| Alert the Media! Press Releases 101 |
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Alert the Media! Press Releases 101 By Roxyanne Young Press releases are announcements to the media that you’ve got something important going on and they should tell the world about it. The information contained in them should be presented as close as possible to an actual article. Keep it short, accurate, entertaining, and pertinent to their target audience. The easier you make it for the journalist (or whomever you’re addressing the release to) to pick it up and put it into their publication’s template, the more likely you are to get quality coverage. There is a standard format for press releases, though, so be sure to follow this if you want to be taken as a serious professional. Use a standard font (Times New Roman, 12 pt.) and double space the body of your text. 1. Print the release on your professional letterhead. If you have a logo, include it. 2. Print the words “PRESS RELEASE” in all caps at the top, centered, in bold. 3. Add your contact person’s information centered underneath that, not in bold. 4. If the release is of a time-sensitive nature, print “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” at the top left, above the “PRESS RELEASE” line. 5. Under your contact information, skip a line and left justify the title of your release. 6. Double space and start the first paragraph of your release. The first paragraph tells briefly what your release is about. a. A tip here: ideally, your content will match the editorial voice of your target market, but if you don’t have time to write them up individually, stick to standard journalistic form and cover the meaty Who, What, When, Where, Why and How in the first few lines. 7. Second paragraph: deeper detail. Here you can really get into the story. a. Be sure to include something that tells them why they should care. Is there a human interest angle, a particularly interesting point that would hit home with their readers, etc.? 8. The third paragraph tells them about you as an author. Your other books, awards, honors, local connections, etc. Be sure to send them to your Website for further information, and give them a reason to visit, like viewing your brand new book trailer. Let them know, too, that print-quality images are available for download on your Website, and include a high-quality print of one or two of them. Make their job as easy as you can. If you target your market well enough and write to their editorial voice, your chances are pretty good that your release may be published verbatim. It happens. The key is to write engaging copy here so that the journalist or editor picks it up and runs with it. |
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