How to Write a Press Release

Learn how to write a press release that will be accepted by the press. Just like any advertising, you are "advertising" yourself for news coverage. Learn what you can do to make your press release stand out so you have a better chance of getting press and media coverage. Learn about tools and services that will make distributing your press release much easier.

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Know this: If your press release doesn't follow these "rules," you'll look like an amateur and your press release will most likely not be read or used. But you won't be told this. The editorial assistant will just send it to the "round file" (garbage can).

Your press release should follow the standard format:

Typed and double-spaced
On white letterhead
Include the contact person’s name, title, company, address and phone number on the right-hand side.
Below this information, type "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE," the date, and then a brief, eye-catching headline in bold type.
Cover the six basic journalistic elements: who, what, when, where, why and how.
The answers to these six questions should be mentioned in order of importance to the story.
Substantiate all claims. No hype. No exclamation points. Reduce use of adjectives and any words that sound at all like "hype." Remember this is news, not a sales pitch.
Quote a third-party source (a customer or expert) for credibility. Quote someone important or official at your business in explaining relevancy of the product or service.
Check for industry and company jargon. Remove it or explain it.
Use proper grammar and spelling.
At the end, put your "contacts." This person or persons should be who will be comfortable talking to the press if interviewed, likely who you quoted in the article.
Limit your press releases to one page if at all possible. Two pages at most. Just cover the basics.
Include professional quality photos that are interesting and relevant. If not, don't.

TIP: Remember, you are not writing the article. The Editors and reporters will do that (if they choose to). You are providing the media key information.

Your job is provide them with key facts and contact information to write the story. In a way, you're like a paralegal assistant to an attorney. You gather the facts and key information to help them get their job done.
The reporter will determine if the story is relevant to their publication, readers or viewers. Research your recipients for relevancy. Is it a trade publication, a local newspaper, a regional television channel? Your story may be best suited for a certain market.
You may want to target your release based on the audience, make it more specific or vague. (For instance for a trade publication you may want more specific details than when you pitch your story to a national publication of more generic readers.)
Top Suppliers for PR Services and Products lists companies that specialize in distributing press releases. This will help you get more visibility for your press release.
This "pitching reporters" is what PR consultants and agencies do if you choose to hire someone to help with this. See Select and Hire a PR Agency.

From our experience: While the news release serves as a potential starting point for a longer article, if you provide a print reporter with a well-written press release and some quotes, you may find that your press release is printed almost word-for-word with very little changes. Another incentive to do the best job possible!

Know this: Monthly magazines typically work several months in advance, so if you want to get a story about your business or product/service in the December issue, you may need to send in your idea in June.

What not to do

Know this: Some media outlets and reporters get hundreds of releases a week. Competition for publicity is intense.

Your press release will be disregarded if it:

doesn't follow the standard requirements listed above.
includes several typos or grammatical errors. Proof your work.
sounds anything like an ad or sales pitch.
lacks any "news" value. News is relevancy. Why are they writing the story and why would people read it? Figure this out before you write your release.
uses gimmicks. In most cases, this is a waste of money. If your release is well-written and relevant, you don’t need singing telegrams or a bouquet of flowers to get your message across.
comes with heavy-handed follow up. Unless the reporter wants to run a story, you will not be contacted. "Don't call us, we'll call you" in other words. You certainly can try to "sell" your story with a follow-up phone call and be available for questions, but chances are this won't work with the journalistic community. These people have high-pressure deadlines and your interruption will only irritate them. Ask yourself this: Are you making news or just making noise?

From our experience: While you are in control of the quality of your news release, what is considered "newsworthy" changes by the minute. If there's not much going on, your release is more likely to be read and possibly developed into a story. Or, if something happens in the news and you or your business are relevant to that news, you may have found your "tie-in." If you have a choice in the timing of your release, it's a good idea to send it out at what appears to be a slow time or when the news is skewed toward your business or product. For example, if you own a food quality/safety company and there is a food-borne illness outbreak, you have suddenly become relevant.

Tips

If you want to get online visibility for your press release, you'll want to post it on a distribution service like PR web. They'll charge you around $200 to do this.

If you have the money to invest, you may want to try sending out a press kit. This consists of a folder containing a cover letter, press release, your business card, and photos of your product or location. You can also include other information that will convince reporters your business is newsworthy: reprints of articles other publications have written about your business, product reviews, or background information on the company and its principals. If you do choose to send out a press kit, make sure it is sharp and professional looking, and that all its graphic elements tie in with your company’s logo and image. See Press Kits.

There may be a better way to get an article written about you than sending a press release. Tell a writer about a good story idea you have. Don’t write a press release. Don’t hire a PR firm. Instead, think of a compelling story you would like to read. Pick a writer who you like, and who you think might want to write about it. Tell them your story idea in 2-3 sentences. Contact them via email. If you don’t know their email address, guess. Also ping them on Twitter and Facebook. If the writer doesn’t respond, try a different one. But only one at a time — they won’t like you if you give the same story to their competitor. Also, don’t just pitch stories about your company. Ingratiate yourself with writers by selflessly giving them scoops and ideas for stories unrelated to you.

TIP: Servio is an online company/service that will write a custom-written press release. You can distribute it through PRWeb through the Servio site. Servio has a step-by-step tool that walks you through questions to help you write the press release. They have a small press release-writing group. They offer keyword integration and they also offer a complete revision process if you're not totally satisfied. Check it all out at Serv.io.com. We're not paid in any way to mention them and we haven't used them ourselves. If you have, please post a comment to help others learn about your experiences with them.

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Distributing your press release

To send press releases

Know this: There are a lot of companies online that will charge you to distribute press releases. Our PR experts say there are three main reputable services. All are paid distribution, but hit all the major news media and have longstanding reputations.

PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com)
Business Wire (www.businesswire.com)
PR Web (www.prweb.com). If you are looking to just distribute your release online, or are using it as a link building tool, then PR Web is an excellent choice.

From our experience: If you are a small business or non-profit and are only trying to reach your local print and broadcast media, each publication and station usually has contact information on their website. You can do your own research and send out press releases on your own (usually via email) for free.

What do you have to say? Share your comments below or give advice about writing a press release.

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Derrith & Page
MarketingZone.com Editors