Put yourself in the position of a television newsroom’s assignment editor. You get to work at 7:30 in the morning. While getting ready for your meeting with the news director, producers and reporters, the police radios are blasting in your ear as you open the snail mail, check e-mail, collect overnight faxes and thumb through the schedule of the day’s events. In that meeting, you will have to tell everybody what is going on that day, then match reporters with photojournalists to send out the door.
While thinking about the meeting and sifting through your mounds of material, you find dozens of press releases. Obviously, you are in a hurry, and that means the majority of the press releases will get tossed.
The ones that you keep have earned your attention. How?
The Headline
The headline of a press release must grab the attention of the person reading it. It will not do this if it reads, “Acme Lumber Company Announces An Alternative Lumber Treatment.” It will get attention if it says “Consumers Can Save Dollars With New Lumber Treatment.”
The first example does not tell the hurried assignment editor what the story means to the audience. The second one does.
The First Sentence
If the first sentence should tell the assignment editor why the story should be covered.
“Acme Lumber Company is proud to introduce a form of treatment that could increase profitability by the third quarter” might be acceptable to stockholders, but not to a broader audience. “Consumers will see significant savings as a result of purchasing and applying a new form of lumber treatment” will get more attention.
Using Quotes
It is common to see tiresome quotes in a press release. An example is: “We are proud of our new product and believe it will benefit our industry in the long-term,” stated ACME CEO R.J. Acme.
A more personal and effective quote would be: “I have tried this product at home myself,” said Acme CEO R.J. Acme. “I was never more proud of the ingenuity of my company’s engineers.”
Don’t Forget
Contact information, date of release and location are musts. It isn’t necessary to say “For Immediate Release” because once it is released, news organizations believe they have a right to use it. That is, of course, if it gets their attention.
Length
One page is the ideal length for your press release. There are exceptions, but not many.
Remember:
- The headline should get attention.
- The first sentence should tell why the story is important.
- The quote should be personal.
- Don’t forget the contact information.
- Keep the release one page in length.
Al Rothstein is a media trainer and consultant with Al Rothstein Media Services, Inc. For information, call (800) 453-6352, mediabrain@rothsteinmedia.com. Visit our web site at www.rothsteinmedia.com.
