Christine Slowinski of the Girl Scout Council in Waukesha, Wisconsin writes with a helpful reminder about writing news releases:
“I created a release based on a national Girl Scout study that defined what girls are afraid of. Initially, my headline was “Girls and Safety: National Institute Releases Study Linking…” (by that time I lost them, right?)
“I shortened up the entire story, giving more attention to ‘why should I care?’ information and changed the headline to “What are teens afraid of? Girl Scout study has some answers.”
“Just got a call from one of our local papers that was interested in using this piece as the basis for a story. I purposely left out some descriptions so that they would need to call or contact me for clarification. Thanks so much for all your tips. I knew this news release would be valuable. I just had to re-package the contents.”
The Publicity Hound says: Congratulations. You understand a few important concepts about news releases that escape many other writers:
–Put the emphasis on the readers and how they are affected, not on you or on an intangible such as a study.
–Never give away the entire story in a news release. Entice reporters enough so they pick up the phone and call you.
–“What are teens afraid of?” is an excellent headline that pulls in readers and reporters. Fear sells.
Want more help writing news releases? Two teleseminars I conducted with news release experts give you all the help you need, and more.
“How to Write a Killer News Release That Stops Reporters in Their Tracks” shows you how to save valuable time by writing enticing news release of no longer than one page.
“The Do-it-Yourself Press Release Makeover: How to Turn a So-so Release into a Wildly Successful One” explains clever techniques to use to make sure journalists turn your short news release into a longer story, including the two things you must consider when writing news releases for the Internet.