Suffering Press Release Writer's Block?


Although the press release for the Chevy contest has past, I was curious what a press release needs to be successful as far as publicity. Now, we all know the story about how the Spartan Daily put the Chevy contest story on page 3, so I decided to research what would it take for a press release to make the news and most of all top news. For those who do not know what a press release is, according to 1st World Library it means, "A public relations announcement issued to the news media and other targeted publications for the purpose of letting the public know of company developments."

According to Press Release Writing's website, a press release should,

1. Make sure the information is newsworthy.

2. Tell the audience that the information is intended for them and why they should continue to read it.

3. Start with a brief description of the news, then distinguish who announced it, and not the other way around.

4. Ask yourself, "How are people going to relate to this and will they be able to connect?"

5. Make sure the first 10 words of your release are effective, as they are the most important.

6. Avoid excessive use of adjectives and fancy language.

7. Deal with the facts.

8. Provide as much Contact information as possible: Individual to Contact, address, phone, fax, email, Web site address.

9. Make sure you wait until you have something with enough substance to issue a release.

10. Make it as easy as possible for media representatives to do their jobs.



Even though these tips are simple, they seem very effected. My favorite tip is tip #5 "Make sure the first 10 words of your release are effective, as they are the most important." This tip is important because if you do not catch your reader's attention from the start, most likely they will not read the rest.

Press releases are the best way to get news out the public and is a useful tool for anyone who are involed in media.