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 | Home > Publicity Tips > Formatting Press Releases How To Format Your Press Releases For E-Mail DistributionThe format of your press release is very important, especially when distributing them via e-mail. Proper formatting of your press releases will get publicity that sells your products. Improper formatting will both waste your time and money, and earn you the contempt of the media which will give you a reputation as being clueless. When this happens you give up any chance of getting any free publicity.
Press release structureYour news releases should follow the following general structure:
Timing notificationYour timing notification goes on the top left-hand corner of your news release. You are probably seen news releases with the familiar words "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE." Actually there are two ways you can handle this part of your news release.
Contact informationYour contact information goes on the top right corner of your news release. Put these words on the top right corner of your news release, directly across from your timing notification:
On the line directly under "For further information contact," put the name of the contact person with their direct phone line, e-mail address, direct fax number, and even your Web site URL. At least offer the essentials:
The contact person must be easily, directly and immediately reachable. Do not just put your company or organization's name in the contact information area. If a journalist is going to call for an interview, they certainly DO NOT want to talk to a receptionist or a voice mail system. It's "now or never" with the press. The journalist wants to talk to the source of news, and they want to talk to them now. You need to be directly available for an interview with just one phone call or e-mail, or you miss out on any chance of getting free publicity. Your contact should be you our another important contact within your company or organization.
The HeadlineYou have to get the media's attention immediately, your headline is as important as ever. The headline is critical and represents 80% of the effect of your news
release. It must The headline is like a little ad that sells the rest of your news release. Your headline needs to "grab the reader by the eyeballs" and make them read it and the rest of your news release. It must get them excited and think "this is news that my readers will eat up." So make your headline scream "Read me, I'm newsworthy!!!" If it's not newsworthy, do not even bother wasting your time (and the editor's time) and money by sending it. A bad headline goes in the round-file (the garbage can), an OK headline has a less-than-OK chance. A great headline, though, gets you the interview and the free publicity.
The SubheadThe next element directly below your headline is the subhead. The subhead should be used whenever possible since it builds up the headline.
1st paragraphYour first paragraph is nearly as important as your headline. This first paragraph or "graf" should be a brief but powerful 2-3 line abstract that gives structure to your whole news story. This is what editors use to evaluate the press release and is also called a "lead graph" since they'll immediately know what your news is about when they read the headline and your first paragraph. The abstract should clearly state the news and explain why it is important. Imagine an "upside down pyramid." This simply means that the most important news information is at the top of your news release, with the least important news at the bottom. Your headline is the most important, so its place is at the top of the inverted pyramid. Your 1st paragraph is directly under your headline (& subhead), and therefore carries nearly the same weight as your headline. Make sure your 1st paragraph has a brief, but very powerful "synopsis" containing all of the most important news information and the "5 Ws" -- Who, What, When, Where, Why and How if appropriate.
If your news release contains a local news angle, putting information about where should be giving high priority at the top. Also try to get your company name as close to the top as possible. This will decrease the chance that they'll "chop" your company name out of their news coverage, and increase the chance that you get publicity with your release. When writing your lead paragraph you'll find that it may be a bit too long and won't fit in 2-3 lines. This is normal. Just condense it down to 2-3 lines by chopping out the unimportant words and leaving the most powerful.
News release body copyNow that your headline and first paragraph have commanded the attention of the journalist, now its time to tell your news story. Give a detailed explanation of the news and again, make sure you've explained the "5 W's" in your news release. Add important facts and quotes to add impact to your story. Try to include a quotation from a 3rd party source (other than a spokesperson from your company). Consider getting an industry analyst or a recognized expert on the topic to give you a quote or a fact. This adds considerable credibility and makes your news release MUCH stronger. Make your news interesting and tell your whole story. Add any background information that the public may need to know about your company or your news.
A call to actionWhat would you like the editor to do? This is the primary response of your news release. Since you are writing this initially for the editor, your call to action must be designed to get into the newspaper, magazine, radio, or TV to report your news. The editor/producer is not in the business of selling your product. So your call to action must be different from the "Closer Page" of your Web site. It has to be subtle. but it has to accomplish your goal. Or don't bother with the piece. Remember, don't try to sell your product to the consumer (i.e., "the book can be ordered for $9.95 by dialing 1-888-WEB-SELL"). Instead, sell your story to the editor. Your release's Primary Response is to get the journalist or producer to call you for an interview. Here's Ken Evoy's example from MYSS!
Notice that he is not pitching the book. He is pitching the value to the journalist's customer, her reader. Your news release's sole purpose is to:
Free offer/order informationJournalists like to offer free items and helpful information to their audience. This is your chance to make your publicity really sell. Offer something free in your news release that the publication's audience will find useful. This will give the audience a way to contact you and increase your sales dramatically. Format styles will vary with news releases depending on what media you are targeting. For example:
Company information:Give a brief 2-4 line description of your business, and include corporate background or history if it is available. This helps editors understand your business so they can write about it.
###Link to your media relations Web site. Next stepProof-read, edit and have someone else proof-read.
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