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How to write a Press Release
Press Releases: Formatted For Maximum Market Awareness
Why Do Press Releases?
Journalists and magazine editors use company press releases both as market news gathering devices and as space-filler in their articles and magazines. Thus a press release from your company can be a relatively inexpensive method to get and maintain your company's name, products and/or services in the market’s eye.
Here we describe a general format that has worked well in getting press release placements. This format has also worked in generating enough interest in a magazine editor about the company to request the company to write a full sized article for their magazine or trade journal. Basically, the best kind of advertising, FREE.
How to Do a Press Release.
Choose a single, significant event in your company that the market should know about. Whether it is a new hiring of a corporate officer, a promotion, a major grant award, a funding round or product release, all are fodder for a press release. Keep the document brief, accurate, to the point and you can't go wrong. Choose topics that can be communicated in a single sentence. Warning, keep them unique. It is best not to put out slight variations of previous releases. It confused people if they have already seen the basic information about your company a year ago. “Hadn’t you progressed at all?" Although they are small, make each press release mean something.
BASIC FORMAT
Hard Copy vs. Electronic:
The press releases should be sent out in both hard copy and electronic formats depending upon what the editor requests. But remember, because of the flood of e-mail spam, e-mail submissions can get lost in the noise.
Header & Footer:
· The document Header should contain your company's logo and/or name. · The document Footer should contain the general company contact information, e-mail and web addresses.
Size:
Single page - text on front side, graphic on that back.
Press Release Title:
Make a single sentence that tells the whole story you want to tell. Make it a large, easy to read font in bold capital letters. Despite all the effort you put into writing a good press release, the Title is likely the only thing the market, your potential customers, will ever read. First Two Paragraphs:
· Your company’s location and the date of the releases information. · Restate the main point you want to convey but add more detail · Add one or two sentences about the background and problems your product solutions addresses · Keep it as short as possible
Final Paragraph - Your Company's Profile.
Give a brief but clear description of your company. Use this opportunity to tell both the editors and the market the major benefits of your company. Have a call to action which is to check out a specific place on your web site.
Contact Information:
A person in your company that can make decisions on text changes. There will be changes. Almost no press release is used as you wrote it. Provide a direct e-mail address and phone number.
A Colorful Graphic:
Provide an eye catching, colorful graphic. In most placements, it likely won't be used but a good graphic helps to get the editor’s attention in the pile of releases they get everyday.
PICKING THE VEHICLE
The most difficult and most important consideration in the preparation of a press release though is; To which magazine or web site editor to send it? Pick journals and trade magazines that focus on the specific market your company addresses. Newspapers are generally to broad a vehicle for most high technology companies. Scientific journals and technology specific market trade journals have more interest in your product and company and more likely to use your materials.
Internet web sites are good and should be utilized. Caution: web sites change focus frequently and simply come and go, keep up on their changes.
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