Press Releases

If you are writing a press release, you aren’t alone. Hundreds of thousands of people are releasing them every day. A press release is something that has been released to the press. It can be an event, performance, or other item, as long as it is considered newsworthy.

Usually, the press release is written in third-person, so that it’s easy to understand. Example, “Today, two men were killed as they tried to save a man from a fire. The man was rescued, but there were no other survivors.

There are a few different ways you can write a press release, but be sure to always start with a title. Publicity Insider says you should start one with all uppercase, example: TWO MEN KILLED TRYING TO SAVE MAN FROM FIRE, and then a subtitle under that: MAN RESCUED, NO OTHER SURVIVORS (this should be lowercase).

The next step in the article is to compose the body of the text, which is the most important part of the whole release, even more important than your name and the title.

You’ll want to be careful how you write your article, but you’ll want to make it interesting at the same time. You need to make it factual.

Be sure that you write the article in an informative matter. Opinions do not work for a press release; there is simply no place for them (unless it is called for under an extremely rare occasion.)

BAD ARTICLE:

The murder of three-year-old Benjamin Seem has shocked the nation, leaving even reporters and editors stunned at the disastrous wake. When the news first entered our newsroom for the press release, we were all horrified at what had happened, shocked that someone could treat a baby so badly… I myself was appalled…

GOOD ARTICLE:

The murder of three-year-old Benjamin Seem has shocked the nation, leaving even reporters and editors appalled at how this child was treated and neglected. The investigative members of children’s services are being called on the carpet tonight. Why? The case of Benjamin Seem was noticed long ago…

You do not want to put yourself in the article unless you are making a personal statement to declare something: (anniversary, marriage, innocence, guilty… etc).

Do make sure you have good grammar and spelling. Do not type in all caps. Always make sure to include as much relevant detail as needed. Do not put in unnecessary detail.

BAD REPORT:

today there was reported a murder of three year old Benjamin seem

Good report:

Today, in the town of Ohio, there was a murder reported that shocked the nation.

So, when you’re struggling to do your press release, remember:

Good (factual!) details
No typing in ALL CAPS
Grammar & spell checked
Not written in first person (Publicity Insider says, big no-no!). No “I’s” or “We’s.”

For professional press release writing and distribution see Press Release.