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Perfect Press Releases
by Tracy Cooper-Posey
This is the first part in a
three-part series on the writing and use of
press releases. In this installment, we look at the writing and
structure
of the press release. Part Two covers the distribution of press
releases --
who to send them to, and how. And Part Three helps you
brainstorm and build
a list of reasons, events and excuses to send out press releases.
Press releases are a key element in your on-going
publicity campaign. With
everything else you do to market your business, so often you can
capitalize
on the events and marketing developments that occur by sending
out a press
release to drum up associated publicity, so it pays to learn how
to properly
build and distribute them.
As a magazine editor, I’ve seen hundreds of press
releases that I couldn’t
use -- because they were badly composed, didn’t hold the
information I
needed, or failed to provide a contact for further information,
or else the
subject matter wasn’t of interest to my readers.
I’ve also lost count of the numbers of phone calls and
emails I’ve received
that invariably begin with “Well...er...we have this event coming
up in a
week or so....” I should congratulate these people for
contacting me in the
first place. Many event organizers and business managers don’t
take even
that simple step. My usual response to this sort of contact is
“send me
your press release, or press kit,” if the subject is something my
readers
might like to hear about. And it’s amazing how often that
request is
greeted by an incredulous silence.
I know, I know. We’re the writers, right? We should
instantly interview you
on the spot, scoop out all the relevant information, and write it
up for
you. Right?
Wrong. A press release is your FIRST form of contact
with any media outlet,
whether it be television, radio, or press. Even for some of the
more
sophisticated and bigger websites, a press release can be a first
salvo --
although many websites deal just as well with a chatty,
informative email.
The fact is, the press corps does not hit the pavement
every day to go sniff
out the news, hoping they’ll trip over stunning, profoundly
world-shaping
events in the area of their readers’ interests. What really
happens is:
editors and producers in all media daily receive (often dozens
of) press
releases that announce events, news and more. They chose the
most
interesting and relevant press releases and send their reporters
and
journalists off to find out more, get a quote, write it up, and
present it
in the desired format.
Some print media have even been known to pick up the guts
of the press
release and print it as is, or with minor changes. This has
happened to
press releases that I’ve sent out. It’s a sign that you wrote a
good
release, and you sent it to the right people.
So, how do you write them?
Press releases have a standard format. Here’s an example
of one I sent out
recently to promote one of my fiction titles:
============================
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
WEST AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR SEES HER DREAMS COMING TRUE
New York Publishers Starting to Call
This week, West Australian Tracy Cooper-Posey took one
more big step towards
fulfilling her dreams of success when she signed a contract with
New York’s
Medallion Press to publish one of her romance novels – Heart of
Vengeance.
“I’m thrilled beyond belief”, says Cooper-Posey.
“Signing a publishing
contract is always exciting but this one is extra sweet.”
Although Heart of
Vengeance will be her ninth published work, it is her first
mass-market
paperback. Cooper-Posey’s other romance novels have been
published on-line
by Hard Shell Word Factory and Ellora’s Cave, and her Sherlock
Holmes
pastiches in trade paperback by Winnipeg’s Turnstone Press under
the
Ravenstone label.
Located in New York City, Medallion Press publishes
mainstream adult and
young adult fiction in a variety of genres including Romance,
Fantasy,
Science Fiction, Mystery and Thrillers. They seek to raise the
expectations
of the book buying public with their well written, visually
appealing
products and become a leader in the publishing industry.
Contact:
Mark D. Posey, Public Relations Manager
Sasha Productions
Address Line 1
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
T6L 4E4
Phone (780) 555-5555
http://www.sashaproductions.com
mark@sashaproductions.com
# # #
=======================
Several things to note about this release, which will guide you
to writing
your own.
1. Length. One page is better, two if you absolutely
have to. Never
three. No-one will stay still long enough to read it, because
they know,
from long experience, that the further into the release they get,
the less
relevant and timely the information (and we’ll cover the
structure in a
moment, too).
2. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. 99.9% of press releases
should carry this
statement. It means that the recipient is free to release the
information
to the public as soon as they chose to. In very rare
circumstances you can
state that the information has an embargo “UNTIL FEBRUARY 29TH”
or whatever
the critical moment may be. You should explain why the release
time is so
sensitive. I’ve seen releases with embargoes that are phrased,
for
instance, as “In order to protect the close members of xxxxx’s
family, who
will be leaving the country on February 28th, we are asking the
press to
refrain from reporting on this case until February 29th, and we
appreciate
your cooperation.”
3. HEADLINE: The subject line is critical. It states
the subject of the
press release and sums it up, all in one or two lines. A busy
editor or
producer may not scan much more than the headline before tossing
the
release, so you have to make it count. In the example, above,
notice that I
inserted the critical phrase “West Australian Author” into the
headline.
That’s because I was sending THIS version of the release to media
in Western
Australia, the state I was born and raised in. For media in my
current home
town, I adjusted the headline to read “Local Author”. You
should also
adjust your headlines to suit the media you’re sending the
release to. What
you’re doing, when you adjust headlines in this way, is giving
the editor or
producer a local context, something that is relevant to their
publication
and their readers. It will prick up their attention.
4. OPENING PARAGRAPH. If the opening paragraph in the
sample sounds
suspiciously like a newspaper article to you, congratulations,
you’re
getting the hang of this. If your headline was well written, and
hooked the
editor, you’ve now got one paragraph to reel the editor in. That
one
paragraph expands on the headline and tells the editor every
relevant fact
about the event, all at once. This is where the editor truly
decides if
this is something they can use, and settles down to read the rest
of the
release.
5. Other paragraphs. The remaining paragraphs give you
a little more
flexibility and discretion. Sometimes, if you have a person as
the subject
of the news, or an expert on the topic being presented, you can
get some
relevant quotes from them, as I did in the sample. Press releases
like this
have the most chance of being copied verbatim, because you’ve
done the
journalist’s work, and the release can be slid into the
publication at the
last minute. You can add paragraphs that expand on the facts in
the first
paragraph, rounding them out. The last paragraph(s) of the
release should be
backgrounder information on the business or businesses involved.
6. Contact information. The person you put as contact
should be someone
who can speak knowledgeably on the subject, OR, can coordinate
interviews or
provide further documentation and images if the press request
these items,
or both. In my sample, I used my husband, who is often easier to
reach than
me, as I’m often out of the house for long periods of time.
Therefore,
availability is another factor to consider.
7. Closing. You’ll read in lots of how-to manuals that
you must put “-
30 -” centred at the bottom, but really, this is an archaic rule.
The hash
marks I used also do the job, and many press releases don’t have
a close at
all. The listing of further contact information is a pretty
clear
indication that the reader has reached the bottom of the release.
8. Make sure your grammar, punctuation, spelling,
etc, is flawless. You’re
sending this to professional wordsmiths, in the case of the
press, and to
intelligent, well-educated professionals at other media outlets.
Poor
writing will make the reader question the quality of the news
you’re trying
to convey.
In Part Two, I’ll show you how to figure out who you
should send press
releases to, and how to send them.
------------
Tracy Cooper-Posey is a freelance copywriter, and former editor
of regional
and national magazines. She has worked
in the advertising and marketing industry, and is also a
successful author
of nine popular fiction novels. She is
currently the editor of MarketYourself, a monthly newsletter on
marketing
and promoting the small to medium-sized business, which you can
find at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/anastasia_black_news
letter/
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/anastasia_black_news
letter/> Her copywriting
helps businesses and corporation everywhere build their marketing
collateral -- including press releases. Visit
www.sashaproductions.com/portfolio.html
<http://www.sashaproductions.com/portfolio.html> for
information on her
copywriting, and www.sashaproductions.com
<http://www.sashaproductions.com/>
for
information on her fiction. You can email her at tracy@sashaproductions.com.
PERFECT PRESS RELEASES
© Tracy Cooper-Posey
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