Advanced Press Release-ology
A comprehensive guide to preparing releases
that get results
and win the respect of journalists
By David M. Freedman
Most experienced editors have a love-hate relationship
with press releases. They rely on releases (and the
people who write them) for story ideas, facts, and valuable
sources. A good news release can be a lifesaver when
it arrives just in the nick of time with a nifty story
idea and an arresting headline, compelling lead, powerful
quotes, maybe even a print-ready photo.
On the other hand, editors typically have to slog through
hundreds of poorly conceived, hastily written, misdirected
releases before finding one that's worthwhile. Some
releases are so poorly created that you wonder how its
author ever got jobs in the "communication"
business.
JOURNALISTS REWARD GOOD PUBLICISTS
When it comes to news releases, I have been on both
sides of the desk. As a journalist for 20 years I have
primarily served as a magazine and newsletter editor.
I've slogged through thousands of news releases, and
learned to distinguish the wifty from the nifty in less
than 20 seconds.
When I did receive a great news release, I got excited.
Not only because a good story had landed in my lap for
"free," saving me the effort of digging for
one, but also because I had found a new PR contact to
count on for good ideas. I tended to want to reward
that person.
On the other side of the desk, I have experience with
freelance media relations work for corporations and
professional practices. This experience has shown that
the people who succeed in getting good publicity are
those who think like a journalist and know exactly what
they need -- or know how to find out what they need.
If you learn to think like a journalist and help them
do their jobs better, you will be rewarded.
PRECISION VS. SHOTGUN
The way to increase your chances of success is not by
writing news releases more frequently and scattering
them over a wider range of media outlets. That's the
old shotgun approach, the classic numbers game: If you
send enough of them out, maybe someone will use it.
To increase your chances of success, improve your writing
skills, learn more about the subject, research your
target audience and the publications they read, and
target the media more precisely.
FOCUS
The next time you get an assignment to write a news
release, stop and think about it before you start writing.
Put your feet up on the desk and focus your brain. Imagine
you're having lunch with members of the target audience.
They ask you, "What're you pitching today?"
You tell them about the news release you've been assigned
to write. They're savvy and they're skeptical, and they
ask, "What's the news there? What's so new about
that? So what? How does it affect me? Why should I believe
it? Who told you that?"
If you can't answer those questions clearly, succinctly,
and persuasively, get back to the client for more information
and inspiration. Research the topic. Study the target
media outlets (and cross those off your mailing list
that won't really be interested in the story). Interview
members of the audience; take a bunch of them to lunch.
If you still can't answer those questions, tell the
client they're time isn't being well spent. There are
better ways to get good publicity than spewing verbiage
all over the media -- like doing pro bono work in the
community.
All that researching, studying, interviewing and entertaining
takes time and money. If you can't bill the client for
the cost, eat it. It's an excellent investment. If you
want to rise to the pinnacle of your profession and
earn huge fees because you have a reputation for getting
superlative results, be thorough.
Carry that philosophy through all aspects of your professional
career. If a fact seems the least bit implausible, check
it again. If a claim sounds exaggerated, verify it.
If a quote isn't compelling, get a better one. Call
all the phone numbers and visit all the web sites stated
in the press release to insure accuracy.
Don't hurry impatiently through interviews -- let your
sources talk on because they might reveal something
you didn't think to ask about. Go to meetings and presentations
thoroughly prepared. Think like an investigative reporter,
because your work will be scrutinized by skeptics and
cynics.
POSITIVE, UPBEAT GUIDELINES
Reporters have grown so tired of poorly written releases
that when they issue guidelines on how to write releases,
many tend to present a list of don'ts, common mistakes,
pet peeves or deadly sins. They're written in condescending
tones with titles such as, "How to alienate a reporter."
Here are some positive, upbeat tips for writing a news
release that grabs editors' attention and makes them
want to reward you.
