First the bad news! Producing a press release does not guarantee coverage of your business story in the media. Now the good news! You can easily produce a press release at no cost to yourself except your time, by just taking the following 8 easy steps to create a potentially successful press release.
Step 1 – Key Questions
Before you write any press release you need to ask yourself a few questions, such as:
- Why are you are writing a press release?
- What would you like the audience to take away with them?
- Is it topical/newsworthy?
- What mediums (newspaper, magazine, tv, radio, specialist publications, etc) might make use of it and can reach your target audience?
Step 2 – Know Your Medium
Contact the newsdesks to find out the key contact details for the mediums you are intending to send your press release to and their deadlines.
Make use of the access you have to previous editions of the medium, so that you gain a full understanding of the types of stories that get used and the way they like to write or present them.
Step 3 – Content
Make sure the release doesn't contain any spelling mistakes or errors and is grammatically correct.
Sources and quotes also need to be accurate. If you include quotes from others then you should run the final draft past them for checking and approval before sending it as they may also be contacted for further comment.
Keep to the point; make it punchy and easy to read. You need to think in the position of the reader, ask yourself would you, your friends or family want to read it.
Step 4 – Format
Remember journalists receive several press releases every day so you need to make it easy to read and grab their attention. It should be clearly headed up as a press release and if you have a company logo make use of it at the top of the document.
Every press release usually has large margins for journalist's notes, text is one-and-a-half line-spaced and is 1 to 2 sides of A4 maximum. Generally the format is split in to 6 main areas/paragraphs as follows, with each paragraph containing two to three concise sentences:
- Headline – snappy, but not too clever!
- The Grabber – Explains the story and sets out the main facts (Who, What, Why, When and Where).
- The Details
- The Quote(s)
- Additional Paragraph – Not always necessary, but it you have further relevant background or related information to include then you can add a further paragraph after the quote. However, again keep to the point and make it concise.
- Notes for Editors – This can include several additional pieces of information as detailed in the next step, and can differ in size but ideally needs to stay within the overall 2 pages of A4 maximum.
Step 5 - Notes for Editors
If you need to provide even more background information for longer stories then you can include it under this last area.
The main point of this area is generally to provide editors/journalists with:
- Outline of photo/interview opportunities relevant locations, dates and times.
- Contact details – name, position, email, phone, website.
Step 6 – The Photo
They say a picture paints a thousand words and a good one will grab the reader’s attention! Similar to the word content you need to think in the position of the reader, ask yourself what photo would positively grab their attention.
Step 7 - Embargoes
Most press releases can be released immediately and this needs to be clearly stated “For Immediate Release” at the top of the document under where it says it is a Press Release.
If you don’t want your press release published before a certain date then you need to include an embargo statement “Not for publication before xx/xx/xx” at the top of the document. The majority of journalists will respect this unless you are being unreasonable.
Step 8 – Don’t Be Put Off!
If your press release doesn’t make it in to print or on to the air, then try, try again. Use it as a learning exercise find out why the journalist didn’t use it and ask how you could improve the chances of it becoming a successful press release.
