Write a press release

Writing a press release is a very different skill than writing sales copy or writing copy for a brochure. The overall goals are very different: sales copy or brochure copy is written for a reader who is a customer or prospect. This is not the case with a press release: the reader will be a journalist deciding whether or not to include an article about her business in their newspaper/magazine/radio show/TV show.

Is this information news?

The most important question then is “Is this information news?” To write a press release, you need to think like the journalist you’re writing for. The general rule is that, given a choice, a journalist will always prioritize stories that contain

* disasters / bungling

* controversies

* humor or something “off the wall”

If your story doesn’t contain any of these, it doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t get published, just that it may lose priority if something better comes along.

Another cardinal rule

Another cardinal rule is to make sure the copy doesn’t sound like a sales pitch for your product/service. If a journalist believes that it is being used only to promote a business, the press release will go straight to the trash can.

Many companies (software companies are the main culprits in this area) also send out press releases that are so full of jargon that they don’t make sense to anyone outside their field. If a journalist can’t understand what he’s talking about, his story is guaranteed not to appear.

If you’re having trouble deciding what to write in a press release, try the following

* imagine you are a journalist visiting your business: what is really interesting, significant or different about what you do?

* ask your team

* get a stranger’s opinion; sometimes someone unfamiliar with his business can provide him with the information he needs

Press release agreements

* Write “Press Release” or “Press Release” in large letters at the top of the page

* Put the date on

* At the bottom indicate where the press release ends by putting “(ends)”

* Please include contact details for additional information requests (including web address, if applicable)

* Consider adding a short paragraph at the bottom giving some basic details about your business, under the heading “About XYZ Co.”

Contact the media

There are also some unwritten rules here. By all means contact the newspaper/magazine etc. before sending the press release to find out who to send it to and how they prefer to receive it (usually by fax, email or both); you can even tell them a little about what you are doing. will send if you want any feedback.

If you are given more than one name, send them all.

Once you’ve sent out the press release, don’t follow up! Unlike in the world of sales, following doesn’t work in PR: journalists just feel like they’re being picked on.

Good luck and have fun!