonstrate it. (For instance, one million people have pre-registered for the product or how your brand managed to raise funding in a short amount of time.)

The two most important things we ask clients to consider when analyzing a news angle are thinking about the audience and their perspective.

1) Audience: Think about your audience and put yourself in their shoes. How does your news announcement make someone who might not be familiar with your brand think or feel?

2) Perspective: Think of people you interact with in life. Do you like hanging out with people who talk about themselves all the time? The likelihood is you don’t. And neither will your audience. Avoid releases that take a constant first person, “I” perspective. (For example, Company X achieves X. Company X wins X, Company X is pleased to announce X.)

Instead, consider what the announcement means to the audience? Of course, a first-person perspective is unavoidable and necessary at times, but consider how your audience can benefit or be impacted by the news and use more inclusive language.

A good example that illustrates the above point is DAZN And YouTube Enter Groundbreaking Partnership To Bring UEFA Women’s Champions League To Fans Around The World, Live And For Free, as readers can get a sense of “you” from this partnership and why it is significant to them.

3. Share recent examples of good press release headlines that instantly attracted your attention?

An example of a good press release headline is Ucommune’s Shenyang Project Achieves 98.22% Occupancy Rate in Less Than 9 Months via Asset-Light Model. The headline incorporates figures that show why the news is significant and demonstrates why the brand is a leading name in the office space industry.

Another example is Sophie’s Bionutrients Unveils The World’s First Plant-Based Burger Patty Made From Microalgae. The headline shows a clear news value – the use of “world’s first” helps to capture the attention of the audience and so does the novel concept of developing burger patties from microalgae. This press release, which was written by our Communications Strategy Team, garnered more than 65,000 views and was reported by media outlets such as Green Queen and The Spoon.  

Besides knowing which words to avoid overusing in press releases, PR professionals can get more insights into today’s media landscape in Cision’s 2021 State of the Media Report (APAC Edition).  

The report also dives into some of the key challenges that journalists and editors around the world have been facing: 

• 38% of journalists have fatigue over covering the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• More than 1 in 4 journalists receive more than 100 pitches per week. 
• Up to 25% of media pitches that journalists receive are relevant to them.  
• Journalists do not want irrelevant pitches, repeated follow-ups, inaccurate information, and pitches that sound like marketing brochures, among other pet peeves, from PR reps.  

Want to get inside the minds of journalists? We spoke with editors and journalists from top media outlets across APAC at the PR Newswire 2021 Global State of the Media (APAC Edition) webinar on what PR professionals can do to turn these challenges into opportunities for media coverage.  Watch the webinar now!

This article is written by Kenneth Goh, Senior Marketing Executive at PR Newswire. A former journalist, he relishes keeping track of breaking news as much as telling stories with trends and data. Connect with him via Linkedin.