How to write a press release

Untitled Part 1

HOW TO WRITE A PRESS RELEASE

By Gary Daniels

Copyright 2019: Awareness Communications Inc.

This work may not be copied or re-distributed in any way without the sole permission of the author and Awareness Communications Inc.

How to write a press release  helps readers to interact with news media including major Metropolitan and National newspapers, magazines, radio and television (broadcast) outlets, websites, blogs, and other news channels.

The author is a professional journalist with decades of experience working as an editor, producer and reporter with community newspapers, major newspapers, television national news and public affairs programs, magazines (on a freelance basis), websites, blogs and public relations firms. Today, the author writes, under the name Gary Daniels.

His work is available at Amazon Books and other publishers.

HOW TO WRITE A PRESS RELEASE

A press or 'news' release is one - and only one - of the tools you can use to promote and, eventually, sell your work with media help whether it is a piece of artwork, the product of a craft, a service or some other offering. Anyone can write a release and distribute it on his or her own or on behalf of the organization. It's fairly easy to prepare one and amazingly easy to send it out.

Writing and sending of a release can cost money but it doesn't have to; you can write and deliver your release without spending a cent. The results will be about the same regardless of what the PR people might say. The work of preparing and sending a release is worth the bother; if only one of your releases gets used, it may attract the attention you need to make your activity a success. At the same time, publication in a newspaper, magazine or on the web creates a living record of you and your business. It will live on as long as the newspaper archives its content or Google remembers the item.

Yes, there is value in getting your release published but, don't get too excited. Read on to learn how to prepare and send out a release and what you realistically can get from the process.

First, do not call a 'press release' a 'press release.' The word 'press' in this context means a printing press, usually a huge contraption turning out thousands of newspapers or magazines in a few hours. Printing presses have been around since Gutenberg's days but their days are now numbered as are the things printed on them like paperback and hard cover books, newstand mags and, of course, newspapers. A 'press release' should be called a 'news release.'

Second, understand that you can write and distribute a news release but you can't guarantee that anyone else will read the thing or that, if it is read, it will be included in a news publication that is printed, broadcast or posted online. In fact, a very small percentage of news releases are read and far fewer chosen by editors and producers to include in their news packages for the hour, day, week, month or year.

Editors and producers - the people who choose the items that constitute news for any audience - have access to many sources. They get raw news from their own reporters, videographers and other employees or freelancers. They get news from wire services like Bloomberg and Reuters (who really are aggregators and distributors of news of any value around the world). The editors and producers get news from people who witness events or blow whistles. They also receive news releases by the ton. As we said, the NR is only one of many news tools.

The main reason an editor or producer chooses to redistribute the content of a release is that it will be interesting to the people who read, listen to and view the product created by the editor and producer and his/her contributors. If it isn't interesting, it won't see the light of day. By 'interesting', we mean something that will catch and hopefully hold the attention of an audience. It doesn't have to be spectacular or negative to be news but it does have to be interesting.

The sad fact today is that most news releases are terribly dull and/or self-serving. They are not interesting to anyone but the author. Many professional public relations people have never understood that a news release is not an advertisement or promotion. A news release should be a discussion of an event or a situation that is interesting. Seldom are releases interesting. Most are blatant and shameless pitches of products, political candidates, events or opinions. Editors and producers are not in the business of helping companies or politicians or narcissists or even charities promote and sell their stuff. That's why editorial and advertising departments are strictly separated in truly professional media. Editors and producers are in the business of telling their subscribers interesting things while the advertising side of their publications do the pitching.

So, how do you write or record a news release that is not a blatant advertisement and is an interesting piece of information? It's fairly simple - a lot easier than most PR companies make the process. Following is the process to use to create a usable news release:

Determine, first, the focus of your release. Do not place more than one main topic in your release. If you have more than one focus, write and distribute a news release for each one. For instance, your art gallery is planning a show by a well-known visiting artist followed by a second show by a local emerging artist. You should not include both events in one release - for several reasons. An editor may cut the second event to save space. Once you even mention a second event, editors or reporters may consider that news enough and ignore a second release down the road chewing over the same news (even if it has a lot more detail). It's hard to write a single headline for two events so one will suffer. Your audience may be confused by two stories with no connection.

Once you have determined your main focus, collect the information that should go into the release. What is that information? It is the answers to seven essential questions.

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