How To Write a Good Press Release

Published on November 05, 2009 by Christy Tennant

Traditionally, a press release is a timely document telling about a notable person, product or event. Usually, press releases are distributed via news distribution organizations or sent directly to journalists and reporters. When I first started in PR, we used a distribution company such as PR Newswire and/or faxed our press releases out to newsrooms and editorial staffers one-by-one. Today, distribution services, which typically charge between $450-1,000+, depending on the scope of their reach, are still useful, but certainly not necessary.

Anyone can write a press release. Here are the key components that should always be present.

1) Create a Boiler Plate. A boiler plate refers to the information that never changes. This would include your name, contact info, company info and the words "For Immediate Release." Use your logo and company font for the company name, but for the remainder of the release, use a common font like Times New Roman or Courier. Journalists want to be able to read your release. For example, your boiler plate could look like this:
            

2) Add title, summary, the city, state, and date.  The title should be brief and catchy. The font for the title can be bold or slightly larger, but should not be ALL CAPS. The summary should also be brief and catchy, but give a slightly longer hook to keep people reading. The city and state should be in ALL CAPS, and then date in normal font, followed by an em-dash:



3) Summary paragraph. The first paragraph should contain the "Five W's," answering who, what, where, when and why.



4) Finally, flesh out the release with interesting, relevant information, and finish off with a summary reiterating key info about the event or person. Quotes are interesting but not necessary. Note: the release should be written in such a way (i.e. tone) that an editor could print your release exactly as is.



5) Getting it out there.

• Create a page on your web site for your press releases. This can be called "news," "press," "publicity," "PR," "what's new," or whatever, but make sure that a person visiting your site would easily recognize that this is where they can find your press releases. You can post it as a blog and/or a downloadable PDF.
• Distribute it via some free distribution wires, such as www.free-press-release.com, www.prlog.org, www.newswiretoday.com, or www.pr.com. Simply create a log in and then follow the instructions for uploading your release. This generally does not result in a major media pick-up, but it will be added to search engines and give you some added presence on the Internet.
• Distribute it via a paid distribution service, such as www.PRNewswire.com. This often requires not only a fee for the release, ranging from $400-1,000, but also a membership in the service, costing $150-300 per year. If you have an event or product that you think would generate national interest, such as an indie feature film, major award, or notable appointment, this is a worthwhile investment.
• Email to relevant contacts. These can include people you know, people you've met and people you know of, such as journalists who write on the topic you are promoting. For example, if you are promoting an art exhibition, send your release (as a Word doc attachment or in the body of an email) to arts writers at your local newspaper. Very important note on emailing a list of people: always, always, always use "BCC" as in "BLIND carbon copy" if you email a list of people altogether. You need to protect the privacy of your contacts. It is very annoying to receive an email where I am on a long list of people I don't know.
• Include recent releases in your press kit. I will elaborate on the press kit in a future BYOP post!

Good luck, and be sure to add your own input/experience below!