The WRITE Way to Get Your News Release Noticed (Part 3)

[This is the third part of this topic. Please read the previous post for context]

I've packaged the entire three-part series ("The WRITE Way to Get Your News Release Noticed") into a PDF article. You may request it from me and I'll gladly send it to you free of charge. And it contains additional/expanded information not included in the blog posts.

There are some who say writing is a talent, and others call it an art. While not everyone can write like Alcott, Steinbeck, Faulkner, Tolkein or Angelou, the basic principles of writing can be learned. However, whether a natural talent, an applied art form or a learned skill, it’s essential that writing be done well or your efforts will be undermined, even ridiculed, by those you’re trying to impress, influence and inform. It’s difficult for a great story to overcome a bad news release.

Tell the truth. This should go without saying—but never (never, NEVER!) lie in your news release. The purpose is to report news, not make it up. On this same note, don’t exaggerate either. (That’s just creative lying!)

Skip the Sales Pitch. It’s almost a given that a news release that tries to sell or advertise will be tossed. Avoid cheap, over-used advertising words, such as “one of a kind,” “greatest,” “breakthrough,” “state-of-the-art,” or “best in the world.”

Look Carefully at “Quotes.” Traditionally, a news release has included an innocuous quote, usually from the organization’s leader (CEO, President, etc.). Sometimes, there are several quotes, either from the same person or other people within the organization.

Quotes in a news release are a problem--too many, too long, cliché and usually needless. I’ve had numerous opportunities to sit on panels with journalists and they universally say that quotes are not important to them. (They are important to the CEO, which is why we get pressure to include them) Personally, if I have to include a quote, I make sure it adds information that’s not already in the release.

Size Matters. Ideally, a news release should be 1 – 2 pages (never more than two!) and about 400 – 700 words. If you can't get your message across in that space, you should consider more than one release. Or give the basic information and then link to your web site for full details.

Don’t make misteaks…uh, Mistakes. Remember you are sending your release to writers and editors, who are notoriously critical. (You do know that editors look for mistakes for a living, right?) A typo in a press release or bad grammar (your vs. you’re; its vs. it’s) can label your company as “small-time,” no matter how big your news may be. Be sure to double-check facts, names, degrees, and dates to ensure that the release is accurate. (If you think releases are difficult to write, try writing a retraction or correction!)

Always run the spell checker before you send out your press release, but don’t use it as your only proofing method. Consider the following paragraph:

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A spell checker would not find all the errors in that paragraph, so it’s a good idea to have someone else read the news release for errors and omissions. Another option is to read the release aloud —word by word—very slowly.

Provide complete contact information. The listed contact should be someone who’s available and capable of answering questions from reporters. Always include contact name, company name, full address, phone number, e-mail address and website URL.

Timing is everything. Before you send out a release, it’s good to know the deadlines of the outlets you are targeting. Daily reporters (TV and newspapers) usually have deadlines for breaking news, but they may also be working on features up to a month in advance. Magazines typically close their editorial content about two months in advance of the issue date. Radio,
television and electronic journalists run short, timely stories based on breaking news.

Bring it to a close. The standard way to end a news release is with the symbols “# # #” centered after the last paragraph. You might also want to include a “boilerplate”—a brief company summary to help establish your expertise, such as products or services, location and years in business. (Again, visit my web site and check out the boilerplates on some of the releases I’ve done.)

Target to the correct person. Don’t send your new hire announcement to the religion editor. (Unless of course, you’ve just hired a new Pastor, Priest, Shaman or Rabbi.) The newspapers fashion reporter is not interested in your company’s 25-year anniversary and the sports anchor on your local TV station doesn’t want to hear about the latest sales figures. And don’t send a news release about being awarded a new contract to the entertainment reporter. (They won't find it...entertaining!)

Hit SEND. These days, no one mails news releases (Sorry, USPS) and very few media outlets want to receive a fax; send your release by e-mail. Cut and paste the release from your document and put it into the body of the e-mail. Don’t attach the document; everyone is wary of email viruses these days, including editors and it might block your message. I recommend having no attachment, which would include your logo in the body of the e-mail.


Can you think of something else that helps make a good news release? I welcome your thoughts, insights, comments or questions. I would especially like to see hear some of your experiences.


To leave a comment, click on the Callout icon at the top of the page.

The Write Way to Get Your News Release Noticed (Part 2)

[This is the second part of this topic. Please read the previous post for context]

In our last post, I discussed some of the issues of formatting a good news release, along with the need for a strong headline and lead paragraph. As we continue looking at the HOW of writing a news release, let’s now look at some elements related to content. It’s sometimes possible to have wonderful story, but it gets bogged down in needless verbiage. (Aren't you glad bloggers never do that?!)

Leave your jargon at the office. Every industry has their own lingo, technical terms and acronyms. I've worked with many kinds of people and organizations (tech, medical, religious, marketers, industrial, etc.) and they all have their own vocabulary.

Those IN your industry will know the meaning, but it can be confusing to outsiders...and that includes the media. (Not the ones you want to confuse with your release, right?)

I've read news releases with the medical vocabulary of a med school lecture or with so much technical terminology that it sounded like the dialogue of a Star Trek episode. That doesn't communicate with the average reader. Don't attempt to dazzle editors with your industry knowledge, just tell your story.

Extreme (fictitious) example: “123 Software Company, an InformationBuilders company and market leader in middleware that accelerates e-business initiatives through the rapid integration of complex back-office systems, and 123 Global Technologies, a middleware company, today announced an OEM agreement to develop and market a joint e-business integration solution for complex enterprise environments.” (My response = "Huh?")

