A news release checklist
There are two kinds of news releases. One, although commonly called a news release, is actually an article. These are sent to trade journals and other content-hungry magazines who plan to flow your text into their publications with minimal editing. If you’re writing this kind of “news release,” don’t use the suggestions below. Instead, write a good article. (We’ll cover that in a later blog entry.)
The other—more common—type of news release is sent to journalists who will author the actual article. Here are a few tips for piquing their interest:
1. Your topic has to be newsworthy. Find the news story within your marketing story, an angle that will hook journalists. Their job is not to sell your product or company, but to sell issues of their publications. If there’s no actual news story in what you have to say, don’t waste your time creating a news release.
2. Find the hook. To be newsworthy, your release should be relevant in a context larger than your organization. A story about how you’ve hired 20 new employees is nice for you, but it’s more newsworthy when placed in the context of high unemployment rates in your area. Human interest hooks are also effective; people love reading about people.
3. Put the most important information at the beginning. The first paragraph should give a complete overview of “who, what, when, where and why.” The second paragraph should expand on the first. The following paragraphs should fill in peripheral information in descending order of importance.
4. Keep paragraphs short and scannable.
5. Use quotations to humanize the release and improve its readability. Place every quotation in its own paragraph, even if it’s only one sentence long.
6. Use minimal adjectives and no flowery language. Journalists want the facts. They’ll do the job of turning the story into prose, should they decide to pick it up.
Here’s a good format to use for news releases.
Today’s FREE BONUS CONTENT!
So, these two cannibals are eating a clown. And one cannibal says to the other cannibal, “Does this taste funny to you?”
