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Have a newsworthy “hook”: use your press release to make a timely announcement. |
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Put your contact name, phone number(s), release date and “immediate release” near the top of the first page. |
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Cover the “who-what-when-where” (and sometimes “why-how”) in the lead (first paragraph); use (in most cases) the word “today” in the lead for the “when” to ensure timeliness. |
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Include the most important information first and then put the rest in descending order of importance (called the “inverted pyramid” style), so editors can cut the story from the bottom up if needed without removing the most important information. |
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Keep paragraphs short: one to three sentences work great. |
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Include one or more direct quotes. |
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Reference the Associated Press Stylebook to make sure you write the way journalists do. |
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Make the release length two to three pages maximum (usually double-spaced). |
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Put “more” at the bottom of a page when the release continues; the page number and a brief (one- or two-word) description at the top of subsequent pages;
and “-30-” or “# # #” at the end of the release. |
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Proof, proof and proof again: typos, misspellings and grammatical errors will hurt the chances of your story being covered. |
