How to Write a Press Release

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These notes are being compiled to help the students for educational purposes during Covid-19 pandemic.

What is a Press Release?

A press release is a short, compelling news story written by a public relations professional and sent to targeted members of the media. The goal of a press release is to pique the interest of a journalist or publication.

• The press release should contain all the essential information (who? what? where? when? how? and most importantly why?) for the journalist to easily produce his own story.

• A press release is a written communication that reports specific but brief information about an event, circumstance, product launch, or other happening. It's typically tied to a business or organization and provided to the media through a variety of means.

• The goal of writing and issuing a press release is to garner positive press about your company or client. Press releases aren't only used for promoting positive events like product releases or expansion plans. They also can be a PR professional's sharpest weapon when defending a client against bad publicity during a crisis.

The Major Goals of writing a Press Release :

➢ To notify the media about an event in hopes that they will spread the word.
➢ To share something about your business, hoping a reporter will see a story in your press release and write an actual news article about it.
➢ To promote your business' appearance on the internet via blogs, websites, and social networks.

• A press release should read like a news story, written in third-person, citing quotes and sources and containing standard press release information.
• The standard press release begins with contact information, most likely the name, phone number and e-mail address of the person who wrote the release.
• Then comes the headline, arguably the most important four or five words in the whole press release. The headline will be what the journalist reads first. It should be intriguing, newsworthy and unique.
• Below the headline often comes a brief, one-line summary of the press release. Like the headline, the summary should draw the reader in quickly and motivate them to learn more.
• Since a press release is supposed to look and feel like a story in a newspaper, it's important to include a location and date stamp at the beginning of the first paragraph.
• The rest of the body of the press release should answer all of the questions a journalist might have about the product, service or event that you're announcing. Although a press release is a public relations tool, it should not read as overly promotional. If it sounds too much like a sales pitch, it will lose credibility in the eyes of the journalist.
• Press releases typically end with a short description of the company or organization that's issuing the release, along with a call to action. The call to action could be to participate in the event being promoted, to take a test drive of the product, or simply to find out more by contacting the author of the press release.
• Writing an effective press release involves developing a story idea that's unique, timely and newsworthy. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, news is "any new information" or coverage of "current events," so a press release won't pique the interest of journalists unless it contains something truly original or is closely tied to current events.
• The next step is to find the specific journalists and media outlets that would be most interested in the story. Journalists typically work a "beat," covering a certain type of news like politics, cars or food. Determine the news area relevant to your idea and send press releases to the journalists who cover that beat.
• It's important to remember that journalists are human beings like the rest of us and are more likely to pay attention to a press release from a "friend" than from a complete stranger. That's why public relations professionals cultivate relationships with members of the media. If you're writing press releases, it's smart to contact journalists who cover your industry to determine what stories interest them.
• First, you must come up with a killer headline. Since most press releases are now sent by email, a poorly written subject line will earn an instant delete. Headlines must read like actual newspaper headlines, something informative and newsy, but creative and engaging enough to draw the reader in.
• Press releases shouldn't be more than 300-400 words, and the reader should be able to understand the gist of the story in the first two sentences. Keep the tone and style appropriate for the content. If you're pitching a local TV news station, keep it conversational and the copy short so it can easily be adapted for reading on air. A press release for a newspaper should be meticulously spell-checked, follow Associated Press (AP) style and contain quotes and sources to back up claims.
• Don't forget to include detailed contact information on the press release, including your name, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address and any relevant Web site links. Most of all, a successful press release doesn't just state the facts, but tells a compelling story that journalists will want to share with their readers and viewers.

REFERENCES

➢https://money.howstuffworks.com/business-communications/how-press-releases-work5.htm

➢ https://www.thebalancesmb.com/what-is-a-press-release-3515529

Compiled by

Priyanka
Batch of 2023
B.A. (Hns.) Journalism
Lady Shri Ram College for Women