Below are a few tips:
1 . Understand that nobody cares.
“I always suppose the theory I’m pitching may be the minimum attractive for an obscure firm on a subject that nobody really wants to hear, ” Long says.
It’s a good mental exercise. It forces you to strive to find an interesting angle. Long used to ghost-write, he says, and most clients were way more interested in themselves than everybody else could ever be. The same is true for your news release.
Face it: Journalists aren’t nearly as impressed in your new hair gel/toboggan wax as your bosses are. They seldom are relocated to tears by the golden phrases that trip from your tongue. Just tell them what your product, event, or service has to offer the reader.
2 . Keep your goal in mind.
The purpose of a press release isn’t to make your poobahs delighted by touting minor product developments that no reporter would ever cover. Long says you should treat a press release as a purposeful document with a single goal: to elicit a call back from a reporter.
“I want someone to read this… and then I would like them to pick up the phone or send me an email and say, ‘Tell me more, ‘” he says.
3. Consider ‘do’ vs . ‘applaud’ press releases.
There are two styles of press release, which Long labels “Do vs . Applaud. ” Either your organization did something and is bragging about it, or you are applauding something-possibly someone else’s achievement-so you can “bask in reflected glory. ” Think of a nonprofit’s endorsement of a bill offered in Congress.
So as you do your pre-writing thinking, also consider which kind of news release this is.
4. Fit it all on one page.
Every press release should fit on an 8½-by-11 sheet of paper, Long says. Better yet, don’t fill the sheet. This is not a place for an essay on your event or product. Write short paragraphs-four lines maximum. Use lots of white space.
The point of a press release isn’t to provide them everything. “It’s bait, ” Lengthy says. Lure them.
5. List true contacts up top.
Long supplies a helpful template for a news release. Some of it may look like good sense, but evidently a reminder is necessary, given the amount of organizations that released badly structured pr announcements.
Starts with a get in touch with name, contact number, and email deal with. This is not the area for the title of one’s narcissistic CEO, unless he programs to field reporters’ phone calls personally.
“The reporter just really wants to understand who to speak to, ” Long says.
6. End up being direct in your headline.
Here’s Long’s template: “Headline: Client Does Something. ”
Your client usually wants its title in advance. This solves that issue. Also, this form of headline deals immediately with the ” Do you know what ” aspect, Long says.
Obscure your own message with wordplay or perhaps a witty amaze, and you’re only delaying the moment when journalists find out what this is all about. Tell them immediately.
7. Remember the very long game.
The pitch is a long game.
7 Tips for Composing a Killer News Release
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