Tips Hotline Operator:
“PR Tips Hotline, what’s your question?”
Caller:
“What information goes into a well-written press release?”
Before you distribute any release, please objectively edit it to ensure it meets at least the basic criteria for a well-written, timely and newsworthy story. Here are the basics that are most commonly overlooked:
Contact Information
Be sure to include the name, title, and complete contact information for your media representative/ spokesperson. Include phone number (office and cell), fax number and e-mail address. As a PR veteran of 16 years, my advice is to be as accessible and responsive as possible.
Press Release Headline
State your most exciting news, finding or announcement in as few words as possible. Emulate the headlines you see in highly regarded newspapers or trade publications. Your copy should be factual, not sensational.
The Press Release Subhead
Subheads are remarkably useful tools, yet usually overlooked by inexperienced press release writers. Basically, the press release subhead gives you the opportunity to flesh out your angle and further hook the reporter, without stepping on the drama of the press release headline.
The Press Release Lead
Journalism 101 — the lead paragraph includes the who, what, when, where and how of the story. If the reporter were only to read the lead of a good press release, he’d have everything he needed to get started. There’s no room for hype or sell. Just the facts.
The Rest of the Press Release
The balance of the press release serves to back up whatever claims were made in the lead and headline. A quote should be included to help add perspective and enhance the relevance of the news story – not to state the obvious or present cliché remarks.
Boilerplate
Finally, spend a sentence or two describing your company and what you do. This paragraph is known as the “boilerplate” — an old newspaper term meaning a block of standard text that’s used over and over again (e.g. the explanation of symbols on the stock price page). In this case, it’s text that you might use at the bottom of all your releases. Place your boilerplate right above the # # #’s and include the company’s location, main phone number and website address.
Below the ###’s
Here’s the space you can use to provide the reporter/editor with additional information, notes regarding images, image thumbnails and captions, links to downloadable images or an online newsroom, etc. If one-on-one interviews or an on-site tour is an option, add a line that says something like: If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with John Smith, please call Jane Doe at 555.927.0066 or e-mail Jane.Doe@MediaRelations.com.
Some Key Things to Remember
- Stay away from hype-bloated phrases like “breakthrough”, “unique”, “state-of-the-art”, etc.
- Always write it from a journalist’s perspective. Never use “I” or “we” unless it’s in a quote.
- Read a lot of good newspaper writing, such as the New York Times or the Washington Post to get a feel for the style.
- Shorter is better. If you can say it in two pages, great. If you can say it in one page, even better.
Now that you’ve got the ingredients of a well-written press release, you might be wondering what other methods you should use to make yourself a really useful media resource. You may even wonder if a press room might be a good idea. Well, it is!
Your media contacts can benefit greatly from a press room (a.k.a. news room) – managed by your PR team – to keep them abreast of your company’s latest endeavors, innovations, accomplishments and much more. In next week’s post, I’ll reveal the contents of a truly useful press room.
For public relations counsel, press release (news release) development guidance, press release distribution or media relations support, get in touch with me.
Denise B. Hearden
Be Heard Marketing
