How to write a press release

A guest post to help you get the most of your press releases. If you like it, please share it. Warren

How to write a press release

Recently, I was asked to talk to a group of Wiltshire business owners on the subject of writing press releases. 

With 20 years’ experience in newspaper journalism – five as the editor of a local newspaper – and six in public relations, writing news stories is something I can do standing on my head, so I don’t tend to give the ‘how to’ much thought.

But to ensure I didn’t leave out any vital tips for my eager audience I wrote some notes. Once written I thought I might as well share ‘em.

To demonstrate how this guide works, the group of business owners and I spent our allotted 45 minutes writing an actual press release. You can see the results, which were published in the business section of our local newspaper, the Gazette & Herald, at http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretagentmarketing/6647051769/sizes/l/in/photostream/ , and read how we incorporated my tips into the end product.

Spotting a story

News is anything that makes a reader say Gee Whiz!
Arthur MacEwen, the first editor of the San Francisco Examiner

Press coverage is an excellent way of growing your business by presenting your product or service to a new audience, but how do you go about getting it?

The first thing you need is an interesting story to tell.

I’ve got a nose for news, so I can find a story in every organisation.

In the case of one recent client, a fact-finding conversation led to me spotting that his company was celebrating its 10th anniversary.

It hadn’t occurred to him that there was some PR mileage in that. Egged on by me, he invited his consultants from far and wide to a party. There was cake with a big number 10 on it, and we generated some good PR. Oh, and ate the cake.

(You can read it at http://secretagentmarketing.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/outplacement-specialist-celebrates-10-years-with-guarantee)

Sit down and think about some of the things that are happening in your organisation. Write a list, and see if anything jumps out at you. Think what you’d tell your significant other, or your mates at the pub, if they asked: “What’s happening at work this week…?”

My non-exhaustive list includes:

Awards you or your staff have won
Products you’ve launched
New contracts / new staff / company expansion
Your product is the first of something
Something you’re doing fits neatly with the current news agenda
Celebrity endorsement / involvement
Getting the angle right

Once you’ve established your story, you need to sell it to your potential audience. Think about the way you consume news: Do you read every word in your newspaper, or scan the headlines and perhaps read the first paragraph or two of a story to see if it appeals to you?

You should be able to tell your story in the headline and opening paragraph. Everything after that is simply adding flesh to the bones for readers interested enough to explore further.

Sometimes you can tailor your activity to generate PR – which I guess you could loosely term ‘spin’.

A straight lecture to a group of business leaders wouldn’t have generated any press, but the fact that we did something out-of-the-ordinary – by writing a press release from scratch in 45 minutes – led to some excellent coverage.

Headline

Headlines are a device that news outlets use to attract consumers to a story – you need to do the same. In six or seven words tell the reader why they need to stop at your story.

Structure

Ever heard of the news pyramid? The organisation of a news story can usually be defined as an inverted pyramid, with the essential or most interesting elements of the story at the top, and supporting information following in order of diminishing importance.

The Intro

If the headline is the bait, the opening paragraph is the hook. Remember the news pyramid: put the most interesting thing about your story at, or near, the start of your opening paragraph, and try not to cram too much information in.

For example…

Doctor Emmett Brown, a physicist and inventor who established a small company designing and building electronic devices from the garage of his home at Hill Valley, California in 1955 today unveiled a DeLorean sports car fitted with a flux capacitor, which makes time travel possible.

…is not the way you would do it.

You’re familiar with Back to the Future, right? Have a go at writing the opening paragraph telling your readers about Doc Brown’s invention of the time machine.

Content – AKA the five Ws (and an H)

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
Rudyard Kipling , Just So Stories

It’s time to put some flesh on the bones. The five Ws (and an H) are a useful formula for ensuring to get the full facts across. Make sure your press release answers these questions, but not necessarily in this order:

Who is it about?
What happened?
Where did it take place?
When did it take place?
Why did it happen?
How did it happen?

Quotes

Quotes bring the story to life. They make your press release about people, rather than a thing. State a fact, then try to back that fact up with a quote.

Sounds great – where do I get one?

At some point, having talked up your product or service, you’ll be wanting to tell potential customers how to get it. This is best left to the bottom of the story, but do remember to include physical outlets or a website / email address / telephone number by which people can secure the goods or services you are selling.

