How to Write a Great Press Release: A Sample Press Release Template

What is a press release?

A press release is pseudo-news story, written in third person, that seeks to demonstrate to an editor or reporter the newsworthiness of a particular person, event, service or product.

How is a press release used?

Press releases are often sent alone, by e-mail, fax or snail mail. They can also be part of a full press kit, or may be accompanied by a pitch letter.

What is the proper press release format?

Here’s a sample press release template you can use to format your press release correctly:

What should I put in my press release?

Stop right now and click here to read our in-depth advice about packaging yourself as newsworthy. This is an important step – so don’t skip it!

Let’s stick with the theme presented in that report: you run an vitamin web site specializing in weight-loss products. Through the process described in the report, you’ve nailed down a nice, newsworthy topic – teenagers and how they deal with issues of weight. But that’s a broad topic, not a story.

In the report, we provided a number of ideas for potential stories. Let’s pick the first one and craft a press release.

The story: What do kids think about a “thin is in” society?

As you sift through your message boards looking for quotes, you see a trend appearing. There are lots of messages criticizing Hollywood actresses and pop singers for being too thin. Many girls are saying that seeing these women make them feel bad about their own bodies. A number of the boys are pointing out that they don’t find ultra-thin women appealing.

Now you’ve got your angle — your hook that will grab a reporter’s attention:

Teenagers think that a “thin is in” society pretty much stinks.

Now let’s get writing.

Press Release Headline

Before you write a word, remember this:

The reporter isn’t interested in helping you make money or driving visitors to your site. He’s looking for a story that will be interesting to his readers and pleasing to his editor. He could care less about your great selection, super customer service and commitment to quality. He wants to know only the info that will help him craft a good story about teens and their weight.

Take your ego out of it. Take your natural inclination to sell, sell, sell out of it. Look at your story with a cold, objective eye.

OK, let’s get to our press release headline.

State your most exciting news, finding or announcement in as few words as possible. Emulate the headlines you see in the newspaper every day.

Bad Press Release Headline: NEW WEBSITE THAT OFFERS HERBAL WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS LETS TEENS SPEAK OUT ABOUT WEIGHT ISSUES

Good Press Release Headline: TEENS: ULTRA-THIN MOVIE, POP STARS SET BAD EXAMPLE

Don’t worry, you’ll get to plug your website soon enough. In the meantime, you’ve just thrown a meaty hook at the reporter.

The Press Release Subhead

Subheads are remarkably useful tools, yet usually overlooked by press release writers. Basically, the press release subhead gives you the opportunity to flesh out your angle and further hook the reporter, without stepping on the drama of the press release headline.

Here’s a headline/subhead combo I might use for this press release:

TEENS: ULTRA-THIN MOVIE, POP STARS SET BAD EXAMPLE

Website Forumgoers Weigh In: Teens Don’t Find Ultra-Thin Celebs Attractive; Girls Say Negative Self-Images Reinforced by Hollywood’s Super-Skinny

The Press Release Lead

It’s Journalism 101 — the lead paragraph includes the who, what, when, where and how of the story. If the reporter were only to read the lead of a good press release, he’d have everything he needed to get started.

There’s no room for BS, hype or sell. Just the facts.

Bad Press Release Lead Recently on theplace4vitamins.com, an online store dedicated to selling the best herbal products, teenagers had the chance to say what they thought about weight loss and whether a society that pressures young people to be thin is a good thing or a bad thing.

Good Press Release Lead America’s teenagers are angry at Hollywood for glamorizing ultra-thin bodies, and many girls say they feel too self-conscious about their bodies as a result of watching TV, movies and music videos. The findings are gleaned from more than six months of ongoing discussion and debate at the website theplace4vitamins.com. According to theplace4vitamins.com President John Smith, anger and resentment toward the Hollywood ultra-thin runs deep, particularly among teenage girls.

The Rest of the Press Release

The balance of the press release serves to back up whatever claims were made in the lead and headline. In this case, you’d pull some quotes from the message boards (an aside here: if you really were to pull quotes in this fashion, you should only use the poster’s name or identifying information with his or her permission. Otherwise, simply say “a 14 year old boy said…” or “a 16 year old Midwestern girl added…” Also, if this technique appeals to you, be certain that a disclaimer appears on your message boards notifying posters that all posts become your property and copyright). Use enough supporting material to make your case, and to demonstrate that, whatever angle you’re promoting, it wasn’t something you slapped together carelessly.

Next, a quote will help put in some perspective:

“I was surprised by the level of anger expressed in these messages,” Smith said. “Teenagers are far more clued into this issue than most people would imagine.”

Or, you might ask an expert for a quote:

“This demonstrates once again the need to teach young girls and boys about how to develop a positive self-image,” said Jane Doe, author of “I Like My Body Just As It Is”. “theplace4vitamins.com has done a true service by bringing these attitudes to the public’s attention.”

Finally, spend a sentence or two describing your company and what you do:

theplace4vitamins.com was founded in 1997 to provide consumers with a wide choice of vitamins, supplements and herbal products. The site offers a range of articles, research materials and message forums for the health conscious consumer.

