Press releases can be your secret marketing weapon. If you put a little bit of effort,
the rewards can be free exposure for your business. Many a stressed, over-worked business owner throws up their hands at the thought of PR. They shouldn't. Writing and distributing a press release will take a few hours of research and time to setup, but once you have a media list all you have to do is maintain it for future releases.
At the bottom of this article I've included a sample Press Release template you can download and change to suit your needs.
What's newsworthy?
Your release could be about a new business, product line or offering, new leadership in your company, a joint venture, an award or honor you've won, an event you're hosting or taking part in, a charitable contribution of time or money. Think about what stories you read in the local magazines or newspapers, and try to find a newsworthy angle. I strongly suggest keeping your release as short as possible, no more than one page.
Who do I send it to?
Target your local papers and magazines first. Also, if your release is about an event, do a search for local event calendar pages that you can add event to–for instance, I use www.guidelive.com which is run by a newspaper in Dallas for local event listings. Look for email addresses for editors, assistant editors, community calendar editors at your local papers, magazines, and TV stations. Most major news desks will have a link or form to submit press releases. For large, national releases consider submitting your press release to AP News Wire or using a service such as PRweb.
How should I distribute it?
Emailing the release to the correct person is standard practice. Write your release in Word, copy and paste it into your email, and attach a PDF of the release and any photos or artwork that you own that would be appropriate. Keep your email text to the news source very brief, and let the release speak for itself. Be sure to include your contact information in the email. You can also call and pitch your release or story idea, but most reporters prefer email. Put PRESS RELEASE: and the title of your release in your Email Subject line plus the date if it is an event.
When should I distribute it?
For events, you may need to list it 3-4 weeks in advance in order to get a listing on a community calendar as these listings typically need to be approved. For other releases, not date-specific, your release time can be anywhere from two weeks to the morning of the release.
Formatting Your Release
Contact Information – In the top left corner put FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, and then below this specify your name and full contact information such as phone number, email, website, and social media links.
Headline – Write a short headline that includes the keyword/topic of your release. Keep this around 170 characters.
Summary Paragraph/Subheadline – Write a brief statement summarizing your release and why it's newsworthy. Be as concise as possible and italicize this paragraph.
Location and Date – Underneath the summary, open your paragraph with the location city in capital letters and date of your release in parenthesis.
Sample: DALLAS, Texas (February 2, 2013) – Start of paragraph.
Body – Following the date and location, you should have one space, then a dash, and one more space to start your paragraph.
Sample: DALLAS, Texas (February 2, 2013) – Company ABC announced today… The body should consist of 2-3 short paragraphs, single spaced, with a blank line in-between the paragraphs. Make each paragraph tight by staying focused on one idea.
Company Information – also known as the boiler plate. At the bottom of the release put About (Company Name) in bold. Write a short, factual overview about your company that could be used within a news story. Include a link to your company's website for more information.
Hashtags – At the very bottom of your release, centered on the page, type three number signs ### to signify the end of the release. If your release runs longer than one page, put – Page One – and continue on to the next page, with the hashtags as the very last item on your release.
Resources
DOWNLOAD PRESS RELEASE TEMPLATE in Word
If you feel overwhelmed with PR and need a little help, Innerspace Marketing will gladly assist you. Simply contact us today!
