The complete guide to writing a press release

Press releases are the golden ticket when it comes to getting your news out to a new audience.

But just like everything in marketing, you’ve got to hit the right notes to get the right results. In this comprehensive guide, I’m going to run through everything you need to know to start writing a press release that wins over journalists and gets your news out to the people that matter.

A little background

When my mum told me that they were going to let some of the kids in her class with dyslexia listen to music while they took their GCSE exams, I thought this was an opportunity to not only raise the profile for my mum’s school and their amazing efforts to help kids with learning difficulties but also to encourage other schools to support their dyslexic pupils in the same way.  Listening to music helps kids with dyslexia to cut through the noise, which enables them to focus.  Once I’d got the exam board to confirm they’d allow it if the headteacher listened to the music beforehand to ensure no cheeky cheat notes slipped in, I issued a press release, which was picked up by the local press and BBC Breakfast.

This is just one example of how, outside of my day-to-day PR work, I’ve used a press release to gain traction and help promote causes.  When I was asked to consider how to write a press release, I went back to exactly the kind of knowledge I put into action for this piece. Writing a press release isn’t difficult but there’s a definite thought process and groundwork to be considered.  Below, I’ll give you the blueprint for a successful press release that puts your news in the spotlight and gets news outlets to hit print on your story.

Does your news pass the “so-what” test?

My old boss at my first PR agency, used to say (usually with a splattering of swear words), “Does it pass the so-what test?”.  If it doesn’t then just don’t bother. Unless you’ve got something that you think will be of interest to a wider audience, don’t waste your time with a press release.

The question of what’s newsworthy and what isn’t is going to depend on your target market. Whenever you’re considering whether a press release is appropriate, ask yourself this:

“Would someone in my target market care about this announcement?” 

If that answer isn’t a resounding ‘yes’, or if you’re struggling to find a news angle, a press release probably isn’t needed.

The news values checklist

It’s helpful to think about news values here. Most journalists have a checklist of criteria to consider when it comes to establishing whether something is newsworthy or not. These are called news values. These lists might differ slightly from journalist to journalist but the gist is the same.  Here’s a quick outline of what you should consider when it comes to establishing newsworthiness.

• Timeliness – News is only news when it comes at the right time. Think like Goldilocks. Not too early, and certainly not too late. It needs to be just right.

• Proximity – The closer an event is to a community, the more they’ll want to read about it.

• Impact – The more people affected by an event, the more newsworthy it is.

• Prominence - Events are more newsworthy when they involve public figures.

• Oddity – The more out of the ordinary an event is, the more newsworthy it is.

• Relevance - Events are more newsworthy when they involve an issue that’s front and centre in public discourse.

• Conflict – It might sound negative but conflict and disagreement are newsworthy.

Get your structure right

The key to writing a good press release is in getting your message across clearly and persuasively. You can vastly improve your chances of that by getting the basic structure of your press release bang on. This means arranging your press release in such a way that it makes it crystal clear what your news is, and who the journalist should contact if they want to publish it.

To begin with, your press release should outline:

• The date

• The location (if appropriate)
  and

• The name and contact details of someone for journalists to contact

Like so:

From there, you’ll continue with

• A snappy headline

• The body of your press release
  and

• A good quote

There’s more to be said about how you structure the body of your press release and we’ll get to that in a moment.

Grab attention with a snappy headline

Much like every other facet of copywriting, the headline can make or break you. Get it right and the journalist’s curiosity will be piqued, get it wrong and your press release will get canned before it’s even read in full.

Your headline should grab attention and very clearly outline what your news is. You should think of it as a sales pitch to the journalist. Get the main drive of your news into your headline and try to do it concisely and clearly.

There’s no need for flowery adverbs or adjectives. A press release is not the place to get clever with your headlines. Clarity is the order of the day.

What not to do

XYZ construction to become teacher’s pet

What to do

The 5 Ws (and an H)

The 5Ws spell out what needs to go into your press release. When writing the body of your press release, you’ll want to make sure you factor these 5 Ws into your copy.

• Who is the press release about?

• What happened or what is going to happen?

• When did it happen or when will it happen?

• Where did it or where will it happen?
  and

• Why did it or why is it happening?

Once you’ve got the Ws covered, you can add a little ‘How’. This might be an outline of how an outcome is being achieved, or how something came to pass.

The first paragraph

The first paragraph of your press release is where you hit your reader with a crystallised message that gets all the pertinent information across. It should be a direct follow on from your headline, expanding a little on the finer details and getting across the who, what, when, where and why.

