The press release is extremely important—it’s how you get information quickly and clearly into the hands of journalists, and sometimes also the general public. But the press release title is a whole other level of important. Without a good one, there’s a decent chance nobody’s going to bother clicking on that oh-so-perfect release you spent days drafting.

For example, here are two headlines that are in my inbox right this second. I’m going to change some of the specifics so that I’m not embarrassing anybody, but otherwise these are word-for-word real-life examples. (I’ll be borrowing company names from [this hilarious fake startup name generator](http://tiffzhang.com/startup/index.html^[1]), by the way).

1. Yousector begins big push into Europe.
2. $300 billion opportunity for investors as banks fail, FriendshipInvest poised to capitalize

Which of those two headlines are you more likely to click on first? Most people would say the second one. Let’s take a deep dive into why.

Your brand as a selling point (it isn’t one)

When writing titles, people are often tempted to do exactly what Yousector did above: start the press release with their company’s name. After all, that’s the name you’re trying to publicize! And if you look at the press releases of big, established companies, you’ll see they do that all the time. Take a look at [Pepsi’s press releases](http://www.pepsico.com/live/content/type/pressrelease^[2]), for example, and you’ll note that virtually all of them start with a brand name.

But starting with your brand name is often the wrong choice for new enterprises, because nobody has heard of your company. Unlike Pepsico brands like “Pepsi” and “Taco Bell”, your company’s name isn’t eye-catching or interest-piquing yet. Starting a headline with a proper noun that people don’t recognize can be a turn-off; it makes people feel like the news isn’t for them or won’t interest them.

One reason the second headline above works better than the first is that it starts with something that interests everyone: a $300 billion opportunity. Who wouldn’t want to click on that? It’s definitely a much more interesting hook than “Yousector,” a name nobody is likely to be familiar with.