11 Must-Have Elements of a Great Press Release
I’m not surprised that individuals doing their own PR struggle with one thing — writing the press release. Think about it…I had an entire class, three credits, one semester long devoted to writing press releases in J-school, and DIYers are left to figure it out for themselves.
Everyone has their own way of writing a press release. They come in all shapes and sizes; long, short, double-spaced, dull and un-informational, and of course there are the good ones that seem to grab hold of the reader and compel journalists to tell the story. Take a guess at which ones peak the interest of editors and drives PR for a business? However, the reality is if you can’t afford to hire a professional, than you are the next best person to tell your story.
Here are 11 elements that make up a great, eye-catching, newsworthy, attention-getting press release:
- Contact information (no kidding, some people actually forget contact information!): You want to be immediately reachable by any media person.
- Release date: This date tells media exactly when the story was released and how timely it is.
- A powerful, eye-catching, teasing headline: The point of the headline of a press release is the same as a newspaper, to draw the reader in. If you fail to capture their interest they won’t read beyond the headline.
- A sub-headline: The purpose of this is to give a little more detail on what the press release is about. Here’s a great example:
ONE ORGANIZATION BETS ON AMERICAN YOUTH TO HELP CHILDREN IN AFRICA
Kids Caring 4 Kids Encourages Kids and Young People to Say “i care 2” and Make a Difference for Children in Africa - Strong lead paragraph: This is the first paragraph of the release and the second place you can lose editors. You have to present the entire story in four sentences max!
- A story-like body: Tell the story.
- Quotes: Show expert positioning and create human interest.
- Links to websites: Press releases today are alive. This means that media can immediately click live links in your release to go to websites for more information, video and more. Link to your online press room.
- How to: A key part of the story that you no doubt want journalists to include. How to buy; how to join; how to contact; how much it costs; how it will change their life, etc.
- The why: Why does your story matter; why is your product/service relevant; why should they buy; why will it change their lives, etc. (9 and 10 are often times also referred to as “a call to action” or the meat of the story).
- The who (aka a boilerplate): A brief, one paragraph general description of your business that appears at the end of the release.
Image credit: lusi
After a stint writing broadcast news and working in radio and sports marketing, Jennifer worked for an impressive list of Fortune 500 companies, including Jim Bean Brands, Motorola, Maytag, Milk – Got Milk?, and Kraft.
With over 15 years in marketing, Jennifer opened her business in 2001 with the goal of showing small businesses how they can achieve the same kind of quality PR as the big boys do, but more affordably and efficiently. As a journalist, she enjoys telling the truly great stories of small businesses across the country, and creating the awareness they need to blossom into highly successful businesses.
Some of her clients have tripled or quadrupled their business in under two years using PR. She has achieved media placements in The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Reuters, The New York Times, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, LA Times, Shape, Bon Appetit, Esquire, Fast Company, CNN, MarketWatch, “Today”, “Good Morning America”, and Food Network amongst hundreds of placements in newspapers, TV, radio, blogs and websites across the country.
Jennifer is a graduate of the award-winning William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas, and guest lectures at universities in Chicago and small business groups on PR. She is often tapped by media as a PR and brand reputation expert, is a board member of IShouldBeInTheNews.org, contributor on Small Business Daily blog and Founder of Sip & Give Networking Benefit events.
For more: http://www.cascadecomms.com, http://cascadeeffect.blogspot.com, @SmallBizPRXpert
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