To summarize what we have said so far, here are ten tips
for writing an excellent news release.
Use an active headline to grab the
editor's attention.
The headline makes your release stand out. Keep the
headline short, active, and descriptive, with the most positive
spin. Write "Jane Doe Named Person of the
Year" instead of "Jane Doe Gets
Award."
Put the most important information at the
beginning.
This is a tried and true rule of journalism. Remember that
the first two paragraphs should contain the salient facts of who,
what, when, where, why, and how. Don't bury
good information at the end.
Avoid exaggeration and unsubstantiated claims.
A news editor can smell a sales pitch a mile away. Instead
of making over-inflated statements, provide real, usable
information. Find legitimate ways to set your organization apart,
and stress those points.
Write in an active, engaging, and concise style.
Use language that conveys your excitement about the news.
If your release is boring or passively written, the editor may
conclude the news itself is not very meaningful or you are not a
good candidate for an interview. Interesting equals
newsworthy.
Keep your release to two pages or less.
Generally, if you can't state your
message in two pages, you are not getting to the point fast
enough. Editors are always looking for concise, easy-to-read
releases that can be thrown onto a website or squeezed into a
leftover space in a page layout. For highly important news with
many details, you can include a third page, but this should be
done sparingly.
Include a contact.
Every
news release should include a contact person who the media can
reach for more information. This contact is your spokesperson and
must be familiar with all the news in the release. They should be
prepared to answer questions.
Keep jargon to the minimum.
Avoid using highly technical terms and buzzwords familiar
only to Linux insiders. Jargon can date quickly, and complicated
language irritates people who don't know what
you mean. Your goal is to tell your story to as wide an audience
as possible, not to unduly limit the audience. Even
special-interest publications mostly write in plain language and
only use jargon and acronyms generally familiar to their
readers.
Stress "benefits, benefits,
benefits."
This falls under the category of "show,
don't tell." Avoid claiming something is "unique" or
"the best" when you can't substantiate this. Instead, provide
specific examples of benefits, supported by evidence and anecdotes.
Be specific and detailed.
Marcia Yudkin, author of
Six Steps to Free Publicity,
talks about the "Yes, but what is
it?" syndrome. Nothing is more irritating than seeing
constant references to a product name or service name, but no
information on what that product or service is. The reader needs
to be able to visualize a new product or understand what a
service offers. This is particularly critical for launches
(announcements of new offerings). You should ask someone
unfamiliar with your product or service to read your release and
then describe the product or service in their own words.
Proofread!
This is easily forgotten, but extremely important. Always
proofread your work before issuing the final release. Better yet,
give the document to someone else (perhaps a copy editor) who can
readily spot spelling and grammatical errors. Nothing signals
unprofessionalism more than a typo-filled communication.