Employ the Accepted Writing Style. This is not a biography and definitely not an autobiography. Don’t use "I" or "we" unless it's in a quote. Slang is not a good idea either. And most journalists want the Associated Press style of writing (AP Stylebook), which has specific rules about numbers, abbreviations, grammar, punctuation, etc.

Say it simply. Again, it's easy to fall into the trap of wanting to impress those who read your release, so you pull out those "five-dollar words." (e.g., We don't sweat a lot, we have hyperhidrosis. It’s not male pattern baldness, it’s androgenic alopecia versus. We don’t turn on our laptop, we power up the device. The pastor doesn't explain the Bible verse, he exegetes the original text.)

And sometimes, we get a bit wordy: “at the present time” is used instead of now; “at a later date” rather than just later. The simple word about becomes “with reference to.” “Please do not hesitate to call” could be reduced to please call and the four words “in the event that” could become the tiny word if. This is where restraint (or tough editing) is crucial.

Here's an answer to the very simple question "Where's the product I ordered?

“We are currently in the process of consolidating our product range to ensure that the products we stock are indicative of our brand aspirations. As part of our range consolidation we have also decided to revisit our supplier list and employ a more intelligent system for stock acquisition. As a result of the above, certain product lines are now unavailable through our website, whilst potentially remaining available from more mainstream suppliers.”

In other words: we don’t have that item in stock!

Skip the over-used phrases. I cannot tell you how many releases I’ve read where the quote (usually in the second paragraph, typically from the CEO/President) tells me how “excited” they are about whatever it is they are announcing. Obviously, if you weren’t excited about it, you wouldn’t be promoting, but that doesn’t mean you have to include the cliché phrase. The same would be true about other popular business-speak clichés. (e.g., cutting edge, best practices, bottom line, dominate the industry, win-win, game-changer, raise the bar, or doing anything “outside of the box.”)

If you’d like a more complete of business clichés, check out this site I found: The Encyclopedia of Business Clichés. Use it as a TO DON’T list for checking your release.


HELPFUL HINT: To avoid lingo, jargon, clichés and over-inflated terminology (i.e., big words), consider having someone outside your industry read the release to see if they understand it. If you aren’t familiar with AP Style, you will definitely want to have someone read it before you send it out. (You might also think about hiring someone outside your industry write the release for you. Like say…oh, I dunno…a PR Consultant.)


We will continue this topic in our next entry. I welcome your thoughts, insights, comments or questions. I would especially like to see hear some of your experiences.

To leave a comment, click on the Callout icon at the top of the page.

The WRITE Way to Get Your News Release Noticed (Part 1)

We’ve discussed various aspects of news releases: the WHY (benefits/rewards) and also the WHEN (occasions/reasons). Now, let’s begin to look at some of the specifics of HOW:

Style counts. While it’s true that good content is essential, it’s also important to realize that if your news release is hard to read, it might not get read! (And we don’t write news releases just for the writing exercise…right?)

Here are a few tips I’d offer to design your news release for easy readability and to enhance legibility:

• Stay with the traditionally accepted format for a news release. If you don’t know what that is, find out. There are many sites on the Internet that can help; do a search for "news release" or "press release." (You can also visit my web site and look at some of the releases I’ve done to see the standard, basic format.)

• The headline should be in Bold, but avoid ALL CAPS. (There is an old school method of writing news releases that had the title/headline in all caps, but not only is it difficult to read, but in “’net speak” you are yelling at the reader.)

• Go with a single, standard font throughout the entire release. Don’t use "cutesy" fonts or type the release in italics (or script) because that’s hard to read.

• Keep the background plain, with a black font color. (I’m assuming no one uses actually paper these days, so know that this refers to the background on your electronic document and your email.)

• For the main body of the release, use an easy-to-read font size: at least 11 points, but preferably 12 points. (Sometimes, it’s tempting to use a smaller font to keep the release to 1 – 2 pages, but that hinders readability…which is not the goal!)

• The boilerplate (we’ll discuss this in a later post) can be done in a smaller font, but I still don’t recommend anything below a 10-point font.

• There’s no need to double space your release, except between paragraphs. (Again, some older formats liked to not only double-space the content, but also to center it. It’s my opinion this make the release harder to read.)
  

Grab their attention. The average news outlet probably gets hundreds of news releases every day and most are trashed because of the headline. Craft an interesting, appealing headline (and an email subject line) to convey immediately why this news is important to them and their audience. (Hint: They are less interested in why it's important to YOU!).

To make a news release seem more powerful, or urgent, or important, some will use lots of exclamation points. But take my word for it: if your headline isn’t interesting, punctuation or special effects won’t change that. (It’s just dull…emphasized.)

First Things First. In standard news release format, we use what’s known as the “inverted pyramid.” (Visualize an upside-down Luxor Hotel.) The most important information goes in the first paragraph of the release and the least important information goes last. If that crucial first paragraph doesn’t get their attention, the details of your message will likely be lost.

The lead paragraph should include the traditional who, what, when, where and how of your story. Ideally, a reporter would have everything needed to make a decision on whether to move forward on your news release.

The opening paragraph is not the place to tout your organization, to tell why your new product is the best in decades, to invite people to your new location or to promote your new service offering. I like to use this valued space to tell a pertinent story, give a strong fact or statistic, make a bold statement or present a problem.



We will continue this topic in our next entry. I welcome your thoughts, insights, comments or questions. I would especially like to see hear some of your experiences.

To leave a comment, click on the Callout icon at the top of the page.