There is a school of thought out there that says press releases are no longer useful. Their position is that with so many easily accessible tools at our disposal today for generating publicity, press releases are obsolete. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. A press release can be the best way to get the media’s attention about a new product so that they can generate the right kind of buzz about it. Most importantly, press releases are helpful to isolate the most newsworthy element about your product. What problem will it solve? Why do consumers need it? Why is this product different from all others on the market?

The process of writing a press release is so beneficial for sales that Amazon even asks their product developers to write an internal press release before their product is created. This is part of their customer-centered “working backwards” model. They work on developing and iterating the press release until it clearly reveals how this product will solve customer problems like no other can. They reason that if it’s hard to write an Amazon press release, probably the product won’t be much good either.

So what can you do if you want to announce the release of a new product on Amazon? Here are a few tips.

1. Start with a headline that clearly names your product and states what it is going to do.
2. Write an opening paragraph that gives the most important details about your product, how consumers will benefit, and the problem that it’s going to solve. You should write this as if it’s the only part anyone’s going to read (although let’s hope that’s not the case!).
3. Include quotes from your company spokesperson and from a hypothetical satisfied customer.
4. Conclude by briefly explaining how the customer can learn more or begin using your product.

Also keep your Amazon press release simple! Don’t weigh it down with technical terms. An Amazon press release should be written as if it’s for a layperson. And remember, your Amazon press release should be brief: no more than one page.

With a well-written Amazon press release, you will easily be able to let the media know how great your product is.