How to Write a Successful Press Release
A press release, also known as a news release when it is sent to non-print news organizations, is a key public relations tool. It is the accepted form for alerting the media about an event, product release, financial performance, promotion or other news that would be of interest to the audience of the media outlet. Press releases can be sent to both mass media outlets and trade or industry news outlets. The structure of the press release is the same for both, though the information needs to be targeted for the specific audience.
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Things You'll Need
- Writing program such as Word or WordPerfect
- Spell checker
- Images in Jpeg format
- Company Logo in Jpeg format
Instructions
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Begin the press release by providing contact information in the upper right hand corner. Provide a name, phone number and email address of the person that the media should contact for interviews or further information about the press release.
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Type in all uppercase letters when the information is available for release. Write either "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" or "HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL" followed by the date that the information can be released.
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Write an attention-grabbing headline. Use an active, compelling verb to infuse your headline with excitement. Media outlets get a lot of news releases. Use your headline to make your release stand out. Make the headline accurate, but also make it interesting and one that entices the reader to peruse the rest of your release.
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Begin the body of the press release with a dateline that gives the city, state and country of the place where the news is taking place. Include the date as well.
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Write a compelling first paragraph, also known as a lead or a lede. This first paragraph needs to be highly readable while answering the most important questions about the story. In this paragraph, you need to encapsulate what the rest of the press release is about. It should answer the who, what, where, when, why and how of the story without sounding like a dry list of facts. The lede should tell the reader what he needs to know and compel him to read on for more details.
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Provide the details of the story following the journalistic inverted pyramid style. Provide the most important facts first, followed by supporting details. Provide interesting quotes, if possible, from appropriate sources. Use the quotes to express opinions, as the rest of your press release should stick to objective facts.
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Close the press release with a boilerplate paragraph that explains what your company is, what it does, its mission and any important facts. This paragraph is something you can use on all press releases.
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Place ### or -30- at the bottom of the page to indicate that the press release is done. Place (cont.) at the bottom of a page if the press release continues to the next page.
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Tips & Warnings
Target the information you provide to the new outlet to which you are sending the press release. This may mean that you write one generic press release and several customized versions.
Follow up with a phone call to ensure your press release was received by the news outlet to which you sent it.
Write all copy in third person.
