| Writing a press release is more art than science. And to be read, it must be done right. The biggest challenge is to know what journalists consider genuine news and what they consider fluff. Being so close to your e-business, you can easily lose perspective: What you see as earthshaking news to you will get the automatic delete from journalists. Issuing too much company fluff as news will eventually result in your future news releases being ignoredsort of like the boy who cried "Wolf!" too often. Make your release newsworthy by solving a current problem or filling a current need. Pinpoint what that need or problem is, and write the release from that perspective. Along with making your press release newsworthy (see Figure 18.2), you need to keep the following in mind when writing your release. Figure 18.2. Press Release Writing.com has samples of proper press releases you can use. 
Web Resource: Free Press Release Template Press Release Writing.com offers a free press release template to help write your press releases correctly. For a small fee, you can download the book, Sample Press Releases for Every Occasion, and get attention with your press releases. You can find this at www.press-release-writing.com/press-release-template.htm. |
Tip: Keep It Short Keep your press releases short if you want them read. Journalists are always pressed for time, and a lengthy diatribe will not motivate them to read your release. Keep your release less than one page in lengthabout 500 words maximum.
Create an unmistakable opening The first line of your press release should read "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE," in all caps. This lets the reporters know that the news is authorized for publication on the date they receive it. Write a headline that gets straight to the point Write a headline using a combination of lowercase and capital letters, keeping your headline to 10 words or less. Remember, what you say here determines whether the reader will read the rest of the release. It's the 1.54 seconds again. Create a strong leading paragraph The first part of your lead paragraph should include the city it was released from or where the event took place, the newswire it was released over, and the date of the release. It would look like this: "DENVER - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Jan. 31, 2002." All releases must include a date because reporters do not always use releases immediately. Your lead paragraph should then answer the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the event. The lead paragraph is really an abstract or summary of the whole release. Give the journalist reading the release the reason why it's important to his or her readers Here's where you give a detailed explanation from the reader's perspective. Add all background information, quotes from objective or third-party sources, comparisons with competitors, and so on. If you're sending your release inside the text of an email message, format it in the style of the most common email reader. Stay away from HTML tags, tabs, or columns; text-based email programs do not read these well. Include a brief company summary Mention your company expertise in your niche, your location, years in business, and so on. Keep it short. Don't include your annual report. Include complete contact information Give a contact name, an email address, and your URL. The contact name you supply should be someone who's available and capable of answering questions from the press. Close the release Close with the characters "-30-" or "###," which are style conventions that let reporters know they have reached the end of the release.
Tip: PR Do's and Don'ts PR do's: Do make your press releases short and to the point. Do include all necessary contact information. Do check spelling and grammar in your release. Do it twice, just to be sure. Do keep typefaces large, legible, and readable for both email and faxes. Do write a clear and meaningful subject line that reflects the contents of your release.
PR don'ts: Don't write unclear press releases. If it doesn't make sense to the reader, it will not be used. Don't send a release to a publication without knowing the audience or what the publication is all about. Don't send attached files. Don't send a word-processing document or a zipped file that the contact needs to download, unzip, read into his word processor, determine the compatibility for, print, review, and so on.
The ultimate question is this: Have you designed a press room for a journalist working on deadline to easily find the needed answers on your site? If so, your little stepchild has become a full-fledged member of your marketing and promotion family. Where to Send Your Press Release When you have your press release written, you need to tell the world. So where do you send it? Here are websites to consider. First, there's PR Web (www.prweb.com). One nice thing about PR Web is that it offers free posting. The following charge either a posting fee per release or an annual fee to use their press release distribution service: PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com) Requires an annual fee for posting Business Wire (www.businesswire.com) Requires an annual fee URLwire (www.urlwire.com) Posts on demand and charges per posting, but does not have an annual fee Internet News Bureau (www.newsbureau.com/services) Charges per posting, but does not have an annual fee Xpress Press (www.xpresspress.com) Charges per posting, but does not have an annual fee
Let PR help you promote your business and use this lost stepchild to increase the visibility and credibility of your Yahoo! store. |
