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How to Write a Press Release

2,548,785 views Edited 9 days ago

Three Methods: Sample Press Releases Making it Pop Mastering the Format

A press release is a written statement to the media. It can announce a range

of news items, including scheduled events, personal promotions, awards, new
products and services, sales accomplishments, etc. It can also be used to
generate a feature story. Reporters are more likely to consider a story idea if
they first receive a press release. It is a fundamental tool of PR work, one that
anyone who's willing to use the proper format can use. We'll show you how.

Sample Press Releases

Sample Press Sample Press Sample Press

Release Release for Concert Release for Fashion
Show

Method 1 of 2: Making it Pop

1 Write a genuine headline. It should be brief, clear and to the point: an ultra-
compact version of the press release’s key point. Plenty of PR professionals
recommend writing your headline at the end, after the rest of the release is written. If you
follow that instruction, continue on and come back to writing the headline once the rest is
done. The headline is known as the eye-catcher and is very important to the whole
release.
wikiHow recognized as most reliable information source. See how that
works? Now you want to know more! News release headlines should have a
"grabber" to attract journalists, just as a newspaper headline is meant to grab
readers. It may describe the latest achievement of an organization, a recent
newsworthy event, a new product or service.
Headlines written in bold! A bold headline also typically uses a larger font size
than the body copy. Conventional press release headlines use the present tense
and exclude "a" and "the", as well as forms of the verb "to be" in certain
contexts.
First word capitalized. As are all proper nouns. Most headline words appear in
lower-case letters, although using a stylized "small caps" font style can create a
more graphically news-attractive look and feel. Do not capitalize every word.
Extract important keywords. The simplest method to create the press release
headline is to extract the most important keywords from your press release.
From these keywords, try to frame a logical and attention-getting statement. If
including a summary sentence after the headline, the same rules apply. Using
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keywords early will give you better visibility in search engines, and it will be
simpler for journalists and readers to get the idea of the press release content.
Look at the actions in this first step, and notice how every one of them could be
a press release headline.

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2 Write the body copy. The press release should be written as you want it to appear
in a news story. And remember this: most journalists are very busy, and don't have
time to research your company's big announcement, so much of what you write for your
press release will be what the journalists use in their writeup of your big event. Whatever
you want them to say, this is where you put it.
Start with the date and city in which the press release originates. The city may
be omitted if it will be confusing –– for example if the release is written in New
York about events in the company's Chicago division.
The lead, or first sentence, should grab the reader and say concisely what is
happening. For example, if the headline is "Careen Publishing releases new
WWII novel," the first sentence might be something like, "Carpren Publishing,
Ltd., today released their first World War II novel by celebrated writer Darcy
Kay." It expands the headline enough to fill in some of the details, and brings the
reader further into the story. The next one to two sentences should then expand
upon the lead.
The press release body copy should be compact. Avoid using very long
sentences and paragraphs. Avoid repetition and overuse of fancy language and
jargon. Strive for simplicity, and no wasted words.
The first paragraph (two to three sentences) should sum up the press release,
and the additional content must elaborate it. In a fast-paced world, neither
journalists, nor other readers, would read the entire press release if the start of
the article didn't generate interest.
Deal with actual facts –– events, products, services, people, targets, goals,
plans, projects. Try to provide maximum use of concrete facts. This is news. A
simple method for writing an effective press release is to make a list of following
clarifications: Who, what, when, where, why, and how.

3 Communicate the "5 W's" (and the H) clearly. Who, what, when, where, why
––and how–– should tell the reader everything they need to know. Consider the
checklist in context with the points below, using the example above to generate our
press release:
Who is this about? Carpren Publishing.
What is the actual news? Carpren Publishing is releasing a book.
When does this even happen? Tomorrow.
Where does this even take place? In all major markets, tomorrow.
Why this is news? It was written by renowned author, Arcy Kay.
How is this happening? The main event is at a book signing in Chicago,
followed by a book tour to all the major metropolitan areas.
With the basics defined, fill in the gaps with information about the
people, products, items, dates and other things related with the news.
If your company is not the main subject of the news, but is the source of
the press release, make it clear in the body.

Keep it short and to the point. If you are sending a hard copy, the text should be
double-spaced.
The more newsworthy you make the press release copy, the better the chances
of it being selected by a journalist for reporting. Find out what "newsworthy"
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means to a given market and use this knowledge to hook the editor or reporter.

