Nine Steps to An Effective Press Release

So your company has hired a new hotshot sales person. Or landed a multi-million dollar contract. Or will have a grand opening or other special event.

How do you let the world – especially the media – know about it? The easiest, most efficient, and most cost-effective way, is with a press release.

A press release should contain news that is of interest to a number of readers, viewers, or listeners. It’s not a sales pitch and it’s not an advertisement. Media should not charge you to use a press release.

Many news stories that you see every day in the media were generated by a press release. Reporters and editors appreciate receiving well-written, well-prepared press releases. It makes their jobs a whole lot easier.

Here are nine important steps you can take to make sure you press release gets noticed.

1. WHAT’S YOUR GOAL?
Before you put pen to paper, decide what you are trying to accomplish with your press release. Do you want advance publicity to sell tickets, draw a crowd, and raise money? Do you want to encourage the press to cover your event or feature your business? Do you just want a listing in the calendar events?

Setting a goal for your press release will dictate how it is presented.

2. USE PROPER FORMAT.
There was a day when press releases were supposed to be types and double-spaced on one side of an 8½ by 11 sheet of paper. Today, most publications prefer press releases via email; some don’t like attachments. Your business or organization’s name should be prominent, as should the name of a contact person and a phone number.

Most releases will be for immediate use by the media, but in some cases you may not want them to use the information before a certain date. In that case, you should include the words “For Release On” a specific date. In the media, this is called an “embargo” and is generally respected.

Include an informative headline (more on this later). If your release goes more than one page, make sure you put the word “more” at the end of the first page. Make sure you indicate the end of the release with a notation such as “-30-” so the person reading it knows there is no more information.

3. USE CONCISE ATTENTION-GETTING HEADLINES.
The first thing an editor sees is the headline. It better be catchy or your release will find its way to the circular file. Use vivid action words to convey a sense of immediacy.

4. USE INVERTED PYRAMID STYLE.
A press release is not an opportunity to show off your literary skills. Get the most important information — the who, what, when, where, why and how — at the beginning of the release. You are competing with dozens, if not hundreds, of organizations for the media’s time and attention. Get right to the point!

There is no set guideline for the proper length of a press release, although two pages should be more than sufficient in most cases. If you can get it down to one page without sacrificing important content, do it.

5. FIND A NEWS ANGLE FOR YOUR RELEASE.
The media love story angles. If you can say you are the first, the last, the biggest, the smallest, the fastest, the oldest or the newest, you have given the media a story angle to pursue. It’s not enough to say “Hey look at me. Write a story about me.” Give the media a story they can write for their readers.

6. WRITE FOR THE MEDIA.
Television assignment editors have different tastes than newspaper editors or radio broadcasters. If possible, tailor your release to the specific media. Television likes visual stories and quick sound bites. Newspapers and magazine and, to some extent, radio, can give more in-depth treatment to stories.

7. USE QUOTES.
Try to get meaningful quotes and use them high up in the release. Try to avoid self-serving words. Quotes can help give your release liveliness and a real-life flavor.

9. WHO GETS IT?
For newspapers and radio stations, you can send a release to the News Desk or City Desk and it will make its way to the right person. At television stations, assignment editors make most decisions about what stories get covered.

Some media prefer to gets releases mailed to them. Others want them faxed or e-mailed. Check with the individual media.

If you can address a release to a specific person, great. But make sure that person is going to be around to receive it. There is nothing worse than emailing a release to an editor who is on vacation for two weeks.

9. FOLLOW UP.
Don’t be afraid to call the media to make sure they received your release and to see if they have any questions.

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