An introduction to writing press releases
In the article Making your website more popular using press releases, we outlined several important aspects to consider when writing a press release to help promote your website. One of the most important of these is to make the press release's content newsworthy in order to increase the liklihood that the press release will be published. Newsworthy press releases contain information that is relevant, timely and of interest to people.
If you are considering promoting your website using press releases, we recommend you have them written by good public relations agencies. However, if you want to try writing a press release yourself, this month we present a basic overview of how to structure, write and distribute one.
To begin, it is a good idea if you familiarise yourself with the various formats press releases can take. You can do this by performing a search using your favourite search engine. The websites of most large corporations and organisations will have dedicated media areas on their site where you can find press releases. In addition to searching for press releases, you can also view press releases directly on Multimedia Australia's own Media Relations site at http://www.macorporate.com/media/.
Once you've found a press release layout you like, you can begin writing your press release.
Choose a heading for your press release that is seven words or less where possible.
Start the content of your press release with a concise (preferably single-sentence) paragraph that draws attention to the press release, and identifies the "news angle" your press release will take (how you will present the press release's news to make it interesting - you can find further details about this in the online library article "Making your website more popular using press releases"). This first paragraph should also outline the "who", "what", "when", "where", and "how" about your press release's topic.
Each subsequent paragraph in the press release should be written in what is known as the "inverted pyramid" style; that is, the paragraphs should be organised in order from most to least importance. This is done so that journalists can easily shortern the press release by omitting the necessary number of paragraphs at the end of the press release. This will in turn help increase the chance that your press release will be used, particularly if journalists need to fill empty space in a newspaper or magazine.
Finally, in the last paragraph, provide a brief description of your website/business and write "End" to indicate where the press release finishes.
Also remember to include contact details in the header (top) of the press release, as well as the words "For Immediate Release" to indicate to journalists that they can publish the content straight away.
Send your press release to journalists that specialise on similar topics to your website (you can usually find their contact details on the websites of applicable media organisations). Also remember to place your press release on your website to make it easy for people to refer to at a later date.
Good luck!