4 Make it clean, crisp, and applicable to your audience. Odds are whoever you
sent your press release to has a dozen just like it in his/her inbox just waiting to be
ignored. If you want yours to be chosen, it's got to be good. Not only does it have to be
good, but it has to be as close to "ready for press" as possible.
When an editor looks at your piece, he/she is thinking, from the first second,
about how long it's going to take them to get it to print. If your work is full of
errors, lacking content, or just needs to be revived, they're not going to waste
their time. So make sure you have good grammar, all the basics, and have
something to write about.
Why should these people care what you have to say? If you're sending it to the
right audience, it'll be obvious. If you're not, well, why are you wasting your
time? Give the right people a piece of news (news, not advertising) and you're
on the right track.
They'll care more if you send it in the morning. That gives them time to
pad your piece into what they're already working on. Be considerate.

5 Tie it together. Provide some extra information links that support your press
release. Does the company you're selling have additional information online that
readers may find useful? Great. Add it in.
If you're nervous about what you've got, do some research on what's already
out there. Someone probably wrote something on an event just like the one
[1] [2]
you're covering. PR Web and PR Newswire are good places to start.

Method 2 of 2: Mastering the Format

1 Get the basic structure down. Alright, now that you've got the meat of it together,
how do you put on paper? Well, for starters, cut it to length. It should be a page
long at most, if that. No one's going to waste time on 5 paragraphs unless you're
[3]
covering WWIII. Here's what you need (some of which we've already covered):
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE should go at the top of the page, on the left
margin.
If the release is embargoed, put "EMBARGOED UNTIL..." with the date
you want the story released. A release with no release date is
presumed to be for immediate release.

The headline, usually in bold, should be centered below that.

If you'd like, but a subhead in italics (briefly elaborating the headline).

First paragraph: most important information. May be quite news-like in that it

starts with a date or where the news is coming from.
Second (and probable third) paragraph: secondary information. Should include
quotes and facts.
Boilerplate information: more on your company. Who are you, really? What
achievements do you have? What's your mission?
Contact information: more on the writer (probably you!). If you grab someone's
interest, they'll want to be able to find out more!
Multimedia: in today's day and age, there's always some Twitter handle to be
had.

2 Write a boilerplate underneath the body of your release. That means it's time to
include information about your company. When a journalist picks up your press
release for a story, he or she would logically have to mention the company in the news
article. Journalists can then get the company information from this section.
The title for this section should be "About [XYZ_COMPANY]."
After the title, use a paragraph or two to describe your company with 5 or 6 lines
each. The text must describe your company, its core business and the business
policy. Many businesses already have professionally written brochures,
presentations, business plans, etc. That introductory text can be put here.
At the end of this section, point to your website. The link should be the exact
and complete URL without any embedding so that, even if this page is printed,
the link will be printed as it is. For example: http://www.example.com, not Click
here to visit the website.
Companies which maintain a separate media page on their websites must point
to that URL here. A media page typically has contact information and press kits.

3 Add your contact information. If your press release is really newsworthy,

journalists would surely like more information or would like to interview key people
associated with it. If you are comfortable with the idea of letting your key people be
contacted directly by media, you can provide their contact details on the press release
page itself. For example, in the case of an innovation, you can provide the contact
information of your engineering or research team for the media.
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If not, you must provide the details of your media/PR department in the
"Contact" section. If you do not have dedicated team for this function, you must
appoint somebody who will act as a link between the media and your people.
The contact details must be limited and specific only to the current press
release. The contact details must include:
The company's official name
Media department's official name and contact person
Office address
Telephone and fax numbers with proper country/city codes and
extension numbers
Mobile phone number (optional)
Times of availability
Email addresses
Website address

4 If possible, include a link to an online copy of the same release. It's good
practice to keep a log of all of your press releases housed on your own website.
This can make providing such a link easier to produce, as well as keeping a record for
historical purposes.

