89 Press Release Tips

Press Release Tip 2 Don’t write press releases only when you have “legitimate news.” In the old days, we never wrote press releases unless we had something important to say because newspapers and magazines had limited space. But today, now that press releases are online and written for consumers, smart Publicity Hounds can pretty much write… Read More

Press Release Tip 3 You don’t need the “5 W’s” in the first paragraph. Busy journalists like the “5 W’s” (who, what, when, where, why and how) because they spend just a few seconds reading a press release before deciding whether to use it or toss it. So they want the key facts in the… Read More

Press Release Tip 4 No hype or industry jargon Today you’ll learn about two rules you can’t break.  People don’t want to read a press release that’s loaded with hype. If you want a commercial, buy an ad. If you want people to pay attention to your press release, tell them something interesting, like how… Read More

Press Release Tip 5 Decide what you want the release to accomplish In the old days, we measured good publicity by the number of newspaper and magazine articles that journalists wrote after we sent them our press releases. Or how many radio and TV shows invited us for interviews. Today, measuring successful PR campaigns is… Read More

Press Release Tip 6 Define your audience before you write You might have more than one audience for a press release. If you sell antique doorknobs, your two separate audiences might be hardware stores that buy your doorknobs wholesale and consumers who buy them from your website. You might want each of the two audiences… Read More

Press Release Tip 7 Keep your key press release message simple Don’t try to cram too much information into a press release. The key message must be very simple. Before you start writing the release, you should be able to summarize the key message in just one sentence so you can say it out loud.… Read More

Press Release Tip 8 Include complete contact information in your press releases You’re beginning Module 2, The 6 Parts of a Press Release. There are probably hundreds of different formats for releases.  In this module, I’m using a press release I wrote July 1, 2000, to show you the 6 parts of a press release.… Read More

Press Release Tip 9: Write a clear, helpful headline and subhead The second part of a press release, which I’ve highlighted for you in green, consists of the headline and subhead here. A well-written headline catches the reader’s attention. A well-written subhead makes the reader stay and keep reading. Many people who write press releases write… Read More

Press Release Tip 10 Include a dateline that shows when and where you wrote the release The third part of the press release, which I’ve highlighted in pink, is called the dateline and you can see it here. It offers perspective for the reader because it shows where the press release originated and the date it… Read More

Press Release Tip 11 Write the body copy and include links The fourth part of a press release, which I’ve highlighted in gray, is the body copy and you can see it here. It includes links and might constitute up to 90 percent of your entire press release, depending on how many words you’ve written. Notice… Read More