When I was a reporter, I received a lot of press releases. To be honest, I didn’t read many. More on why here, but for the purpose of this blog post, I’m going to teach you how to write a press release and even share a sample press release.
[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-shadow”]Journalists have no interest in giving you a free #commercial. They need to tell a #story.[/Tweet]
Before you even get started, remember journalists have no interest in giving you a free commercial. They need to tell a story, that means your press release
- Must be interesting and relevant to capture their attention and the attention of their audience
- Has to be different and include aspects that are new to the journalist and his or her audience
Press Release Template
1. Headline
When it comes to getting your press release read, this is a deal maker or a deal breaker. I compare it to the importance of an email subject line in a busy inbox.
Keep your headline short, sweet, and interesting to focus people’s attention on your top line message and stand out.
2. Get to the point
Journalists are busy, so you need to tell them right away why they should care about your news.
The first paragraph of your press release should cover the who, what, when, where, why, and how.
3. Add some color with a quote
You should add a quote or two for two reasons:
- It adds details to your story that can bring in the emotional element to the facts in the first paragraph.
- Some journalists will copy and paste the press release, so you want to be thorough and include everything a journalist needs to tell the story.
5. Provide Additional Newsworthy Information
As you finish, remember you’ve already outlined the most important information. Now, it’s time to offer unique, newsworthy details. You can also tease to the future if your press release warrants it.
6. The Boilerplate
This is the short “about me” section of the press release at the bottom. I like to keep it to two or three sentences.
[Tweet theme=”tweet-box-shadow”]While I’m not a big fan of #pressreleases, sometimes a #journalist will ask for one after an initial pitch.[/Tweet]
While I’m not a big fan of press releases, sometimes a journalist will ask for one after an initial pitch. Also, if you use a press release distribution service, it can help your SEO.
Sample Press Release
