When you send a press release, and a newspaper or TV reporter uses it for a story, the resulting free publicity can be more effective than a paid ad. To the public, a news story is more credible, because it isn't paid promotion.

News editors and reporters are bombarded by news releases, so you're facing a lot of competition. There are steps you can take to increase your chances of being noticed though.

• Follow standard press release format. When you do, your release will appear to be from a more credible source. Limit your release to one page, no more than two. A sample format is outlined below.
• Read newspaper articles and note the writing style of news stories. They're not written to sell anything. They aren't full of fluff. They do not include the writer's opinion (unless found on the editorial page). They strictly report the news. Press releases should be written in the same way.
• Determine your "hook." What makes your news release newsworthy? What makes your business or product unique or worthy of publicity? To answer this question, decide what would be important to a newspaper reader or TV viewer. The media needs items of interest to their audiences to fill time and space. You stand a better chance of your press release being used, if you emphasize how your news will affect or benefit people.
• Here are ideas for possible press release subjects:

  • Anything new that your company is doing. A new product or service, especially if it's the first in your market, is newsworthy. A new location or new employee announcement can result in articles or briefs in the business section of your newspaper.
  • Information about future plans or growth at your business, especially if it will result in many new jobs.
  • Something your company is doing that is out of the norm -- unusual, weird or funny. These types of stories may be more visual and appeal more to TV reporters or newspaper photographers.
  • Tie ins to trends, issues or national events. For example, is your company introducting a new service to address a social need?
  • Announcements of corporate partnerships. If you're partnering with a community group to raise money for their cause, it can be newsworthy.
  • Personnel promotions. When you promote or hire someone, send a news release announcing it to the hometown newspaper of that employee. It's a kind gesture, and in some cases reaches a new market.
  • Seminars or lectures your company will be presenting.

  • Awards or other positive recognition your business has received.
• As with all business writing, avoid typos and spelling errors. Remember, you are trying to get the attention of journalists. You don't want to do that with a poorly-written news release.
• Make sure the headline of your press release summarizes the information quickly -- for those busy reporters. I'll get into this more in the sample format below.

Press Release Format

Identification. When possible, put your news release on company letterhead. This presents your business name and address, identifying you as a legitimate company to the media. Several lines down from the letterhead, center the words PRESS RELEASE.

Contact Information. In the upper left corner of the release, type the date you mailed the release, the date the news can be released, a contact person's name, phone and email. It should look something like this:

Date: August 30, 2006
For Release: August 31, 2006 (You may also put For Immediate Release here.)
Contact: Bob Smith, PR/Communications Director
555-7306, ext. 2268
bsmith@hhbank.com

Headline. Space down an inch and center the headline, so an editor can easily see the topic. The headline should briefly summarize the story. It should include a subject and verb and be written in the active voice and present tense. To make it stand out more, your headline can be bold and even underlined.

Heritage Hills Bank Donates to Rebuild Fire Station Destroyed by Tornado

Placeline. Type the location where the news release originated before your first paragraph, with a hyphen following it.

Nortonville, IN --

Lead or Intro. The lead paragraph in your press release should follow what is called journalistic inverted pyramid style. Your first paragraph should contain the who, what, when, where, why and how of the news release. In other words, include all key information, as if the reader will not read past the first paragraph.

In a news conference at their main office this morning, Heritage Hills Bank announced a $10,000 donation toward the rebuilding of the Smith Township Fire Station destroyed in the August 15, 2006, tornado.

Body. The remaining paragraphs of the news release contain information in order of diminishing importance. The inverted pyramid style enables an editor to begin editing from the bottom of the press release, while still keeping the most important information. Include quotes from a company spokesperson in this part. Your final paragraph includes company information such as number of years in business, number of locations and who you serve.

Heritage Hills Bank President, David Erickson, presented a check to Volunteer Fire Captain, Chris Bradley, at the future site of the new station. According to Erickson, “So many of our residents were negatively impacted by the tornado. Our board and management felt this donation would enable us to benefit a large group of people in the affected area.”

“Our firefighters heroically responded to a community in distress after the tornado disaster,” he added. “This was also a way to show our appreciation for their efforts.”

Upon accepting the donation, Bradley advised a building fund has been established for the new fire station. Applications for grants have also been submitted.

Smith Township firefighters are temporarily working out of the Owen Township Fire Station. The new station’s projected completion date is March of 2007.

Heritage Hills Bank has been serving the Nortonville area since 1917. The locally owned bank operates six offices in Nortonville, Greenburg and New Castle.

Ending Symbol. Type -#-, -30- or -The End- to signal the end of the press release. Using such symbols follows journalistic style.

Sample Press Releases

Other Helpful Tips

• The body of the press release should be double spaced. Sometimes, I set spacing to 1.5, if double spacing makes the release too long.
• Write news releases in "second person." Refer to "they," "it" and "the company," instead of "we."
• Mail or email press releases, or post them in a virtual newsroom on your web site. For more information on email news releases and virtual newsrooms, go to the Email Press Releases page on this site.