GUIDELINE #1: CLARITY
The most important skill in media relations is the ability
to write a clear, unambiguous sentence. An engaging
personality and tremendous enthusiasm can't compensate
for a lack of clarity.
GUIDELINE #2: THE KEY TO SUCCESS IS THOROUGH PREPARATION
You have to learn to think like a reporter, assignment
editor and program director. What do they need from
you? If you're not sure, invite them to lunch (one publication
or station at a time) and ask how you can help make
their jobs easier. Are they interested in events, hard
news, trends, background information, a local angle
on a national story? Do they like case studies, success
stories, the problem-solution approach?
Be sure to review their publications or listen to their
news broadcasts before you meet with them. Ask about
their editorial mix, political leanings, and reader/listener
demographics. If you demonstrate a familiarity with,
and curiosity about, their publication or format, they'll
love you. If you aren't familiar, they'll know within
five minutes.
Ask them all about their beat or their specialized field.
Reporters and editors love to be treated as experts
and ambassadors for their industries. Ask them to mail
you copies of the best news releases they've received
recently, or to save the good ones for you as they come
in so you can learn what rings their chimes. Put the
relations back in media relations!
Offer to buy lunch, but don't be surprised if the reporter
insists on going Dutch as a matter of policy. If your
employer or client won't reimburse you for these lunches,
pay for them yourself. This is continuing education,
much more valuable -- and still cheaper -- than a college
degree.
GUIDELINE #3: THE NEWS, THE ANGLE, AND THE HOOK
The best way to learn what qualifies as newsworthy in
any field, or what angle to take in a release, or what
sort of hook will appeal to the audience, is to study
their publications, attend their conferences -- listen
to the kinds of questions the audiences ask -- and get
to know the leaders in their field. Make a special effort
to befriend the executive directors of professional
and trade associations. When you show up at their conferences
(and stay awake through most of them), they'll go out
of their way to help you with research and introduce
you to big shots.
In the case of business-to-consumer PR, hang out with
the audience wherever they hang out.
Don't say you lack the time and budget to attend conferences,
meet big shots or hang out. Just find a way to do it.
It's a low-risk investment that yields extraordinary
returns.
I've seen several PR books and a few articles published
on the web that list criteria for newsworthiness and
suggest ways to create news when there isn't any. (One
of the best articles is "Working With the Media:
A Primer for Entrepreneurs," by Michael Owen
Schwager, a veteran media relations consultant in New
York.) Read the articles, but don't rely on them. Develop
your own sense of what's news by reading, snooping and
asking many challenging questions.
As far as the angle is concerned, focus on people, especially
how the news affects people in the audience, especially
local people and "people like us."
Local media love local angles. Search one out. A local
angle isn't always necessary, though. Don't strain to
contrive a local angle when there is none.
GUIDELINE #4: STYLE
Since this is an "advanced" article, I'm not
going to run through all the fundamentals of writing
an effective press release. Two useful sources for that
are Chapter 6 of Handbook for Public Relations Writing,
4th Edition, by Thomas H. Bivins (NTC Business Books,
Chicago, 1999) and the Community Media Workshop's web
site www.newstips.org.
Practice writing in the classic journalistic style,
best known as the inverted pyramid. Put all the crucial
information concisely in the first two or three paragraphs,
as though the reader doesn't have time to read further.
Then fill in the details in subsequent paragraphs, just
in case the reader's interest is piqued and he or she
manages to find the time. The least important information
goes toward the end, so if the release were truncated,
the reader would still understand the story and benefit
from reading it.
You increase the chances of your release being used
by a reporter if it's written in the style in which
the reporter is accustomed to writing. Of course, you
can't rewrite the release for each individual publication.
But you can write one version of the release for trade
journals, another for business publications, another
for broadcast media and another for online media, each
in the appropriate style. Learn the styles by reading,
listening and viewing, reading, listening, and viewing
some more.
