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How to Write a Successful Press Release
(Part 3)
Pete Cooper
As a writer and webmaster I recieve hundreds of "professional" press releases from large organizations. There are very few hard rules about format, so don't feel that you have to copy any format exactly; do what works. This said, it is wise to keep all of your own releases to a specific format, whether it's a strict one or not. This way, the publications who are interested in your releases feel familiar with your releases and can associate you with them. Moving onto the creation of the press release, A press release generally starts with a release date. This is not always required, but if you do not want to mark the release with a date then at least put something similar to FOR IMMINENT RELEASE for example. The usual first line is: FOR RELEASE 15 MARCH 1998 This can sometimes create a useful sense of urgency in the remote publication. They may feel compelled to publish the information on the exact date (or close to it) and endeavour to get your story out on time. If they see this release at a much later date however, then this may also have a negative effect. Either way, you should make your own decision. Next comes contact information. With ‘traditional’ press releases, this is a name (PR Manager) and a phone number. With the advent of the World Wide Web, a URL or email address will do just as well, indeed an email address is usually required by many publications, as they would like to check up on your news. Here is an example: CONTACT:
William Dalton
william@daltonco.co.au
The next thing to appear is generally not optional. It is the title, or headline of the release, and is usually the first thing that a publication looks at. If the headline does not seem interesting then they will probably not read the rest of the release. It is therefore important you word this correct, drafting in help from a professional would be a great help here. An example of a headline would be: DALTONCO BUYS 90% SHARE OF NETSCAPE After this you can have an optional subheading (which is usually in italics) such as: DaltonCo shocks world with $22 billion deal After this, there will be a blank line and then the main release text will start. The first line of this text will usually contain the location of the site geographically in the world, or wherever the happenings are. For example: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – DALTONCO ANNOUNCES that they have bought a 90% share of the web browser giant, Netscape. Looking back over what we have done so far, it is important to say that the title and first paragraph are your only opportunities to convince the reader to continue. If you don't pass the "So what?" test here, your press release will never appear on the site or in the publication. Who, what, when, where, why and how are the "five w's" (and one h) taught to freshman journalism students. Make sure that you cover the necessary bases. The key to a good press release is to write it so that it can be inserted into the publication or site without any changes other than deletions. Like a newspaper article, press releases are written to be cut. The most important information is placed first, and the article can stand on its own as one, two, three, or many paragraphs. You may also choose to structure it so that everything but the first and last paragraph can be cut. After you have completed your release, it will probably be much too long. One of the first steps in trimming it down is to edit phrase by phrase, asking the "So what?" question. If you can't justify the phrase in terms of both reader interest and site interest, leave it out. Writers/reviewers are very concerned about writing articles on sites that mysteriously never get finished, are in ‘beta testing’, or disappear before the article is on their site. This only has to happen once, and the confidence in your releases will disappear. By becoming familiar to your press contacts, you reassure them you're likely to be around the month after they mention your site. PR Newswire is a service that will take your press release, do some minor editing, and send it by wire to any of their prepackaged lists of magazine, newspaper, and radio/television journalists, including the Associated Press, Dow Jones and trade publications. For more information: PR Newswire
150 East 58th Street
New York, NY 10155-0097
(212) 832 9400
(800) 334 6692 Another quality service who will submit your release (but not create it) is the Internet Wire.
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This article first appeared May 29, 1999.
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