How to Write a Press Release
Writing press releases is relatively easy, and it’s an important step to get your company seen and known, and talked about in online media websites. You can find templates for this online, as well as actual press releases to use as a guide, if you like. Also, you should take a look at the media sites you plan to submit your media release to and format in the style that THEY use to make it easier and more likely for your release to be accepted.
These are the basic steps in writing a press release:
0. Make sure your press release is actually newsworthy. Do NOT use your press release as just another way of creating an online ad. Ads are ads, press releases are press releases. Your release has to be actual news or it’s not going to be accepted by the media sites. So come up with some news that is news, and then move on to step 1.
1. First Line. “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” is always the very top line of a press release. This usually goes in the top left margin. Make sure to capitalize every letter exactly as I did above.
2. Contact Info. Skip a line, then put contact information. Include minimally contact name, phone number, website address, email address, date and/or time of release.
3. Headline. This is the make/break of your press release. You have a split second to grab the reader’s/media site’s attention with your press release. So your headline MUST MUST MUST grab their attention. It should be as short as possible. What is your most exciting news? And how short can you make a headline that makes sense? Those are the two questions you should be thinking about in your headline. Use words which are attention-getting. Think newspaper headlines. If you write “A New Media Company is Opening its Doors” for example, that will attract as much attention as an obituary. “New Media Company Prepares for Instantaneous Global Takeover” sounds more dramatic and, therefore, more interesting. Positive or negative extremes are always more attention-getting when it comes to news. As a rule, your first 10 words are the most important words of your entire press release. So use them wisely.
4. Intro/Lead Paragraph. Start with City and State of release then date. Next comes the most important facts of your press release. This paragraph must contain who, what, where, when and how. Just the facts. Do not use flowery, fancy language or lots of adjectives. Do not include hype. And definitely do not use bold letters, extra capitals or excessive punctuations for emphasis.
5. Next Paragraph. The next paragraph should serve to reinforce whatever claims you made in your lead paragraph and headline. If you have an actual quote from an expert, or a testimonial, that’s always good.
6. The Boilerplate. This is the journalism name of a sentence or two that you use repeatedly in your advertising to describe your company and what it does.
“The Nuthouse has been providing exotic and hard-to-find fruits and nuts to restaurant owners since 1908.” is an example of a boilerplate.
7. Hashmarks. Right below the boilerplate type “# # #” to signify the end of the release.
8. General key points to remember: Write your press release in the 3rd person, from the viepoint of an actual journalist. Stick to facts and try to avoid hype indicators like “One-of-a-kind” or “Breakthrough”. Keep it short. Make it newsworthy. If you don’t find it interesting, the media sites sure aren’t going to.
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