How to Do a News Release or Press Release
One of the most tried and true tools of getting your service, product, or event out to the world is the press release. A well-written press release attracts media attention, but also catches the eye of investors and customers. A carefully written press release should be one of the key parts of your promotional strategy, regardless of your goals. But what should you write, and how should you present it to the reader?
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Instructions
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Summarize everything you want readers to know in the headline and the first paragraph of the press release, telling them who, what, when, where and why. Write so that even a person that has never heard of your event or organization will know all the important points just by reading the first paragraph. Write in an active voice: Write "John Doe read a poem dedicated to the event," instead of "An excellent poem was read by John Doe." Focus on what's timely about your event; what makes it absolutely unique and exciting? For example, if the mayor plans to make an appearance at your library's book sale, the opening paragraph tells readers the mayor is attending and why.
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Develop the key points in more detail in the body of the press release. However, continue to write for the widest audience possible and don't take their knowledge of anything pertaining to your event for granted. Explain why your event came about; if it is a charity event, for example, give details about the charity and the work that it does, using real life examples to show how the charity advances its cause. Make sure that any information you use is attributed so that the reader can find those sources of information. The library book sale press release would include information about how many readers the library serves in a year, a few examples of important functions performed by the library, and more detail about why the mayor has chosen to appear.
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Conclude the press release with a strong closing and your contact information. A strong closing will summarize the entire release in a few lines and lead into your contact information. For example, your library book sale might conclude with "The mayor looks forward to supporting the library. To learn more about the sale, please contact..." Be sure to include name, phone number, the event's address and an email address. Edit your release to remove any grammatical or spelling errors. Rewrite the release slightly for each news outlet you are sending it to.
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Tips & Warnings
Short and concise is always better.
Carefully consider all items of information before including them. Ask yourself: is this something that a person reading this release absolutely must take away? If not, don't include it.
Never send more than one press release to a person in a day. It may cause them to ignore the release, or even cause their email program to alert that you are spamming them.
References
- Photo Credit man with newspaper image by Cristian Ilie Ionescu from Fotolia.com
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Comments
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mkarakus
Jun 22, 2010
Good ideas and steps, thank you.
