Press release : guideline, tips and more

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What is the definition of the word Press Release?

The press release is an external communication tool for journalists. Designed to inform journalists, the press release remains little used today in small businesses. Its objective is to announce a new fact, a consequent news : a birthday, an event, the launch of a new product …

Then to be effective and therefore taken up by the press, the message must be relevant. It must also be delivered to the right journalistic target at the right time. The writing of the press release is essent ial: it must be treated. The PR is sent by mail or electronically. PR agencies are specialized in the creation and dissemination of this communication tool.

Which rules to follow?

Ideally, the PR should fit on an A4 page and answer the five basic questions of any communication namely: Who, What, When, Why, Where – the famous 5 W. Once the writing is done, it is necessary to select the journalists who will receive your PR releases. There is no need to send a boating news release to a health journalist. In the context where your product or event is local, it is also necessary to limit the dissemination to your area of ​​activity (national, regional, local). Finally, in general, the PR is written in the present even if it evokes a future event. You need also to create a presse coverage book using a media clipping tool.

Which structure for a press release?

Above all, the issuer must be easily identifiable, if you have a letterhead, do not hesitate to write it on this support. The release must also be dated the day of the mailing and include a clear and powerful title. To do this, his title should be short while indicating the subject. Finally, the PR must begin with a hat, then a corpus made up of all the information to be transmitted to the journalists by repeating if necessary certain elements communicated in the title and the hat.

The corpus responding to the famous five W seen previously. Finally the fall of the PR must indicate the contact details of the contact person for any additional information Concise, striking and going straight to the point, the PR which is not an advertising tool must first and foremost play its role of relay of information and link attractiveness and neutrality in its substance as in its form .

What are Press release guidelines?

A press release is a clear and concise document which summarizes a fact, product or event in an objective way.

It should enable someone with little knowledge of the subject to better understand it within just a few seconds.

A press release is not produced as a sales aid. A PR is produced to inform in an objective way.

It should show information in order of importance: “what, for whom, how and how much”. We recommend adopting this outline as it is easier for the reader to follow.

Don’t forget that you are not the only one wanting to be published in the media. Be aware that a journalist has more information than they have room for in their media publication. You are therefore competing with all the other press releases being put forward.

A journalist will therefore tend to favour articles that are well laid out, clear and intelligible. 

A good test is to give your PR to someone who knows nothing about your subject. They must be able to understand it within a few seconds.

Press release outlines

The layout 
Never send your PR as an attachment in an email, as there is nothing more irritating than having to open an attachment. They can often trigger anti-virus filters which can be time-consuming, particularly if your press release contains large volume image files.

Limit the length 
The shorter the better. The shorter the information, the more likely it is to be read. Journalists receive dozens of emails every day. Spare them the task of long and tedious hours of reading. 
The best press releases are a single page, most topics can be written on a well laid out page.
If your subject is complex and requires more space, create a press kit in which you can expand the details around your subject. You will only have a few seconds to get the journalist interested in your news. 

Space out your document and create paragraphs with titles. This makes reading easier. Mark “Press Release” or “Press Info” to show that you are not sending out a business brochure or flyer to editors. Date your press release. If the date is not clearly visible, a journalist may query if the news is up to date. They won’t want to have to check this detail so they’ll find it easier to move on to the next press release. 

Be concise 
Only announce one piece of information per PR. If you try to send out several pieces of information at the same time, none will be remembered.
Be objective, do not “sell” your product. If you use a sales vocabulary the journalist will query your subject and they will have to then check out what is stated in your press release. They won’t want to do that so they will more than likely move on to the next press release. 

Get rid of superlatives : super, incredible, unique … All these words discredit your subject. Just simply use descriptive vocabulary. Make short, clear sentences. You are writing a press release, not a novel. And then send it to journalists.

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