“Ends”

Every story starts somewhere, and it ends at the bottom. The word ENDS at the bottom of a press release divides the information intended for publication from that given for information.

After the end

Right at the bottom of the press release give the journalist some further information. A short biog about your company might prove useful and contact details are essential. Don’t just hide behind an email – give a landline and mobile number too.

Some other things to consider…

Language

Think about your audience and use appropriate language. Avoid technical words and phrases (jargon) if you’re writing to a general audience, and don’t rely on superlatives (although if your product or service really is the first, biggest, best of its kind then say so, but substantiate it).

Always write in the third person, not the first person. So: “PR exert Peter Davison has published a guide to writing a press release,” not “I’ve published a guide to writing a press release.”

The only time you should use first person reporting is in a quote: “I decided to publish a guide to writing a press release because I’m really good at it, and I thought others might benefit from my expertise,” said Peter.

It might sound obvious, but don’t use emotes

You will never need an exclamation mark! You may as well remove that button from your keyboard now!!! (See, irritating, isn’t it?)

Paragraph structure

Write short, snappy paragraphs. They’re easier to read than great big blocks of text.

Length

As a general rule, keep it short. Three hundred words is plenty, and they’ll soon go when you get into your flow. If a journalist needs more information, he or she will ask.

Images

Pictures are important. In newspapers and magazines, a picture – if used – will almost certainly give your story page prominence.

And the better a picture is, the more chance it has of being used, so get some professional shots done if your budget will allow.

If you can’t afford a professional snapper, find a friend or someone in your organisation who at least has an idea about which way round to hold a camera, and owns a decent one. Top tip: pictures taken on a mobile phone are rubbish.

Identifying your target media

Now you’ve spotted your story, you need a platform for it. Ask yourself who will be interested in your story and which publications or media will reach these people or businesses. Your list will probably include:

Local newspapers
Local radio and TV
Websites and blogs
Trade, technical and professional magazines covering your type of business or expertise
Consumer and lifestyle magazines
National newspapers
Once you’ve identified your target media it’s a good idea to read (or watch, or listen to) the publication or platform. Try to establish whether they cover the kind of story you will be offering, how much space they seem to give to such stories and who the key contacts are.

Say hi

Before you send your press release you should consider phoning your target journalists. This is the time to sell your story – don’t ask them if you can send them a press release; tell them you have a great story for them, get them hooked, then send them the press release.

Phoning helps to build a relationship, and if they are expecting a press release they’ll be looking out for it.

You might also establish, at an early stage, whether you are actually sending the press release to the right person – it might be your story will be of far more interest to another journalist on the same publication, or a different publication entirely.

Oh, and before you launch into your sales pitch, establish whether they’re on deadline – you’ll get a far better response during quieter times of the day or week.

If you can establish yourself as a reliable source of well-written, informative news stories journalists are likely to publish your press releases again and again.

Sending your press release

Most press releases these days are sent by email. Try to avoid anything too fancy – you’re not planning a page for the journalist, or designing a piece of print, just giving him or her the information he or she needs.

Here are a few tips:

In the subject line write PRESS RELEASE then give the headline of the story (more of which later). If your story is specific to, say, a geographical location, it might help to stick the location at the front of the subject line: WILTSHIRE PRESS RELEASE.

Send your press release as the body text, rather than as an attachment – especially a PDF, which can be difficult to edit. Remember – ease of cut and paste beats beautiful fonts hands down.

If you are sending a picture, avoid clogging up the inbox of your recipient by sending a small image and including a link to a larger one (services like Flickr are great for this).

If you intend to send press releases on a regular basis, or want to build a press database with customisable fields, try Mailchimp. It’s free for small lists and a great tool.

And finally…

Your published article will generate new business leads, but there are other ways in which you can use your news story. Why not start a news section on your website, or use the contents in a newsletter to customers?

Don’t forget, once you’re published you can promote the fact that your product or service was written or talked about in the media – after all, if it’s been in the press it has to be good, right?

Still need help?

Secret Agent Marketing can manage some or all of the press release process for you, from devising a campaign to editing your proof for favour of publication.

With a wide range of media contacts and a well-earned reputation among the region’s press corps, we’re brilliantly placed to get your story in the press.

For more information, go to www.secretagentmarketing.com, email agentpete@secretagentmarketing.com, join us on Twitter at @SecretAgentPete or call 01672 811515 / 0781 717 8549.

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