October 15, 2009
Some time ago I learned an important lesson about how easy it can be to try new things.
I was asked to write some press releases to send to newspapers for an arts group in Connecticut. It terrified me. I thought that knowing how to write press releases was some great mystery and I would have a hard time cracking the code.
Not.
The next thing I thought was that it was a good time to use one of my phone-a-friend lifelines. I chose to call an old friend that I was pretty sure I’d heard mention having written press releases. And I trusted her to know what she was doing.
“Sure,” she said, “it’s easy.”
She guaranteed me that I would have no problem.
It was no problem.
All I had to do was remember “the five Ws”: Who, What, Where, When and Why.
There’s also an H: How.
Logistically, you should start with a headline which summarizes the story as well as a date and end with contact information. In between is the five Ws and one H.
Those are the basics of assembling information for a news story and what a journalist or editor needs to tell your story.
Through the time I spent writing press releases and my experience working as a journalist I have come to understand a few more aspects of writing a press release.
1. Know your audience.
First, there’s the journalist or editor who will receive the press release and then ultimately the readers of the newspaper. All are considered your audience.
It’s not a bad idea to take a little time to read through some of the publications you will be submitting to regularly. Obviously, we can’t please everyone but there will be some trends in style and manner of reporting.
2. Make it easy for the journalist or editor.
Many a harried editor will really appreciate your press releases if they can easily pick out parts to use without much in the way of editing or thinking.
So, recognize that well organized, easy-to-follow content with good grammar and spelling is a plus.
(And not as common as you might think, which is good news for you if you can do pull it off. It will make you stand out positively.)
Along the same lines, give them contact numbers for you and for other sources so they can follow up.
Make it easy for the newsperson and they will be happy to see your name appear in their message in-box.
3. Put the important bits at the beginning.
If you want to add extraneous detail or content that enhances but is not absolutely essential put that later.
For instance, if your press release is about an upcoming event put the details about the event such as date, time, place and what people can expect first. Any additional information such as history of the event, pithy quotes from those involved, etc. should come later in the press release.
The reason for this is that a lot of times editors will have limited space - especially now with the cutbacks at newspapers because believe it or not the ink and paper stock cost money - so size does matter.
They also generally have little or no time to read the release due to encroaching deadlines and so they will just grab the first part and post that in the layout.
But it’s okay to include the enhancements because you never know when a layout will have a few inches to fill and you might just be answering an editor’s prayers.
4. Don’t make it too long.
In spite of it being okay to include the enriching details it’s generally a good idea to make your press release as short and to-the-point as possible while still getting your message across.
All it takes is a couple of times of an editor opening up a long, droning press release that he has to wade through for him to just not wanna open your press releases anymore. Editors and journalists have tired, drooping eyes.
5. Be accurate.
The public is not going to immediately blame you if the information in the paper is wrong. It will likely reflect badly on the newspaper, the editor, the journalist. And they will definitely blame you. You need to make them look good so they will be on your side – or, more accurately, believe that you are on their side.
6. Write well.
I started this by saying that any monkey can write a press release but sadly I have come across a large number of extremely poorly written press releases that seem to have been written by a sub-species of the primate. From large, fancy corporations no less! No kidding.
7. Realize that the newspaper will make mistakes.
In spite of my best efforts I have seen my beautifully-written, accurate press releases misquoted or cut and paste in a way which makes them illogical.
Newspaper folks are under tremendous pressure and goof-ups happen. I don’t think journalists or editors should be excused for not being impeccable with their level of accuracy since it is a part of the responsibility of the job. But it’s not going to do you much good to get mad at them.
8. Enjoy the subject matter.
If you’re interested in what you’re writing about it will come through and other people will enjoying reading it.
That, in my experience, is the most important part of writing a press release…or anything really.
I began this essay with the idea that I would end it with a nice little quip about sending errant press release writers to watch “Planet of the Apes” to hone their monkey skills. But I have since remembered that apes are not monkeys. But apparently they sometimes speak.
Sigh…accuracy, accuracy, accuracy…
