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How do I write a press release today?
Learn when and how to write a good press release, and all the steps be sure to get the journalists attention.
Keren Speck
July 23, 2024
What's in store for this edition:
When do I need a Press Release?
Press Releases 101
You may have heard “you need a press release,” or maybe you’ve wondered about being on “the wire”, and thought ‘ooh, that sounds fancy, I need that.’
In this issue you will learn what a press release is and when you do or don’t need one. If you do, there are very specific writing styles and rules you must know.
First, and most importantly, a press release must be newsworthy!
Newsworthy:
✅ New product launch
✅ Mergers, acquisitions, significant expansions, company anniversary
✅ Crisis press release
✅ Major event press release
✅ Award or recognition
Not Newsworthy:
🚫 Hiring of new employee (unless it is a big deal)
🚫 Moving Locations
🚫 New Website Launch
🚫 Personal Opinion or Commentary
Press Releases follow a pattern and have specific rules. This is also known as AP writing and here they are:
Page Formatting: Have a 1-inch margin around the entire document.
Font: Use Arial or Times New Roman for the fonts.
Logo: Place the company logo at the top of the document.
Contact info: (name, phone and email) goes under the logo right-hand side of the press release. This is the person who can answer questions about this press release.
Release time: If it is ready to distribute right away, at the top, left side of the press release, type in bold, all uppercase: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Headline: Make it a good one. (Never, ever make it clickbait) It’s the main reason readers would care about your news. Use 14pt type. No more than 65-80 characters.
Subheading: (optional) Use 13 point, italicized font, up to 120 characters. This includes important aspects of the story.
Location & Date: At the beginning of the first paragraph indicate CITY, State, Month Day, Year — (note the spaces, commas, CITY and STATE abbreviation is all uppercase, and the em dash after the date) i.e. “ORLANDO, FL- July 23, 2024 —”
Lead Paragraph: Write in a way that makes the reader want to keep on reading. It is the who, what, when, where, why, and how. This paragraph will let help the journalist decide whether or not it’s for their audience. Be sure to keep it concise, two to three sentences, try not to exceed 60 words.
Body of Press Release: The next two to three paragraphs should complete the story introduced in the headline and first paragraph. Make the angle of the story shine and add more details and context journalists can use to develop that angle.
💫 Pro tip: Don’t use promotional language, hype, or grandiose claims.
Quotes: Don’t forget to include quotes from CEO, spokesperson, author, etc. Make sure they add value and are not just repeating what the reader already knows. Quotes can round out announcements with a human perspective. Plus, it can clearly explain the angle that makes your press release worthy of coverage.
Quote Formatting: Use double quotation marks to identify it’s a quotation as well as the name and title of the person being quoted.
Conclusion: Company boilerplate is always at the bottom. This is the “about” section it should include your company’s background, awards, amount of time in business, website, or anything else that might be interesting about your company or give your news more weight. The boilerplate should be under 100 words.
End: The very final part is three ‘pound’ signs that are left aligned. This indicates the announcement is complete.
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Multimedia: Include images, videos, logos, etc. and make them embedded and viewable directly from the news release, if possible.
Don’t forget to include quotes, statistics, graphics to back up your claims. Give journalist the whole package and make it easy for them. If they have to chase it down, the less likely they will want to run the story.
Proofread and edit. If you have typos or grammatical errors, your credibility could be questioned.
Save as: To make sure it is readable for everyone, save the file in PDF format.
💫 Pro Tip: Put your press release on the “press page” of your website.
Newswires can send out press releases if you want it widely circulated. Otherwise, my recommended method is to email a specific journalist directly, with a link to your press release. Often times with well written, newsworthy press releases journalist will publish, almost word-for-word, the press release you sent in since you’ve helped to make their job easier, by giving an article that’s ready to go.
“Newspapers cannot be defined by the second word – paper. They’ve got to be defined by the first word – news.”
Press releases can seem daunting to write, but you can do it. If you get stuck or don’t have time, you can always have a PR professional, like myself (just sayin’), help you write one or check it before you send it out.
Do this now: Give AP writing a try! If you have something coming up that is newsworthy, practice writing a press release using the guidelines given.
If you don’t have anything newsworthy, practice making a press release with something that has happened recently in your life or business, have a little fun.
Either way, send it to me, I’d love to see it.
Next episode: What is a pitch? And what makes it a good one?
Term to Learn
Newswire is a wire service is a company that distributes press releases directly to journalists. Wire services are also known as press release feeds or press release distribution services. Some of the bigger players are PR Newswire, Business Wire, Marketwire and Cision PRWeb. Unless you are a major corporation or are distributing mandatory financial news you most likely don’t need this service.
FAQ
Q: Does my business have a PR problem?
A: Not likely. You may just have a business problem. You can’t “PR” your way out of lousy leadership, weak marketing, poor sales, operational issues, blah product, bad business. But if you have zero PR efforts, that could be a problem.
Get PR techniques from recent news.
Newsworthy
Sticker Mule Sticky Situation
One of the co-founders of Sticker Mule sent out a controversial email to the company’s database, and subsequently received quite a bit of backlash.
The Impact: Before you post or email a controversial message consider
Will my message…
violate FTC laws?
just make me look or feel better?
affect your employees? And how?
negatively affect my business, and if so, can you handle it?
Take some time to cool down. You may want to reconsider. Try to come up with a more productive way of dealing with the issue.
✍️ Key PR Takeaway: Consult with a communications professional to help out with messaging and listen to their advice. They aren’t emotionally involved and have lots of experience.
Learn from others.
100% Cool : 0% Cringe
🍨 Sweet Giveaways for National Ice Cream Day
Do you have a store or product that can participate in a “national” day?
Why not reach out to the local media, you provide the product, they provide the reach. It’s a sweet collaboration and giveaway.
Read the press release I wrote for this ice cream shop, then you can get a better idea how they are formatted.
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✍️ Key PR Takeaway: Make your giveaway substantial, have a press release, photos and logos ready, and plenty of time to pitch it, a.k.a. preparation!
Attention Seeker of the Week
Miles
Meet Miles, the singing 3-year-old Chihuahua, when he really wants you to take note, he paws at you until you give him what he wants, attention of course. Primarily petting and scratching are preferred.
It’s been a week full of crazy news. Sometimes I take a break to protect my mental health. What about you?
Until next week, keep your shades on and stay cool.
Your fellow Seeker,
Keren
🕶️
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