The argument for a bullet pointed press release

‘Most’ journalists have an insurmountable inbox thanks to the number of businesses clamouring for their attention, which is probably something I don’t have to tell you. But a detail I thought may be insightful is how infrequent the emails we receive come listed – a format intended to be informative while very easily absorbed. 

In fact, I was quite surprised to recently open a press release presented purely in bullet points. Though (perhaps also surprisingly) I devoured it. 

Coming from Cowshed – “the original mood boosting bodycare brand” – pegged on the bodycare industry boom, it packed stats around the market’s value and the fastest-growing trends that relate to it, as well as info about the skin on your body, plus–of course–the brand’s credentials feeding into all of the above. 

Had it been laid out in paragraphs, or even a visually grabbing graphic embedded within the email, being a data-driven release, I don’t think it would have made so much impact. 

That’s not to say it would suit all brands to communicate this way, of course. And I appreciate that bullet points can be overused in general, inevitably thanks to the content polluted world we live in. But for a specific type of press release I thought this represented how simplicity can be king. 

Some people say bullet points kill communication. But perhaps they haven’t seen inside a beauty editor’s Outlook app.