How to Write a Good News Release
Article provided by HMA Public Relations
When beginning to write a news release it is best to prepare the material as you would if you were a reporter working for a newspaper, following the same punctuation and spelling rules. When writing the news release, the message needs to get across clearly and it must be easy to understand. Write the news release for the editor, not your boss. The release must also comply with the AP Stylebook, newspaper writing style rules.
One of the most important decisions to make when writing a news release is its news worthiness. Only issue news releases that are newsworthy. A newsworthy news release addresses issues that your prospects or customers are grappling with and demonstrates why they, as well as the press, should care about the news release as well as your company.
Formatting a News Release
The news release should be double-spaced or 1.5 spaced with the appropriate usage of boldfaced characters.
The top of the document should state FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, accompanied with the date of the release.
Include contact information for the press to receive additional information. Reporters need to know who to follow up with and it is important to include a telephone number as well as an email address at the top of the news release under the heading “CONTACT.”
Next, to catch the reader’s attention with the headline, capitalize all letters in the headline, boldface, succinct and include an action verb.
Knowing when to end a release is as important as knowing how to start it. If a release is too long, an editor may not read through it all. Usually, the essential points can be covered in one page length. The news release should not exceed three pages in length. Keep the release brief but if more information is needed, attach a facts sheet to the release.
If the release is continued to another page, be sure to include (more) at the end of the page so the reader knows to continue. On the continued page, the top of the page should state the page number and the subject of the news release.
At the end of the news release, it is important to include your company’s boilerplate, which is essentially the company’s mission and strategy. Be sure to include the company’s URL address and a phone number to call for more information.
To confirm with the reader that the release is complete and there is no additional information, include (###) or (–30-) at the bottom of the last page of the release.
News Release Subject Matter
After determining the news worthiness, the next step is to identify the most important part of the story, what is the most important thing you have to say? The answer to that question will define what should be said in the lead.
The lead is the first paragraph and it is the most important part of the release. Naturally, if the lead sentence contains the most important and most interesting elements of the story, the who and what is most likely included. Be sure to place the when, where and why later in the release, but not too much later. The how usually comes last.
Once the lead has been written, read it over to make sure that it states clearly what the release is about and that it grabs the reader’s interest. The lead must give a quick indication of what the story is about and why it is important. The lead must be interesting! It must catch the eye of the editor and to get the attention of the newspaper reader.
Include a quote if possible into the release. Including a quote in the release helps raise its level of newsworthiness and chance of being covered by the press. It’s also helpful to offer these references to key press contacts to encourage them to write an interesting article.
Quick Tip
Before disseminating the release, be sure to spell check and have a second set of eyes read the release to spot errors that may be hiding