5 Signal the end of the press release with three # (hash) symbols. Center these
directly underneath the last line of the release. This is a journalistic standard. It
may look like you're over-tweeting, but you're not. This is how it's done.
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Tips

Include a "call to action" in your release. This is information on what

you want the public to do with the information that you are releasing.
For example, do you want readers to buy a product? If so, include
information on where the product is available. Do you want readers to
visit your website to enter a contest or learn more about your
organization? If so, include the website address or a phone number.
Research actual press releases on the web to get the feel of the tone,
the language, the structure and the format of a press release.
Include the company name in the headline, any subhead, and in the
body of the first paragraph for better visibility via search engines and
for news professionals and other readers. If you're mailing a hard copy,
you may put it on company letterhead.
Send your release by email, and use formatting sparingly. Giant type
and multiple colors don't enhance your news, they distract from it. Put
the release in the body of the email, not as an attachment. If you must
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use an attachment, make it a plain text or Rich Text Format file. Word
documents are acceptable at most outlets, but if you are using the
newest version (.docx), save down a version (.doc). Newspapers
especially, are on tight budgets now, and many have not upgraded. Use
PDF files only if you are sending a full media kit with lots of graphics.
Don't type a release on letterhead, then scan it and email a jpeg of the
scan––that's a waste of your time and the editor's. Just type the
release straight into the email message.
Craft each release to target a specific media outlet and send it to the
specific reporter who covers that beat. This information can usually be
found on the outlet's website. Blasting the identical press release to
multiple outlets and multiple reporters at the same outlet is a sign that
you are taking shortcuts rather than targeting a specific market.
Do not waste time writing the headline until the release is done. Copy
editors write the real headlines in newspapers and magazines, but it is
good to come up with a catchy title or "headline" for the release. This
headline may be your only chance. Keep it concise and factual. It's a
good idea not to write it until after you finish the press release. You
don't know yet exactly what you—–or those you interview, will say.
When you have finished a draft of the release, you may decide to
revise your lead—or not. Then, and only then, think about the headline.
Use your headline as the subject line of the email. If you've written a
good "grabber" headline, this will help your message stand out in the
editor's email inbox.
Avoid using jargon or specialized technical terms. If accuracy requires
the use of an industry-specific term, define it.
A follow-up call can help develop a press release into a full story.
The timing of the press release is very important. It must be relevant
and recent news, not too old and not too distant.

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Warnings

Always include a quote—–ideally from the lead individual involved in

the subject matter of the release. The text need not be an actual quote
but it should be plausible. Either way, it is essential to check that the
person being quoted is happy with it. A quote allows a busy journalist to
prepare a complete article without doing a follow-up interview.
Always remember that many editing teams are overworked and
understaffed. If you can make life easier for them, you're more likely to
get coverage. If you write a press release that's close to the way the
editor will actually publish it, it may see publication with minimal editing.
But if you fill it with fluffy advertising copy, don't use proper AP style,
etc., the editor will surely delete this kind of fluff. Everybody says
they're the leader. Don't waste the editor's time. The place to put a
description is in the company information section of the release. But
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keep it accurate and factual.
Articles should be as up-beat and positive as possible. Avoid phrases
like "following the resignation of the previous chairman" or "after a
period of inactivity." A journalist could decide to investigate those
matters instead of reporting what is in the press release and—–even if
the circumstances were completely innocuous, for instance if the
chairman had resigned due to ill health—–the resulting copy might not
be to your liking.
Do not include other people's contact details without getting their
agreement. In addition, they must be available at all reasonable hours
in the days following the release.
When emailing a press release, do not make the subject line of your
email "press release." You will only blend into the crowd. Get the
editor's attention by making the subject line your "grabber" headline, for
example, "Brand Co. wins $30 billion government contract."

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ http://www.prweb.com
2. ↑ http://www.prnewswire.com
3. ↑ http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/09/how-to-write-a-press-
release.html/1

How to Write a Press Release from Your-Story.org, http://www.your-

story.org/how-to/how-to-write-a-press-release/ – research source
http://livepressworld.com/ – research source
Publicity Insider, http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp – research
source

Article Info

Categories: Featured Articles | Magazines and News

Recent edits by: Funnybilly, KommaH, BizAdmin Featured

Article
In other languages:

Deutsch: Wie man eine Pressemitteilung schreibt, Nederlands: een persbericht

schrijven, Español: Cómo escribir un comunicado de prensa, Français: Comment
rédiger un article de presse, Italiano: Come Scrivere un Comunicato
Stampa, Português: Como Escrever um Press Release (Comunicado de
Imprensa), Русский: написать пресс релиз, 中文: 撰写新闻稿
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