How to Write a Great Press Release

Press releases are still a critical way of communicating with the media—and now, thanks to the Internet—with your target audience(s) as well. Think of a press release as a news story that’s direct from the source. If you follow the rules of a good news story, you’ll be making headlines in no time. Here’s what readMedia suggests for getting there:

1. The 5 W’s:

People don’t read, they skim. Newsrooms are bombarded with press releases on a daily basis, and your news might not make the cut if you don’t make the details stand out. That’s why you should always have the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, and why) in the first paragraph or close to the top of any press release. Doing so will let an editor know right away what needs to be done to get your story in the news and when. Follow this rule without exception!

2. Issue your release early:

Deadlines can make or break your success. Newspapers publish their editorial deadlines on the web for a reason – they want your news, but they need to get it on time in order to use it! At readMedia, we hear all the time that press releases should be sent as early as possible. And don’t forget about those W’s.

3. Make yourself available:

Press releases are summaries, not the whole story. Good press releases will lead reporters to follow up with questions – that’s their job. As a media professional, you have to work around the media’s schedule, not yours. Include after-hours contact information for yourself and/or the member of your staff with the expertise to help reporters the most. If possible, provide cell phone numbers, email, and website addresses and make sure someone in your organization is available during non-business hours.

4. Grab the reader’s attention:

Write compelling, clear headlines that make readers want to learn more. Treat the headline like a compact and to-the-point summary of your entire press release. One tip is to craft a headline after writing your news release. That allows you to extract the important points and keywords from your release and assemble your headline using these highlights. Include your organization’s name in your headline, or the acronym that it’s best known by.

Headlines are also critically important in the online world. Most Internet news sources (e.g. Google News) give great weight to the keywords in the headline of a news article or press release. If you use bland, generic phrases, your release won’t stand out in keyword searches.

5. Make a name for yourself:

Are you new in town? You don’t want to surprise the media when it comes time to release some big news. They should already know you. Good PR professionals put out news all the time, especially solid, reliable nuggets like job promotions, milestones achieved and new programs or business. That kind of hyper-local “people, places and things” news is solid gold to your local media. If you reliably deliver useful, well-written news to the media, they’ll come to rely on you and be ready when a really big story comes over the wire from you.

Also, it’s standard practice to include a paragraph or two of background information about your organization at the bottom of every release. Use this “boilerplate” paragraph to remind editors and readers who you are and what you do. This is an exercise in branding. Make certain this paragraph is concise, clear and on the money.

6. Add some multimedia:

A photograph that accompanies a press release can do wonders for getting it picked up. You may fill a need that an editor is looking for. Plus, a news photographer does not have to get involved. Submitting a photo with your release puts you one step closer to getting published. The same goes for charts, graphs, video, white papers—anything that adds context to your story and gives reporters and editors information that helps them cover your story better.

readMedia can help you handle these attachments so that they won’t get gobbled up by the media’s email filters. If you need help, call one of our editors for instructions.

7. Make it interesting…

Press releases can get a bad rap for being boring. Don’t fall into that category. If your press release is interesting to read, your chances of getting picked up are much higher. Sure, don’t forget the facts, but if there are some interesting bits in your release a reporter might be more likely to see an angle they can use. Think about how your release affects other stories in the news, or relates to other organizations like yours.

8. ...but not too interesting

The other knock on press releases is that they’re all hype, not news. Avoid the trap of hyperbole. Think instead about what the real “nut” of your story is. It doesn’t have to be cracking the atom or winning the Nobel Prize, but it does have to be specific. It’s also a good idea to focus only on one subject per release. The body of a press release should always be clear and compact. Use the body to elaborate upon the statements in your lead. Include details, facts and quotes to back your information up. Avoid unnecessarily complex language and jargon, and convey your message in crisp, clear grammar.

At readMedia we say “make news, not noise.” Whether you’re a newbie to the industry, or a seasoned pro, these steps will bring you continued success.