Generate free publicity for your business with press releases.
Business owners and public relations professionals use press releases to attract positive media attention to their organizations. The information in a press release gives journalists the basic information they need to compose news stories about special events, new business openings, fundraisers, business awards and other newsworthy topics. Using the traditional press release format -- which consists of the headline, subhead, dateline, opening paragraph, body, boilerplate, contact information and closing -- improves your chances of attracting positive attention from journalists.
Instructions
1. Determine the topic of your press release. Make sure the topic is newsworthy enough to capture the attention of the newspaper editor. If you plan to send the release to the editor of a local paper, make sure your press release topic has some connection to the local community.
2. Write "For immediate release" at the top of the page, followed by a headline written in capital letters or bold font. The headline should summarize the content of your press release. Center the headline on the page.
3. Write a subhead in italics under the headline. The subhead should give additional information about the content of your press release. Add the date of distribution and name of the nearest company location below the subhead. Journalists call this the dateline of the release.
4. Write the first paragraph as if no one will read more than a few sentences of your release. In an interview with Tim Donnelly of Inc., Lauren Selikoff of Allison & Partners advises press release writers to get their message across in the first paragraph of the release. Complete the body of the release by adding any other relevant information about your topic.
5. Add a boilerplate to the last paragraph of the press release. This should contain standard information such as your company mission, executives, special achievements and industry awards. Including this information helps the reviewer understand more about your company.
6. Provide contact information to make it easy for an editor to contact you if she has questions or needs more information. Include the name, title and email address of your company public relations representative or spokesman.
7. Close the press release by typing "###" or "-30-" at the bottom of the page. These notations indicate that the editor has reached the end of the release and has no additional pages to review.
