Even if you don’t consider yourself a
writer or marketer, you can write an
effective press release that gets the
attention of the public—and might
even catch the eye of a journalist or
two, yielding valuable earned media
coverage. These three tips will help
you develop a press release that
gets results:
feedback on how you can catch
your target audience’s attention.
1. Think like a journalist.
Economic pressures have forced
media outlets to cut back on staff
at a time when more content
than ever is needed to feed
the 24-hour news cycle, and
journalists have to do more with
less. Often, the greatest gift you
can give a journalist or editor is
ready-to-publish content that
he or she can simply copy, paste
and upload to the Web or add
to a print publication. This is why
you should think like a journalist.
What makes your press release
newsworthy? What does your
audience most need to know,
and how can you ensure that this
information is front and center?
3. Be concise.
Traditional news articles are
typically just a few hundred
words in length. Keep this
guideline in mind as you write,
and aim to cap your press
release’s length at 700 words
or fewer. This is particularly
important if you’re planning to
use a press release distribution
service, such as eReleases or
PRNewswire. Most services set
word limits on the releases they
will distribute, so know your cap
before you begin writing.
If you find yourself struggling to
draft a release that stays within
the limit, review the release
with an eye toward separating
what your audience needs to
know from what you’d like them
to know. Once again, this is an
opportunity to enlist an outside
reader who can help you take
a step back and make the
necessary edits.
2. Write a strong headline.
Before joining the ICF team, I
worked in consumer magazine
publishing and often received
dozens of press releases per day.
I only took the time to read press
releases with relevant, concise
and compelling headlines and/
or email subject lines. The others
went straight to the recycling bin.
Because your headline is your
first—and possibly only—chance
to make an impression on your
readers, make it count. Use the
active voice, choose vivid and
specific words, and tell your
readers why the news they’re
about to read matters.
Keep your headlines brief:
Aim for no more than 120
characters, if possible. Many
press release distribution
services and online news
outlets’ content management
systems set strict upper limits
for headline length, and print
outlets are similarly constrained
by the column inches allotted
for an article. (As an added
Press releases are a powerful way
to share your business’ successes
with the audiences you want to
reach, position yourself as a thought
leader and increase your ability to
gain attention from media outlets.
Don’t miss the opportunity to use
this tried-and-true PR tool to tell
your story to the world.
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Finally, keep in mind that you
do get a second chance to
share “level-2” information: The
standard press release format
(shown in the graphic at left)
includes a subhead where you
can provide additional detail that
didn’t fit into the headline.
Coaching World
A good news story opens with
a strong lede; i.e., a concise
sentence that addresses most
or all of the “five W’s” (who,
what, where, when, why). This
is where you demonstrate the
newsworthiness of your release to
the journalist and, subsequently,
to your audience. As you craft
the lede, keep in mind that what
you find most newsworthy may
not be what your audience finds
most interesting. If possible, check
in with someone you trust who
works outside of the coaching
profession and might represent
your target audience, share your
lede with them, and find out if it
passes the “non-coach” test for
newsworthiness. If it doesn’t, solicit
Most news articles are written
according to the inverted
pyramid format, with the most
important information first and
least important information at
the bottom of the article. This is
the format you’ll want to follow
as you write your press release.
Not only will this help ensure
that your press release is ready
for publication; it will also mean
that if the editor needs to cut it
for length from the bottom up
(standard operating procedure in
newsrooms) the most important
details will remain intact.
bonus, a short headline can be
shared easily on Twitter.)