Once you know the basics involved in writing a Press
Release, you'll find it's a pretty simple process to put
one together. In fact, if you conform to "industry
standards" and include the information that reporters and
editors are expecting to find, your press release stands a
very good chance of actually being used.
Here are the formatting rules you need to follow:
Use mixed case. NEVER SUBMIT A PRESS RELEASE IN ALL UPPER
CASE LETTERS. As you can see, it's much more difficult to
read that way.
Always follow the rules of grammar and style. Errors in
grammar and style affect your credibility. Excessive errors
will cause your press release to be rejected.
Don't use HTML. When sending your press release to online
Media, do not embed HTML or other markup languages in it.
Including such formatting will negatively impact the
readability of your press release.
Use more than one paragraph. If you can say everything in
only a few sentences, then chances are you do not have a
newsworthy story. (*Note: You may hear that your press
release should "never" be more than one page long. I have
found that a press release should be as long as it takes to
tell your story. If that means one and a-half or two pages,
then that's how long it should be. Do your best to keep it
short and sweet, but don't take out important information
just to make it fit on one page.)
Include a summary paragraph for online submissions. Some
online news services request that you include a one-page
summary of your press release. This is because some
distribution points only receive your headline, summary and
a link to your press release. If you are submitting to
online services, not including the summary paragraph may
reduce the effectiveness of your press release. This is not
usually necessary with print, television or radio media.
Write your press release on a word processor instead of
composing it online. When you've finished writing it, print
it out, and proofread it. Rewrite, edit, and proofread
again, until you've got it exactly how you want it, and
there are no mistakes. Because most people have a harder
time proofreading their own writing, ask someone you trust
to proofread it for you.
Do not include your e-mail address in the body of your
release -- especially when submitting your press release
online, or publishing your press release on your Website or
in your blog. You can include your email address in the
contact information if you wish, but if it goes online, be
prepared to be spammed, since it's going into public
domain. Most online media services will have a place for
your email address in the submission process, for your
protection, and most of your local media will prefer a
telephone number to contact you with.
Here is a basic template you can use when writing your
Press Release:
Starting at the top of the page, on your company
letterhead, write the words "PRESS RELEASE" in all capital
letters, centered and bolded.
Hit the enter-bar twice, so you go down two lines. On the
left hand side of the page, write the date you want the
information to be released, or if it's "FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE" write that, again in all CAPS and bolded. On the
same line, but to the far right, write the words "CONTACT
INFORMATION" again, bolded and in capital letters. Go down
to the next line, and list the contact person and their
phone number.
It's always a good idea to have two contact people whenever
possible and two phone numbers for each of them -- for
example, the office number and cell phone numbers. You can
also put your email address here.
Hit the enter-bar twice again, and type in your headline
next. (It needs to be centered and bolded, but not
necessarily in all CAPS). Your headline needs to be short,
snappy and relevant. You want it to grab the reader's
attention.
Go down two spaces again. The body of your press release
should be double spaced, and typed in an easy to read 12 in
font, such as Times New Roman or Arial. Leave lots of white
space in your press release -- use at least one to two inch
margins around your page.
The first paragraph of your press release needs to provide
the reader with enough basic information to make them keep
reading. It should answer the "W" questions -- who, what,
when, and where and why. Because you've only got a few
sentences, make every word count.
The second paragraph of your press release will answer the
"so what" question. It needs to explain who is going to be
interested in this information, and why they should care
about it. The second paragraph is an ideal place to include
a quote, or a touchie-feely "Kodak" moment, to add human
interest to your story.
The third (and often final) paragraph of your press release
should answer any other questions the reporter or
journalist might still have about your story. Here is where
you can include information about your company, or any
technical stuff.
Make your press release long enough to say what you need to
say. If it goes beyond one page, then centered under the
last line on the first page, write the word "MORE" in all
caps and bold it.
Then on the second page, on the top right hand side of the
page, write "Page 2" and on the line under that, write the
title of your press release again.
Continue where you left off. When your press release is
finished, put these symbols centered under the last line
"###" (without the quotation marks.) This lets the reader
know that you're done.
That's all there is to it. Although the information you
provide will be different each time you write a press
release, the basic format will always stay the same. Now
you've got enough information to be able to write your
first press release.
----------------------------------------------------
Dr. John E. Neyman, Jr. is owner of Leaders Excel in which
he specializes in coaching, websites, and optimization. If
you would like to grow in your leadership ability contact
Dr. John at john@LeadersExcel.com or
http://LeaderExcelSolutions.com
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