Writing an Effective Press Release: What You Need to Know

Everyone can write a press release. Or at least, everyone believes he has the talent to write one. Truth is, there is an art to effective press release writing. It is a skill honed over time that enables the writer to craft a persuasive, clever message.

As we all know, the ability to write and organize information well is often rewarded with press coverage, and that exposure often leads to increased sales and favorable company buzz. Conversely, a poorly written release is most often ignored and discarded, accomplishing nothing for your business.

Of course, many large firms employ internal professional pr staffs or simply contract out the task to consulting agencies who have the skills and media savvy necessary to garner attention for their clients. But smaller companies, like mom and pop uniform dealers, can’t afford such luxuries. Inexperienced in pr, they churn out releases in rapid-fire succession with little, or sometimes, disastrous results.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some tips that will help increase the odds of getting coverage, and some pitfalls to avoid:

What’s a Press Release? It is never smart to assume that others will know what you are writing about without first explaining the concept. With that in mind, there are essentially two types of press releases. A conventional 'hard copy' press release is a brief document, generally one to three double-spaced typed pages announcing news about your company, product or service to media professionals. It may also include supporting materials, known as a “press kit.”

E-mail press releases are usually shorter in length than their print counterparts. The majority of electronic news releases sent are 500 words of text organized into five, short two to three sentence paragraphs.

Information such as photographs, bios of company executives, white papers and other supporting documents usually included in a printed media kit may be published online where reporters may access them easily at their convenience. If your company, for example, has completed a survey, include a brief overview of the results in the electronic press release then follow that paragraph with the URL or home page address where complete survey results are published.

Some reporters have limited online access. As a courtesy, always include a contact method for reporters who prefer to have materials mailed to them by conventional means. Moreover, reporters working on deadline will often choose to call a company representative rather than wait for a reply by e-mail. Be sure that in addition to e-mail contact information a phone number for the press contact is listed

Leave your ego home before you start. Before you write a word, remember this: The reporter isn't interested in helping you make money or driving visitors to your site. He's looking for a story that will be interesting to his readers and pleasing to his editor. He could care less about your great selection, super customer service and commitment to quality. He wants to know only the information that will help him craft a good story.

Take your natural inclination to sell, sell, sell out of it. Look at your story with a cold, objective eye.

Use the headline to hook a reporter. Like the first lines of a resume, a press release headline can either make or break you. State your most exciting news, finding or announcement in as few words as possible. Emulate the headlines you see in the newspaper every day.

Use a Press Release Subhead. Subheads are useful tools, yet they are usually overlooked by 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.

Lead with the Facts. It's Journalism 101 -- the lead paragraph includes the who, what, when, where and why 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. So remember, there's no room for hype or sell. Just the facts.

Back Up the Facts. The balance of the press release serves to back up whatever claims were made in the lead and headline. You can accomplish this by providing specifics about the product or service, or through the mention of key customers or endorsement from a 'non-biased' source. You should have permission from those sources to use their remarks in your press release.

The 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. After you’ve described your company, close the document with the characters -30- or ### which are style conventions that let the report know they have reached the end of the story.

Proofread, Proofread, Proofread. Don't trust your word processing program to catch errors in grammar and spelling. Have a few individuals read the release before sending it to a reporter or news agency. Additionally, remember that not everyone uses the same software. For that reason, do not use HTML tags, bold type or color text which may not transmit consistently across all computer programs.

Some Key Things to Remember. Stay away from hyped phrases like "breakthrough," "unique," or "state-of-the-art.” Always write it from a journalist's perspective. Never use "I" or "we" unless it's in a quote. Lastly, shorter is better. If you can say it in two pages, great. If you can say it in one page, better.

What makes a good story? Many journalists respond to clever writing and news releases that describe how a new product or service is a solution to a business or consumer problem.

Pointing to a new business trend is another way to position a story.

Another popular method for obtaining press coverage is to ride piggy-back on a breaking news story by alerting the media to your expertise on that particular subject. Remember, timing is everything, and it is on your side. Be prepared to act fast if you sense a pr opportunity. Time the sending of your news release right and you can receive a windfall of publicity that just might result in increased sales.