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Rules to Keep When Publishing Your Press
Release
In baseball, it's said that you know an umpire is top-notch
when you nevër notice his presence. If he's doing his
job, he won't call attention to himself in any way. It's
much the same for the writer of a press release. When
the recipient of a release focuses only on its content
-- and not on its creation -- the writer has succeeded.
With that in mind, here's The 10 Commandments of Press
Releases:
1. Be Professional.
No goofy fonts, rainbow paper or silly gimmicks. Even
lighthearted press releases represent a communication
between one professional and another.
2. Think “Promotion”
If you can't get enough objective distance from your company
to write a press release that's not filled with hype and
puffery, hire someone to write it for you.
3. Be Interesting.
Even the driest subject matter allows for some sparks
of creativity. Journalists like knowing that there's a
human being communicating with them, not some corporate
robot.
4. Be Brief.
Learn to cut out extraneous words. Keep your sentences
short. Include only the points necessary to sell the story.
The well-crafted one page press release is a thing of
beauty.
5. Know Your Recipient.
A features or lifestyle editor is a very different creature
from a city desk editor. If you're promoting the opening
of a new winery, the food and wine editor may be interested
in all the details about what kind of aging process and
wine press you're using. The city desk editor just wants
to know when the grand opening is and what's going to
happen there.
6. Use The Proper Tense.
When writing a hard news release -- a contract signing,
a stöck split, a major announcement, etc.) use the past
tense (Acme Industries has changed its name to AcmeCo,
the company announced today...) When writing a soft news
release -- a trend story, a personal profile, etc. --
use the present tense (Jane Smith is one of the best marathon
runners over 40. She's also blind. Thanks to new technology
from AcmeCo, Jane is able to...).
7. Think Visually.
A press release is more than words -- it's a visual document
that will first be assessed by how it looks. I'm referring
to more than font size or letterhead. I'm talking about
the actual layout of the words. Whether received by mail,
fax or e-mail, a journalist -- often unconsciously --
will make decisions about whether to read the release
based on how the release is laid out. Big blocks of text
and long paragraphs are daunting and uninviting. Short
paragraphs and sentences make for a much more visually
inviting look.
When writing a non-hard news release, I often use a simple
formula -- the lead paragraph should be one or two sentences
at most. The next paragraph should be very, very short.
8. Tell A Story.
How to arrange the facts of a hard news release is pretty
much cut and dried. The old "who, what, when, where
and how" lead and "inverted pyramid" concepts
still hold. (Rather than engage you in a course in basic
news writing, I'll direct you to a really good discussion
of what the inverted pyramid is.
9. Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness.
This may seem an obvious point, but it always bears repeating.
Tell the truth.
Don't inflate, don't confabulate, don't exaggerate. Don't
twist facts, don't make up numbers, don't make unsubstantiated
claims. Any decent journalist will be able to see right
through this. If you're lucky, your release will just
get tossed out. If you're unlucky, you'll be exposed.
It's a chance not at all worth taking. Make sure every
release you write is honest and on the level.
10. Know Your Limitations.
Not everyone can write a press release. A good feature
release, in particular, isn't an easy thing to craft.
If you just don't feel like you have the chops to get
the job done, hire a professional.
One last tip: right before you start writing your release,
spend an hour or two reading your daily paper, paying
special attention to stories similar in feel to yours.
Immerse yourself in how the pros do it and you'll be in
the right frame of mind to tackle the job!
