This is where you go beyond grabbing a journalist’s attention and give them all of the important information they would need if they decide to write a story about you or your company.

Here are some things to keep in mind when writing the body of your press releases.

1. Use the inverted pyramid in writing the press release body.

Write a press release the way a journalist would write a news story — using inverted pyramid style.

What does this mean exactly?

It’s simple. You start with the most important information up front, and then add supporting details after. Think of it in three tiers:

• Must-have information to understand your news story
• Details that are important even if not absolutely necessary
• Information that’s nice to have, but definitely not necessary

The most important element of using the inverted pyramid style to write press releases is to try to answer as many of the “5 Ws” — who, what, when, where, and why — as possible right in your “lede” (your first body paragraph or introduction).

2. Don’t make your press release body longer than necessary.

With that inverted pyramid style in mind, as you get to less important details, ask yourself:

Would a journalist really want this, or is it only interesting to me?

If a journalist wouldn’t care, cut it. (And be realistic. Just because you think something about your company or product is amazing, it doesn’t mean anyone else is going to be excited about it.)

Journalists (and bloggers for that matter) are busy. They receive more pitches than you would probably ever imagine.

If you want to hold their attention, get to your point quickly. And don’t bore them with information they neither want nor need (like industry jargon, extensive company bios, or self-gratuitous hype that offers no news value).

In most cases, your press release shouldn’t exceed one page.

3. Make it clear when your release goes to a second page.

If you do have a good reason for taking a press release to a second page, make that clear on the first page by using the following at the bottom:

– More –

Don’t ever leave journalists wondering if they’re missing something.

4. Don’t leave out key information to prompt media contacts.

This is something I’ve seen both as a writer who receives a lot of press releases and as a PR consultant.

Every once in a while I’ll get a release where vital information is left out (or I’ll have a client suggest it). And it’s done so intentionally, sometimes even with a “cute” little call-to-action prompting me to contact the company for the very information that should have already been provided in the press release.

Don’t do this.

Ever.

It’s a dumb idea.

It’s unprofessional.

You’ll piss off the very journalists you want to ingratiate yourself with.

Do you know what I do when a company pitches me a story, leaves out key information, and then tries to prompt me to call them or email them for the information they already knew I would need?

I never contact them.

I don’t cover that story.

And, in many cases, I blacklist them and block any future releases of theirs from reaching me.

That is not your goal with a press release. Your job is to present an interesting and newsworthy story to journalists and bloggers who reach a relevant audience. And your job is to make their job as easy as possible.

These tips might seem simple.

They are!

That’s pretty much the point with press releases: Keep it simple. Keep it clear. Keep it newsworthy.

If the body of your press release does that, you’ll have a much better chance of landing the kind of media coverage you want.

Next week we’ll look at press release writing tips for your release’s end matter (the things that come after the main body of your news release). For the time being, if you have news you want to release and you’d like a pro’s hand in writing your press release, contact me and let’s talk about your project.

The post Tips for Formatting Your Press Release Body appeared first on Pro Business Writer.

Header

When writing a press release, you should always include a header with the contact person’s name and contact information (such as phone number and email address). Beneath the contact information, you should type FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. (For online press releases, contact information may be placed at the bottom.)

Headline

You should write a catchy, yet informative, headline (or title) for your press releases. This should be centered a few lines below your header information, and can be placed in all bold type. While some people like to use all CAPS when typing a headline, you should avoid that. Many online news services (press release distribution sites or newswires) won’t accept a title in all caps.

Summary

This is an optional 1-4 sentences briefly summarizing the news angle of a press release. This is traditionally added to news releases when the company plans to utilize online press release distribution sites or newswires. If the release is being distributed manually offline (such as via fax), a sub-heading can still be used in its place.

Dateline

Every press release you write should have the date included. The dateline usually occurs in one of two places: either under the header and before the headline, or at the beginning of the press release body, along with the city and state. For example: New York, NY – March 14, 2006 – ‘Body of your press release here.’

Press Release Body

The body of every press release that you write should answer the questions of who, what, when, where, and why. Ideally, these questions will be answered in the first paragraph of your press release, and you’ll expand upon the details in a following paragraph. Quotes are often effective in the body of a press release, as long as they’re not testimonials (not promotional in nature).

Boilerplate

At the end of your actual news, you should include a standard boilerplate. This can be a simple paragraph talking about the business, organization, or individual presenting the news found in the press release. It’s your opportunity to give background information and statistics about who you are and what you do.

Call to Action

Add a line after your boilerplate similar to: “For more information, please contact Your Contact Name at Your Phone Number.” This can simply be a repeat of the contact information presented in your header.

Media Instructions / References

At the very end of your release, before the closing, you should include any details about photos or other materials you’ve included or referenced (such as naming the individuals in the photo), and include any media instructions if the release is in reference to an event they may be interested in covering (such as where they can park and set up their equipment).

Closing

You should always end a press release with ### or -30- centered at the bottom of the page. That tells the reader that they’ve reached the end of your release, and there are no additional pages. If you do have more than one page because of addenda being attached or because it’s a long release, you should use the -more- tag at the bottom of every page but the last one.

The post How to Write a Press Release appeared first on Pro Business Writer.