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Writing a Press Release: Get Your Popcorn Ready

Writing a Good Press Release

Press Release is a technical term for a statement to the media. They are used to give the media some background on a developing story and can be written on a wide array of topics. When you are writing a press release there are a few guidelines and steps to keep in mind in order to get your point across.

Title Of Press Release

The most important part of anything the media uses is the title. If the press release title makes a reader want to turn to the next page you can forget about anyone attempting to read the rest of it. It sounds funny but the most important part of the entire piece is probably the first five or six words you choose for a headline.

What Will Your News Story Be About

The next thing that the media needs to understand is what the news story is actually about. The author of the release may be the best writer in town but if their work is full of fluff and extra words it can actually make it very difficult to understand what the story is about. Remember elementary school, the KISS Principle. Keep It Simple Silly. Before all else, press releases need to focus on the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the story. If the press release doesn’t hit on all of those elements then it is not really much of a release at all. You need to be sure that if the reader takes the time to read your release they should be able to understand the general idea behind it.

Create Points For Your Press Release

As the release develops around the whos, whats, etc., use those points to create paragraphs as a way to provide as much information to the media and the reader as possible. Remember to mention and describe the company, site or business the release is about. Tell the reader what they do, what products they make, who their major customers are. You will need to describe their relationship to the surrounding community and maybe mention another project or two they have done in the past.

Will Anyone Read Your Press Release

Finally the press release needs to be newsworthy. This means that you wouldn’t write an article about surfboards for a newspaper in Nome, Alaska. The release has to be news worthy to the audience that is going to be reading it. It also has to be newsworthy to the editor of the media outlet that is going to ultimately be selecting the release to be published. This needs to be determined before the release is ever written. Again, the author may be the best writer in town but if no one cares about his chosen topic then no one will read his article because they won’t get published.

Be yourself; be thorough and well researched, succinct yet informative. Cover all the major aspects of the story and when that has been done, sign off. The press release is designed to convey a lot of information in a short period of time. Remember, this is going to be published in a newspaper, or on a media site and not as a novel.

How about you? Do have any experience with press releases? Let us know.

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