BY AUTHOR F. M. LONGO
Why a Press Release?
One of the most valuable tools for generating publicity is the press release. The press release is most useful to alert the press on happenings that they may not be aware of through normal newsgathering methods, although, you can use one to notify the press of a noteworthy event after the fact; for example, awards presented at an event. You can also use the press release to state a position that you or an organization may have. The best part of a press release is that it is, unlike most other forms of advertising, free.
Over the years, I have been the person responsible for publicity for many organizations, from small non-profits to large companies. Currently, when I’m not plotting murder and mayhem, I advise local civic organizations and small businesses on how to get the most bang out of their advertising buck. I write twenty to thirty press releases a year, and I have taught the art of writing press releases to some of my clients. Since many authors are responsible for generating their own publicity, I thought it might be a good idea to review how to write a press release.
Structure of a Press Release
In a press release, like in any news story, you present the most important points first and work down to the least important (anyone who has ever taken a Journalism course will recognize this as the ‘inverted pyramid’ structure). Start with a good headline and then follow with a lead paragraph that communicates the main information of the release – in effect, the climax of the story.
From there, subsequent paragraphs provide more detail and then, at the end, background and other supporting information. An editor will chop a press release to fit available space in the paper, so you want the strongest points right up front.
The Format of a Press Release
A press release must always start with a title, such as “Press Release” or “For Immediate Release”. This lets the editor know that it is a press release and not a letter to the editor, a classified ad, or other submission. Most of the time, you want your press release to appear as soon as possible. However, there are times when you don’t want to print the release until a certain time.
For example, if you’re planning a press conference, you may not want the contents of the release to hit the press until after the conference has ended. You can ‘embargo’ the release until after the conference by replacing “For immediate release” with “Embargo until after press conference 3 pm 8/15”.
Separated by one blank line, the headline follows the title. It should summarize the entire release on one line and grab the editor’s attention. Instead of “Mary Smith Will Be at Library”, a headline like “Local Author to Sign Books at Anytown Library August 8th” imparts a lot more relevant information, and answers more questions than it asks (the first example asks, “Who is Mary Smith? What is she doing at the library?” and “Which library is she going to?” The second only asks, “Who could this author be?”, and makes the reader want to continue.)
After another blank line, you begin the body of the release. It is important to start with a good lead paragraph. The first part of your lead is the dateline. This tells the reader in what town or city the event will take place. Then, your goal is to cover the ‘who’,’ what’, ‘when’, ‘where’, and ‘why’ of the event in the first sentence, just like in any news story. Additional sentences should explain why this announcement is newsworthy. An example would be:
Anytown, ST – First-time author Mary Smith will be at the Anytown Public Library on August 8 from three to five in the afternoon to sign copies of her book Orange You Glad to See Me as part of the libraries’ continuing “Meet The Author” program. A resident of Anytown, this will be Smith’s only appearance in the area before beginning her three-year long publicity tour of the book.
If you’re extremely unlucky, this may be the only part of your press release that a newspaper will use. However, everything the reader needs to know is contained within these initial words.
Further paragraphs add more detail, but the longer the story, the greater the risk of having your release cut to fit available space in the paper. In general, keep a press release to one or two pages (I try to keep mine under one page). Prioritize the information so it appears in its proper place; the more relevant the information to the headline, the higher it belongs in the story.
Other dos and don’ts to keep in mind:
- Use one-inch margins all around, and a good, readable serif font like Courier or Times New Roman (very few newspapers use sans-serif fonts and you want to give the editor an idea of how it will look in print.) Single-spaced is acceptable, except where, noted above, double-spaces should be used.
- Write press releases in the third-person, just like a news story. Do not use personal pronouns. Instead of “I will be answering questions at the end of the presentation”, it’s “The author will answer questions at the end of the presentation.”
- Avoid passive voice – just like fiction, you want action in your release.
- State facts, and stick to them. Every point in your press release should be accurate and verifiable.
- Tell them. Tell them again. Tell them again, again. Hit your main points as often as makes sense in context.
- Be specific – avoid words like “here” and “today”. Instead, use locations, dates, and times.
- Keep it simple, and avoid big words and jargon.
- Spell out acronyms the first time. For example, instead of “The APLA,” it’s “The Anytown Public Library Association (APLA).” Feel free to use the acronym after that.
- Avoid emotionally evocative words – actually, avoid adjectives unless it states a fact (a color, a size or a smell); don’t use opinionated words (like “best”, “greatest” or “horrible”).
- Use of Quotes in a Press Release
- The exception to the “no emotion” rule is when you’re quoting someone. This is the approved method to get opinion into the story. While you can’t (well, shouldn’t) write, “Mary Smith will be signing copies of the best book ever written” you can add a quote from someone who can say it: “’Mary Smith’s book is the best ever written,’ says Karen Jones, fiction reviewer for the Anytown Antiques Price Guide.”