This paragraph is known as the “boilerplate” — an old newspaper term meaning a block of standard text that’s used over and over again (e.g. the explanation of symbols on the stock price page). In this case, it’s text that you might use at the bottom of all your releases.

Place your boilerplate right above the # # #’s.

One more trick: below the ###’s, add a line that says something like:

If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with John Smith, please call Pat Brown at 555/555-2222 or e-mail Pat at pr@theplace4vitamins.com

Some Key Things to Remember

• Stay away from hype-bloated phrases like “breakthrough”, “unique”, “state-of-the-art”, etc.

• Always write it from a journalist’s perspective. Never use “I” or “we” unless it’s in a quote.

• Read lots of good newspaper writing, such as the New York Times or the Washington Post to get a feel for the style.

• Shorter is better. If you can say it in two pages, great. If you can say it in one page, better.

SECOND ARTICLE :

Write the headline. It should be brief, clear and to the point: an ultra-compact version of the press release’s key point.

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• News release headlines should have a “grabber” to attract readers, i.e., journalists, just as a newspaper headline is meant to grab readers. It may describe the latest achievement of an organization, a recent newsworthy event, a new product or service. For example, “XYZ Co. enters strategic partnership with ABC Co. in India & United States.”
• Headlines are written in bold and are typically larger than the press release text. Conventional press release headlines are present-tense and exclude “a” and “the” as well as forms of the verb “to be” in certain contexts.
• The first word in the press release headline should be capitalized, as should all proper nouns. Most headline words appear in lower-case letters, although adding a stylized “small caps” style can create a more graphically news-attractive look and feel. Do not capitalize every word.
• The simplest method to arrive at the press release headline is to extract the most important keywords from your press release. Now from these keywords, try to frame a logical and attention-getting statement. Using keywords will give you better visibility in search engines, and it will be simpler for journalists and readers to get the idea of the press release content.

• 2

  Write the press release body copy. The press release should be written as you want it to appear in a news story.

  • Start with the date and city in which the press release is originated. The city may be omitted if it will be confusing, for example if the release is written in New York about events in the company’s Chicago division.
  • The lead, or first sentence, should grab the reader and say concisely what is happening. The next 1-2 sentences then expand upon the lead.
  • The press release body copyshould be compact. Avoid using very long sentences and paragraphs. Avoid repetition and over use of fancy language and jargon.
  • A first paragraph (two to three sentences) must actually sum up the press release and the further content must elaborate it. In a fast-paced world, neither journalists nor other readers would read the entire press release if the start of the article didn’t generate interest.
  • Deal with actual facts – events, products, services, people, targets, goals, plans, projects. Try to provide maximum use of concrete facts. A simple method for writing an effective press release is to make a list of following things:
• 3

  Communicate the 5 Ws and the H. Who, what, when, where, why, and how. Then consider the points below if pertinent.

  • • What is the actual news?
    • Why this is news.
    • The people, products, items, dates and other things related with the news.
    • The purpose behind the news.
    • Your company – the source of this news.
  • Now from the points gathered, try to construct paragraphs and assemble them sequentially: The headline > the summary or introduction of the news > event or achievements > product > people > again the concluding summary > the company.
  • The length of a press release should be no more than three pages. If you are sending a hard copy, text should be double-spaced.
  • The more newsworthy you make the press release copy, the better the chances of it being selected by a journalist for reporting. Find out what “newsworthy” means to a given market and use it to hook the editor or reporter.
• 4

  Include information about the company. When a journalist picks up your press release for a story, he/she would logically have to mention the company in the news article. Journalists can then get the company information from this section.

  • The title for this section should be – About XYZ_COMPANY
  • After the title, use a paragraph or two to describe your company with 5/6 lines each. The text must describe your company, its core business and the business policy. Many businesses already have professionally written brochures, presentations, business plans, etc. – that introductory text can be put here.
  • At the end of this section, point to your website. The link should be the exact and complete URL without any embedding so that, even if this page is printed, the link will be printed as it is. For example: http://www.your_company_website.com. Companies which maintain a separate media page on their websites must point to that URL here. A media page typically has contact information and press kits.
• 5

  Tie it together. Provide some extra information links that support your press release.
• 6

  Add contact information. If your press release is really newsworthy, journalists would surely like more information or would like to interview key people associated with it.

  • If you are comfortable with the idea of letting your key people be contacted directly by media, you can provide their contact details on the press release page itself. For example, in case of some innovation, you can provide the contact information of your engineering or research team for the media.
  • Otherwise, you must provide the details of your media/PR department in the “Contact” section. If you do not have dedicated team for this function, you must appoint somebody who will act as a link between the media and your people.
  • The contact details must be limited and specific only to the current press release. The contact details must include:
    • The Company’s Official Name
    • Media Department’s official Name and Contact Person
    • Office Address
    • Telephone and fax Numbers with proper country/city codes and extension numbers
    • Mobile Phone Number (optional)
    • Timings of availability
    • E-mail Addresses
    • Web site Address
• 7

  Signal the end of the press release with three # symbols, centered directly underneath the last line of the release. This is a journalistic standard.