Writing Tip: Press Release Basics - Writing Articles to Get Your Client's News in the Headlines

A press release, or news release, is used to send information to the media. If it is well organized and piques a journalist's interest, the release can become a news item or even a feature story. Press releases can provide a tremendous amount of free publicity to any business, organization, or individual.

The basics of press release writing are not difficult to master, and can add another skill to any business writer's portfolio.

Basic Elements of Press Releases

A news release must follow a very specific format. Use an easy-to-read font, and print the press release on company letterhead when it's finished. The completed release will have the following basic elements:

• The words "press release" should be centered at the top of the page, in ALL CAPS.
• The contact information for the news release should be next.
• Opposite the contact information, on the top right, should be the words "For Immediate Release" unless the material should not be released right away.
• Headline should be centered in ALL CAPS.
• Subtitle should be centered in Title Case.
• Write introductory paragraph and body next.
• Include a summary of the company's basic information at the end.
• Close with three pound signs (# # #), the standard symbol for the end of a press release.

Press Release Headline Writing

The headline of a press release hopes to be the headline of a news story, so write it accordingly. Headlines must be engaging and brief, and should highlight an interesting element of the news that is being released. In only a very few words the story must be made to appear as exciting as possible. This is different than writing for the web, where the first audience is a search engine, not a human being.

Use a subtitle if it will allow you to grab the reporter's attention and convince him that he could write a newsworthy story from this press release. Ideally, the release should become the news story - most reporters appreciate getting a good article while doing little or no work.

Write a Strong Lead Paragraph to Make a Press Release Stand Out

The opening, or lead, paragraph of any press release must include the answers to the basic questions in journalism: who, what, where, when, why, and how. In addition, a lead paragraph must convince its audience - the reporter - that his audience would be interested in reading the article.

Provide the basic information about the news story in an exciting, but not sensationalist, tone. If the headline is the sign that gets the shopper in the store, the lead paragraph's job is to close the sale. To extend the analogy, the remainder of the release is just about haggling over price - it's very important, but it's also just details.

Use a "Reverse Pyramid" to Write the Press Release Body

Each paragraph after the lead is used to give supporting details to the lead paragraph. The "reverse pyramid" is how the information is stacked - the most important facts are at the beginning, with smaller and smaller details appearing further into the release.

The style is also employed by writers hired for the web - get the information across before the readers lose interest.

Include Human Interest Elements

Use quotations from experts in the appropriate field, or "man on the street" reactions, to make a press release more likely to be carried. Reporters are just as bored by dry facts as any other person. Including an angle that gives the press release a more individual, personal feel will make it stand out among others the reporter may have read that day.

Press releases cover the gamut of information from corporate takeovers and Presidential announcements to small businesses taking on a new partner. Any press release can be carried by the news media if it includes the basic elements set forth here, but the press releases that read like an interesting news article will have the best chance of being used.

Take special note of articles that make you want to read further on - these articles were probably once press releases, and can serve as good models.

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XOXO


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