It is essential that you know the right press release format because this will help ensure that everything people needed to know about your product, service or event, will be included. When they have all the information they need, people are more likely to understand what you are trying to convey. More importantly however, is that when they understand what your message is all about, they are also more likely to share that message.
Your press release will generally be split up into three parts: the headline, the body of the press release, and information about your company. For your headline, make sure that you come up with something catchy. It is advisable that you have a subheading as well in order for you to have something that will lend some form of explanation for your headline. Keep your headline succinct and just use the subheading for relaying more information when needed.
As for the body of your press release, make sure that you answer the Five Ws in the first paragraph so your readers pretty much have an idea of what the topic is all about without having to read the entire thing. It is for this reason that you must refer to the what, why, when, where and who of your message.
Most journalists, writers, and editors are just so busy that they’ll mostly ignore anything that they can’t understand within the first paragraph. It is your job to make their job easier, so creating a good press release is imperative. Since a well-written piece will contain everything they need, they don’t have to go through the trouble of writing an article based on the release because the release itself is good enough to be printed.
A good press release is then like one less article for them to write so they will be highly appreciated. The media professionals always tend to remember good stories, so following the correct format can be like a free pass for you. It will undoubtedly increase your chances of getting a press release published the next time you send one.
Still lost on the press release format? Do not stress as there are a lot of sites you can check out online for guidelines in this respect, alongside loads of tips to improve your style of writing. Following the desired release format is one thing, but it is another to come up with content that follows that format. Just keep in mind that you have to write in the third person. This is because you as the writer are acting as a reporter about a certain event, product, service or occurrence in the life of a third-party.
To lend credibility to your press release, make sure that you quote people connected to the issue under consideration. For instance, if your release is about the launch of a new product, then a quote from the product manager will lend enough credibility to the publication. It would be ideal if you can place the quote either in the middle or towards the ending paragraph. This will bring together everything you have written so you can come up with an engaging and great ending.