Writing for 'Press Release'

Press release is considered as a major source of news information all over the world. A press release or a news release is a text-based announcement of an event, development, or other newsworthy item, having some news value, such as scheduled events, awards, accomplishments, new products, new services, executive promotions, sales, financial data, political issues etc.

To get readers' attention immediately to a press release, easy to digest for them and make the publication more likely, following are the simple steps:-

Layout:- Begin 'Press Release' or 'New Release' heading in bold and type out the layout on a A4 Sheet with double spacing and wide margins to make the text easily readable and editable.

Headline:- Media Editors look for originality, topicality and, sometimes, humor. Headline, as such, should be catchy to persuade the editor.

Introductory Paragraph:- Write on Editor's perspective. Ensure your introductory paragraph is fact-focused and is not sales-oriented. Make this paragraph more interesting and it summarises the whole story.

Body of the Press Release:- Try to tell your story in a maximum of 3 to 4 paragraphs. Use simple language, short sentences and avoid technical jargons provided you are not writing for technical magazines.

Photographs:- Email the journalist the option of having a digital version of a standard photograph of your product or anything else relevant to the story.

Contact Details:- At the end of press release, list out your name, mobile, telephone numbers & email address for further information by the editors/readers of your press release.

Follow-up:- Sometimes a follow-up phone call or email to see if editors intend to use the release can be useful but use your judgement on how often to do so.

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