When writing a press release for the headline we used earlier, we might follow it up with the following:

“19th May – Liverchester: XYZ Construction, one of the North West’s biggest construction companies has announced the start of works on a new 400 seat lecture theatre for the University of Liverchester. The new building will host lectures in multiple subjects to keep up with the university’s growing numbers.”

Use your second and third paragraphs to back up your first

If your first paragraph is about getting the main drive of your news across, you can think of the second and third paragraphs as backup information. In the first paragraph, you covered the who, what, when, where and why. In these supplementary paragraphs, you might look at answering the how and expanding on the why. For our above example, that might include:

“Located on the Lincoln Road complex of the university, XYZ will use cutting-edge construction methods to produce an environmentally friendly building that’s modern yet in keeping with the university’s historic, grade II listed buildings.

The project, which is due to be complete by September 2021, comes as one in a long line of developments XYZ has undertaken for the university in recent times. The swelling student numbers have led to an increased demand for lecture space and the new building is set to be a centrepiece of the university’s campus.”

Your quote is not an afterthought

Learning that no one ever writes their own quotes in the media was a profound moment for my introduction to PR. Quotes are a brilliant opportunity to go wild and say what you want, but so often they’re thrown in to flesh out a press release without any thought as to why it’s there and what purpose it’s serving.  

If I had a pound for every time I read the word “delighted” in a quote then I’d not only have a new kitchen, but I’d be able to re-carpet and decorate my entire house to Pinterest standard.  The word “delighted” in a press release means the PR person writing the release is being lazy or hasn’t got anything meaningful to say about the project.  No one is “delighted” to be working on anything, it’s just boring.  

Whoever you attribute the quote to, you should be thinking about how to add something that isn’t covered by the rest of the press release. That could mean explaining things in more detail, saying why something is a good thing, or how it will help someone or what benefits it brings.

When putting together a quote, it's sometimes helpful to think about it as an answer to a question. If you can’t think of the question your quote is an answer to, there’s a high chance the quote is not up to scratch.

Finally, it’s always better if you attribute your quote to an actual person, not a phantom spokesperson.

Writing a press release with a singular purpose

One vote, one release.  A press release is a tool to communicate your news and to showcase what it is you want to shout about - a specific project, campaign, launch or announcement etc.  It’s not a novel or an essay, so just focus on the one specific piece of news you want to raise awareness about.

You might be tempted to crowbar in extra bits of news to your press release, but you must resist this temptation. Less is more. Keep it constrained.

Get your timings right

When it comes to press releases, timings are crucial, especially when there’s more than one party involved in the story. For this reason, you’ll need to work together with clients, partners or third parties to get the press release out at the right time.  You can’t shut the stable door after the horse has bolted and you certainly can’t crowbar a client into a press release that’s already been written, issued and is in the press. 

You only need one rogue architect or another contractor to go out on a limb with their own press release and your project is scuppered. To get the most bang for your publicity buck, foresight and planning are crucial. Obviously, that’s not always possible. The newsworthy can sometimes fall into your lap at the drop of a hat and you have to run with it.  But in those cases where you’re aware of the newsworthy event ahead of time, make sure you plan effectively with your clients and/or partners to make sure everyone is included and can benefit from your carefully planned press campaign.

Photos 

A strong, creative photo can go a long way in securing coverage and, cynically, it makes it more difficult to be written out of a story.  Whatever image you provide with your press release

• Make sure it's relevant

• Provide some text on what or who is included in the image
  and

• Ensure the image is of good quality (at least 300 DPI).  However,  no journalist will thank you for clogging up their inbox with huge photos so if it’s too big to attach in an email, send a dropbox link. 

Target the right media

Make a wish list of the publications and websites you’d like to appear in and tailor your press release for that purpose. 

Taking our imaginary construction company as an example, projects with a strong regional angle such as job creation, regional investment or changes to landmark buildings can be pitched to regional business and regional trade websites, newspapers and business titles.  Large-scale projects can be pitched to national trade titles too.

Always check the areas covered by the publication before pitching a story – both geographically and in the area of interest.  A regional journalist won’t want a project that’s not on their patch, as that’s not of interest to their audience.

It’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the journalists working for the publications on your wish list as it should help you gain some insight into the type of stories they’re interested in. Simply looking at the kind of articles they publish is a good place to start.

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So there you have it. By following the advice of our comprehensive guide to writing a press release, you’ll be on the road to more publicity, better press coverage, and a growing brand audience.

If you’re looking for an agency to take your PR to the next level, give Luma a call and we’ll get your message out far and wide.