What is a press release?
A press release — also known as news or media release – is a written statement about a particular event, service, product or person that is sent to members of the media.
Benefits of press releases
A press release is an affordable promotional tool. Here is a small list of benefits:
–Quick exposure — usually within 24 hours.
–Search engine indexing.
–More traffic to your website/products/services.
–Credibility — especially if your press release is picked up by a respected publication.
Key elements of a great press release
Around the press release
–Your story must be newsworthy, in third-person, factual, and offer a solution to an issue or trend.
–The body of your press release should not exceed 400 words.
–Avoid flashy and fluffy language.
–Use an angle that will appeal to journalists.
–Use the inverted pyramid style: Place your most important information first.
–Before quoting people, make sure you that have their permission in writing.
Format of the press release
–Headline: Engaging and concise with a few keywords. Capitalize the first letter of all words, except for articles (‘the’, ‘a’, ‘an’) and prepositions (‘of’, ‘to’, ‘from’…).
–Secondary headline / summary to add more insight and a couple more keywords.
–”FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE”
–Dateline: Includes the release date and originating city of the press release.
–First paragraph: The most important part of your press release. Must answer the following questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why?
–Rest of the body: Two or three more paragraphs, one for each new idea. Include quotes.
–Boilerplate or short “about” section.
–Media contact information: Include name, phone number, email address, mailing address of the best person for further information.
Always end your press release with three hash symbols: “###”
Contacting members of the media
Before sending your press release, have it thoroughly proofread. Double-check the accuracy of all facts, especially names, titles and phone numbers. And when you contact media outlets, only approach those that are relevant to what you do. So, spend some time looking around their websites. Read their articles and guidelines.
This is what I recommend for email communication:
–Introduce yourself briefly: Who are you? What do you do? Why is your story likely to interest the outlet? If you can, talk about one of their articles and how it ties into your news.
–Be professional and polite: Start with ‘Dear Mr./Ms. Doe:’; avoid calling a journalist by their first name; use polite phrases such as ‘Thank you for your time’, ‘Best regards’, or ‘Sincerely’.
–Check the spelling of the journalist’s name and publication.
I like to receive press releases as attachments. However, I know many other journalists who prefer them to be included in the body of the emails. Check out the submission guidelines for each media outlet.
Resources
Press release samples
Press Release Writing is an excellent website. Click “Sample Press Release” and join the insider’s club to have access to “The BIG Press Release Book.” This free e-book contains 75 press releases listed by industry!
PublicityInsider.com is another very good website that features daily press releases from which you can draw inspiration.
Press release submission services
Do not limit yourself to media outlets. Send your press release to submission services. Here are five that I recommend: PR Log, 1888Press Release, 24-7 Press Release, Free Press Release and PR-inside.com.
Email etiquette
Here are two interesting resources: Top 26 Most Important Rules of Email Etiquette and 101 Email Etiquette Tips.
Now, you are ready to write press releases that will get read!
[...] to media outlets. Send your press release to submission services. Here are five that I recommend: PR Log, 1888Press Release, 24-7 Press Release, Free Press Release and PR-inside.com.Email etiquetteHere are two interesting resources: Top 26 Most Important Rules of Email Etiquette [...]