“Writing and Distributing a Press Release”

A well-written press release can help boost sales, give your business greater public exposure, and enhance your company or product image.

Press releases can generate media coverage that tells millions of potential customers what’s new, different and exciting about your business or product. A product review or feature story on your product or company often acts as an implied endorsement or editorial recommendation from an independent third party. And, unlike advertising, this kind of publicity is free. Your main investment is time — plus a little money for stamps, stationery and photocopies — and the exposure you get may be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars in business.

Press releases can take various forms, including:

• In-depth feature articles on your product or business.
• Announcements of personnel changes, new hires, and any other news about your business that might interest the public.
• Radio or television interviews, either with you or someone else connected with your organization.
• New product reviews aimed for newspapers, magazines and industry journals.

In this Quick-Read you will find:

• Key facts about press releases.
• Tips for writing releases.

You may also be interested in Quick-Reads “Dealing with the Media,” “After the Story Runs: How to Get the Most From Your Ink” and “Launching a PR Campaign.”

SOLUTION [top]

Keep these points in mind when preparing press releases:

1. The purpose of releases is to entice the media into reporting, in their own words, on your company or product. Unless it’s a simple announcement, the material in your release will likely be rewritten to suit media needs.
2. Media people might call and ask for clarification or additional information. Provide whatever they request, and do it quickly, to accommodate deadlines.
3. Inaccuracies, poor grammar and “muddy” writing guarantee that your release will be tossed. The media have no time to decode unprofessional submissions. Write clearly and concisely with minimal jargon so that your message is easily understood.
4. Press releases can be as long as three pages, providing your information is newsworthy and clearly written. One-page releases are best for announcing new employees and straightforward business news. (Keep in mind your audience — local newspapers may care about new employee hires or promotions, but a larger city paper won’t — and be discriminating in sending out announcements of this kind.)
5. Releases are valuable marketing tools. Make sure they reach as many potential customers as possible. Distribute releases at trade shows, mail them to associations, or hand them out at speaking engagements. Display recent press releases on your Web site so they’re always available to potential customers as well as the media.

Creating press releases

Start by answering the following questions:

• What are you trying to accomplish with your press release? Do you have a new product to introduce, or have you improved on an existing one? Do you want to increase your visibility in a new market? Having a clear understanding of your goals will help you focus the text of the release.
• Are your expectations realistic? Chances are your release won’t result in tripled sales overnight. A press release should be just one part of an overall public relations campaign, and often you won’t see immediate results. Yes, there are amazing media success stories, but few companies report this experience. Ten phone calls from journalists would be terrific, but one or two responses will mean success.
• What is your marketing message, and is it newsworthy? Your “hook” or angle should make the release newsworthy to the media by describing what’s special about your company or product. Identify your hook by answering these three questions:

1. How is your product or service special, unusual or different from competitors’?
2. What innovations can be attributed to your company? Example: “ABC Company pioneered the use of double-sided widgets to reduce equipment failure rates by at least 50%.”
3. What would make people want to read or hear about you? An unusual feature or benefit will pique their interest. Example: A discount travel service, Campus Travelers, can claim a unique service — helping students enrolled in prep schools, colleges, or universities find exclusive student discount fares. That’s newsworthy.

What to say in a press release

• Don’t make false claims or create expectations that can’t be met. The media will discover the truth (it’s their job!), and you run the risk of exposing yourself to unfavorable coverage.
• Tailor your press release carefully. For food editors, highlight the taste and nutrition of your fat-burning Yogurt Dream product. Lifestyle editors will want to hear about its potential as a weight-loss aid, while science editors will be more interested in the product’s special chemical composition. If you can include a glossy photo that tells a related story, it will make your release stand out from the dozens of others the editor receives. Suggest a caption for the photo, just as you suggest text for an article with your news release.
• Avoid jargon and highly technical language. Don’t assume anyone receiving your release has technical or industry knowledge or expertise.
• Do your homework. Read back issues of the newspapers and magazines you want to target. Emulate the content and style they favor. Examine PR Newswire press releases for more style and content ideas.
• Include the right details. Press releases are written and presented to the media in a standard format.
  • Release statement. Include the words “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE or FOR RELEASE AFTER (date)” in the upper-left margin, just under your letterhead. Always boldface and capitalize every letter, and use a slightly larger font size.
  • Contact information. Skip a line or two after the release statement. Then list the name, title, telephone, and fax numbers of your company spokesperson. Supply home numbers because reporters work on deadlines and may not be available until after hours.
  • Headline. Skip two lines after contact information and list your main headline in boldface type.
  • Dateline. Your city and the date you are mailing your release should begin your first sentence.
  • Lead paragraph. The first paragraph needs to grab the reader’s attention and quickly impart key information relevant to your message.
  • Text. The main body of your press release should thoroughly develop your angle.
  • Concluding recap. At the bottom-left corner of your last page, restate your product’s specifications, highlight a product release date, and indicate if a free sample or review copy is available to the media. Don’t forget to list your booth number if you’ll be attending a trade show.
• Make your headline strong. The media are more likely to read your press release — at least through the first paragraph. Stick to one-sentence headlines. You’ll find good examples in newspapers and magazines. Avoid cuteness or cleverness, such as “Yummy Yogurt Will Make Your Waistline Yippee.” Focus instead on your marketing hook — that is, your product’s greatest strength:

  Breakthrough Yogurt Product
  Burns Fat While You Eat
  or
  Yogurt Product Actually
  Helps People Burn Calories

• Use your lead paragraph to convey, in two or three sentences, the purpose of your release.