Always start with the quote, and put the attribution at the end. Use the full name for the first reference, then just the last name for further attributions: “’I wish I could read this book for the first time over and over again because it’s so good!’ said Jones. Of course, you need permission from the people you’re quoting to use what they say. - Make sure that you quote accurately. You never want a source to come back to say “I didn’t say that!” because not only do you lose a source, you also lose any credibility for future releases. However, you can cherry-pick part of a longer quote to get the citation you need (newspapers, television journalists, and book reviewers do this all the time). An extreme example is “’Smith’s book is just the right size,’ said Carlson”, which was extracted from the longer quote, “’Smith’s book is just the right size to slide under the short leg of a table,’ said Carlson.”
- Also, make sure that you punctuate the quote to reflect accurately the meaning. An example is the difference between “’I find inspiration in cooking my family and my dog,’ said Barnes.” and “’I find inspiration in cooking, my family, and my dog,’ said Barnes.”
Additional Information in a Press Release
The last paragraph should contain the information for the reader to contact the sender of the press release. It can be a website with a “mail me” link, an email address, a telephone number – or all of the above. Make sure that email addresses are professional; you really don’t want your drunkenfool@freemailme.com address to appear in the release. If you have to, create a new email account just to use for publicity.
Websites should be virus free and easy to navigate (that’s a completely different article for another day), with the relevant information pertaining to your release on the landing page.
The last part of the release is the thirty, indicated by the addition of “30”, centered on the last line, which means the end of the story. Some say this convention was a hold-over from when stories were written by hand – an “X” meant the end of a sentence, “XX”, the end of a paragraph, and “XXX”, the end of the story (XXX is 30 in Roman numerals). Other origins state that a reporter named “Thirtee” signed his name at the end of a story, which some telegraph operator sent as 30 and it stuck, or that the usage dates back to the ‘hot type’ era of newspapers; a 30 at the end of a story meant to insert a 30-point slug as a separator.
The true origin it that it was part of the Phillips Code, a telegraphic shorthand created by Walter P. Phillips for the New York Telegraph and Telephone in 1879. For over a hundred years, 30 meant, “end of story” (but most AP reporters, heavy users of the telegraph, had the tradition of ending a story with 73, Phillips Code for “Best Wishes”).
Of course, “END”, “###”, or even “XXX” centered after the last line works as well, but a 30 indicates to an editor (especially old-timers) that you have some journalistic knowledge and respect for traditions, possibly making him or her more receptive to your release.
Occasionally, you have additional information to impart to the editor that you do not intend to be part of the release. You can list this after the thirty. Photo credits, contact information for the sender of the release (if you’re sending on behalf of someone else) or a contact for press kits/media invitations would appear here.
An Example of a Good Press Release
Now that we have examined each element of a press release, it’s time to look at what a finished press release looks like. I took all the elements described above in creating an effective release and wrote one that incorporates all the elements for formatting and content.
*** For Immediate Release ***
Local Author to Sign Books at Anytown Library August 8th
Anytown, ST – First-time author Mary Smith will be at the Anytown Public Library on August 8 from three to five in the afternoon to sign copies of her book Orange You Glad to See Me as part of the libraries’ continuing “Meet The Author” program. A resident of Anytown, this will be Smith’s only appearance in the area before beginning her three-year long publicity tour for the book.
“Mary Smith’s book is the best ever written,” says Karen Jones, fiction reviewer for the Anytown Antiques Price Guide. “I wish I could read this book for the first time over and over again because it’s so good!” said Jones.” Jones is also the chairperson of The Anytown Public Library Association (APLA).
Ms. Smith spent twenty-five years authoring Orange You Glad to See Me, finding time between raising her seven children, working full-time at Clemmon’s Grove as an orange packer, and part-time at the Anytown recycling center as a can picker, to write. ”It wasn’t until my youngest, Rayleen, graduated from high school that I could actually sit down and get work done on the story. All I had for the longest time was the first chapter and an idea for the ending,” said Smith. The book, published by Rypoff Press, tells about one woman’s quest to find relief from raising her seven children and her job as a packer at a citrus plant.
This is the seventh year that the APLA has sponsored their “Meet the Author” program. “In past years, we featured New York Times ‘Best Selling’ authors, and even had one Pulitzer Prize winner, but this year, we thought we’d go in a different direction,” explained Jones. In addition to Smith, upcoming authors in this year’s program include Jack Cagen, author of My Experiences with Farm Machinery and Tommy “Big Tommy” Whistmapple, author of All You Can Eat Buffets: Fact or Fiction? Both are also Anytown residents.
