How to Write a Press Release

·	Read your press release "cold."

All writers can get lost in the woods. I have cut and pasted stuff so many times I said the same thing twice while the important stuff got "cutted" and not pasted. Reading it the next day is an absolute must.

·	Have someone else read your press release aloud -- and to you.

Then take a bunch of sleeping pills and end it all peacefully. Kidding aside, if you can stomach this test, you will see every single thing that is wrong with your work. This exercise is for the tough-skinned only.

·	Group “like” items in your press release.

If your press release does not read smoothly, the reason is PROBABLY because your sentences are too long and try to say too much. To fix this, try this ...

Decide what you need to say. Put these ideas into “headlines,” keeping them to as few words as possible. Your headline goal is three to five words.

Shorten all sentences to one idea only. Don’t worry how it reads at this point. Your goal here is to have sentences so short they don’t even need punctuation. Place these sentences under the headings they pertain to.

Remove all redundancy - Say everything JUST ONCE, not multiple times in slightly different ways.

·	Nuke those exclamation marks !!!!!!

Not only is this the mark of an amateur, many spam-catchers are set to weed out those messages with too many exclamation marks. In general, it is a really bad idea to use exclamation marks except in extreme cases. Bottom line, your WORDS should have the "!" effect. Save the mark for use only when the meaning would otherwise be unclear, e.g., sarcasm, etc.

·	Bullets or Numbers - which to use?

This is a small point, but one worth mentioning. And I see so many people doing it wrong. Say you have a list of items that you want to call attention to. Should you list them., e.g. 1., 2., 3., or bullet them, e.g., *, *, *. AND THE ANSWER IS:

If the items should be done in order - use numbers.

1	Go down to the corner.

2	Turn left.

3	Wave to the pretty girl.

If the items can be done in any order - use bullets.

·	Take a walk in the woods.

·	Eat something bad for you.

·	Learn to swing dance.

Publicity - Getting “famous” is a marathon, not a sprint when it comes to sending a press release

How to write a press release

Maximizing the subject matter of your press releases

Use this example of a press release template

Optimizing your press release

Editing your own press release

Example of a press release

Everything else you need to know about
how to write a press release

·	Don't ring your own bell. Let someone else ring it for you.

Certainly list your credentials and accomplishments. But keep it to five sources at the most. If you are going to say, "So and So has been a guest expert on Oprah, Larry King and Dateline,” there is no need to include 300 radio stations you have also been on. You wouldn't have gotten to the Larry King level unless you'd done a lot of other media.