Eight Keys to Writing a Strong News Release

“File 13.” “The Round File.” “The Recycling Bin.” These are all names for the newsroom receptacle that receives most news releases. Whether you are providing your release electronically or on paper, the following eight tips can improve the chances that it will be used.

1. Make sure it looks professional. Your release should be on company letterhead or have some other header to clearly identify the organization it is coming from. Include the words, “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” and the date just under the company name or logo.
2. Include contact information. A reporter or editor may have a question or may want to consider sending a reporter or photographer to cover the subject of your release. Always provide your telephone number and e-mail address at the top of the release so that you can be easily reached for more information.
3. Provide a short headline and subhead. Your headline will likely not be the one used in the newspaper but because editors are scanning many releases quickly, you need to summarize the content of your release by providing a short headline. You can follow that with a slightly longer subhead that provides additional information. The body of your release will then follow the headline and subhead.
4. Make sure you are reporting news. Sounds basic but it has to be said that the content is what counts most. No matter how you dress your release up, if the information you are sharing isn’t news, it won’t get printed. That means a release that simply touts why your product is better than that of your competition will not see a drop of ink. Put yourself in the readers’ shoes and focus your release on information that needs reporting – an event, an important action, an important new hire, a decision to expand your company, etc.
5. Write in news style. As the police detective on the old “Dragnet” TV show used to say, “Just the facts, Ma’am.” Start with your most important information and work your way down to providing less important details. Don’t embellish your news story with colorful adjectives or try to impress. Short sentences and short paragraphs of no more than two sentences each are what are called for in most instances. Make sure your spelling and grammar are correct. The less work your release requires of an editor, the greater the chance of its being used.
6. Provide complete information. Make sure your release answers the questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? Many are the releases that fail because they leave out some vital piece of basic information such as the time or location of an event.
7. Keep it short. In this age of shrinking newspapers (both in the size of pages and the number of pages), news releases need be kept to a single page and to no more than four or five paragraphs. If you have a story to tell that requires more space, pitch that story to the publication as one it might want to consider having a reporter cover. Your written release can then be provided as background material for the reporter.
8. Clearly indicate the end of the story. Indicate the end of the story by placing a “-30-“ or “###” in a centered position on the line following the end of your story. This helps an editor to quickly know that he or she isn’t missing a page.

Following the rules above will not guarantee that your release will run. Space in newspapers is tight these days and editors always have more material than they can squeeze in. These guidelines will at least improve the chances that your news will make the cut!