The APLA sponsors several programs throughout the year. Starting in January, the week-long “Make A Resolution To Read” program promotes classic books. During the summer, the “Meet the Author” and “Hot, Hot, Hot Reads” programs run alternately on Thursdays from June to September. The APLA program year ends with the annual Holiday readings of A Christmas Carol, ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, and The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming.
For more information about the APLA, visit their website at www.anytownst.gov/APLA, email apla@anytownst.gov or visit the Anytown Public Library. You can find more information about Mary Smith at her blog, www.blogosphere.com/marysmith
– 30 –
Photo credit: Rayleen Smith
Review copies of Orange You Glad to See Me by Mary Smith are available by contacting Ralph@Rypoffpress.com
Where to Send the Release
Some media outlets are obvious recipients of your press release. Your local newspaper is the place to start. Papers in immediately neighboring towns are also a good bet. Papers in the larger towns and cities in your area, especially dailies, are on the lookout for regional stories.
In my local area, there are several free advertising weeklies will print just about any well-written story sent to them as filler. Mailed out on a weekly basis to every resident, many read these more thoroughly than the actual local newspapers.
Also, look for niche newspapers in the general vicinity that may be interested in what you have to say. I have Italian, Spanish, Jewish, Albanian, and Vietnamese special interest papers available. If what you’re publicizing might be of interest to these papers, by all means, send them a copy of the release. Many locales also have free alternative newspapers that heavily cover arts and literature events. They will be receptive to a release about a book, band, or gallery showing.
One important reminder is to identify the correct person to receive the release. Some papers have a specific person who handles press releases. Otherwise, send your release to the news editor or, in the case of smaller papers, the editor-in-chief. Do your research before you send.
One more thought: send to websites that cover the topic in your release. There are online local news sites, online versions of magazines, and influential bloggers that cover your topic. They all look for well-written content since it means it’s less for them to have to do.
How to Send Your Release
Before email, the only way to get your press release into the hands of an editor was to place a stamp on an envelope, addressed personally to the editor, and hope that the Post Office gets it there. Now, it seems to be a matter of simply opening your email program, attaching the release, deciding who gets it, and clicking send. However, there are some tricks will make sure that your release isn’t ignored once it’s received.
I use my own email address as the primary recipient when I send out a release, and add the true recipients as blind copies. I do this so that editors don’t know how many other local papers may be receiving the release and let that affect their decision; they may not run a story if they think it will be covered by other papers in the area. I use the title and headline as the subject of the email: “For Immediate Release – Local Author to Sign Books at Anytown Library August 8th”. I then copy/paste the entire release into the body of the email.
The next step is something I’ve found to be critical. Every newspaper I deal with prefers to use .PDF files rather than word processing files. I have found this to be true whether it’s a press release, a print ad or anything in between. Once you’ve written your release, export a copy as .PDF and attach it to your email. I add a letterhead for the specific organization for which I’m sending the release to make it look official, although, this is an optional step if you’re sending it out for yourself. If you have pictures (and editors love pictures of people!), attach them with the release.
Timing of the Press Release
Timing your release requires a lot of thought. You need to factor in the deadline for each recipient, the frequency of publication, the method of delivery, the shelf-life of the media and the type of release you are sending. Some studies have shown that two-weeks before an event is the optimum period – any longer, and people forget about the event. Any sooner, and people already have plans made. If you’re sending the release to a weekly, you may need to add an extra week in order to get your story into the issue that’s closest to your two-week window. Monthlies require an even longer lead time, sometimes as much as six weeks before the event to make sure you get into the correct issue.
Even for dailies, you need to consider in what part of the paper you intend your article to appear. Some papers have special sections for arts or books that only appear on certain days. You want to insure that your release arrives in time to hit the issue with this section, where the people with the most interest in the subject will see it. This may take some research and practice, but, after a while, you will develop a feel for when you need to send out your release.
An advanced technique is to specify which section of the paper you want your release to appear. Do this in the title, as in “For Immediate Release in the Arts Section”. Otherwise, you can embargo the release for a specific date and let the editor figure out when and where it needs to run. Do not send the release too far in advance. Newsrooms are busy and they may forget about your release sent with a three-month embargo.
The ‘Mini-Skirt’ Theory of Press Releases
I had a journalism instructor who applied Winston Churchill’s quote about speeches to writing news stories: “They should be long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to create interest.” The take-away from this is that you don’t need to write long and elegant prose to get your points into the press: Be accurate, be brief, and be interesting.
While this isn’t a complete course in how to write a press release, it should be sufficient to get you started. With a bit of practice, you will be writing effective press releases that will boost your publicity campaign for your next book project.
Retired from the finance industry, F. M. Longo now works in advertising for non-profit organizations. A master chef, when he isn’t cooking, he writes detective mysteries. His short story, “Morningside”, will appear in A Dash of Madness: a Thriller Anthology slated for release July 30, 2013.
