We tell our PR course students that writing press releases is a key part of a PR’s role, even in these days of blogs and social media.

So how do you make a press release stand out, so that it gets plenty of hits? These are some of the tips from our online PR course

  1. Don’t write press releases! You’ll get better results if you approach journalists personally, with an idea / opportunity that they can develop as an exclusive.
  2. If you must write a press release, never send the same one to multiple outlets. Fashion a suitable version for each outlet.
  3. Put your contact details at the top. And proofread it. Enrol on our proofreading course to find out how.
  4. If you can’t offer a genuine story, feature or photo idea, then don’t bother.
  5. A journalist will love you for ever if you send them an exclusive, ready-to-use, reliable article with free photos, a video and some graphics. So: why bother sending anything else?
  6. Set out the press release neatly. Write the release from the journalist’s point of view – not yours, or your client’s.
  7. Write the heading for the journalist, not the reader. If you don’t sell the release to the journalist, the reader will never see it. So make the heading informative: explain what you’re offering.
  8. Create immediate impact with your headline and intro. You have five seconds, maximum, to sell the release to the journalist.
  9. Include the key facts: full names, ages, job titles, and sensible quotes from each key player. Sensible quotes mean they talk like human beings, not PR machines.
  10. Send the release so that it suits the journalist’s news timetable: ie, when they are planning for their next publication / upload deadline.

See our online PR course