Your headline (and sometimes a deck, if you need to
expand on a more complex theme) and lead paragraph are
keys to the success of the release. You must compete
with dozens of other releases, capture the reader's
attention, focus on the theme, generate interest and
offer a benefit in less than thirty seconds. Subscribe
to the New York Times and study its heads and decks.
Practice writing them.
The most common type of lead, and usually the most effective,
is the summary lead. You know, the 5w+1h formula (who,
what, where, when, why, how). You hit the news and tell
how it has affected or is going to affect the audience.
You must give the reader a benefit up front, a reason
for reading on.
The alternative is the anecdotal lead. It's has to be
very compelling or the reader will either skip to the
hard news, or toss it out summarily. Use the anecdotal
lead sparingly and concisely. If the anecdote is a long
one, give a short version in the lead and expand on
it later, or attach a backgrounder or fact sheet (see
below) with the full anecdote.
Write concisely, but include all the important details
in your release. If you can't fit them all in less than
two pages, attach a fact sheet. Some PR gurus advise
that you leave out a few details that you know a reporter
will want so that the reporter will have to call you.
Then you can really sell your story mano a mano - you
can generate lots more enthusiasm over the phone than
on paper. The problem with that approach is the possibility
that you're unavailable when the reporter calls, or
if the reporter just doesn't have the time to call they
may not be able to run with the story if important facts
are missing. Give them a little kit, everything they
need to put together a complete story.
Above everything else, be truthful and accurate. Habitual
exaggeration and inflation will eventually ruin your
career. Keep adjectives and adverbs to a minimum. Understatement
usually works better than hyperbole.
PROTOCOL
Most editors would prefer a newsworthy press release
written in crayon on birch bark to a worthless one typed
on 70# bond with "more" and "###"
at the bottoms of the pages. Learn the formats and protocols,
but don't sweat it. I recently read an article on how
to write press releases that instructed readers to fasten
the pages of a release together with a paper clip instead
of a staple. Forget about these trivial details and
focus on news value.
You can submit press releases by mail, fax or e-mail.
Ask what each party prefers, store that preference on
your mailing list and submit accordingly. Lately, many
reporters have become annoyed by unsolicited e-mailed
releases because they can clog up the recipient's incoming
mailbox. Before you send e-mail releases, be sure they're
welcome and write PRESS RELEASE FROM (YOUR NAME) in
the subject line.
TO FOLLOW UP OR NOT
You'll find articles written by experts that caution
you never to follow up a release with a phone call.
Don't even call to confirm that the addressees received
the release, nevermind to find out if they are interested
in the story.
Do not heed dogmatic guidelines that contain the word
never or always. If it's the first time you've sent
something to a particular publication or broadcast station,
you may follow up to make sure the release arrived at
the right desk ask if there is anyone else in that organization
to whom you should send copies of the release, and get
reassurance that you're welcome to send them more releases
in the future. (It's a good idea to call before your
first release goes out to introduce yourself and herald
your inaugural release to that person -- and ask for
a copy of the publication if you haven't seen it.) If
you haven't called for several months, it can't hurt
to call and touch base. Whether you should inquire about
the level of interest in a particular story depends
on your relationship with the reporter or program director.
If the reporter says the story you pitched is interesting
but not right for their readers, suggest a couple other
angles that might appeal to them. In fact, Schwager
suggests you think of three to five different angles
before you make the phone call.
If you develop a good rapport with certain reporters
and a reputation for scrupulous integrity, an occasional
phone call to offer clarification, ask for feedback,
or inquire about the industry won't be considered untoward.
In general, your professionalism and forthrightness
will determine whether your follow-up calls are considered
diplomacy or nuisance.
As an aside, the news that you pass along to reporters
doesn't always have to be about, or involve, you and
your firm. Schwager urges that you occasionally give
them items of interest that lie outside your own sphere
of self-interest. You become a valuable source on whom
reporters can depend.
HOW'D YOU DO THAT?
When you see people in your profession featured or quoted
in the media and wonder how they managed to get such
great publicity, call and ask them how they did it.
Who writes their news releases? Can you have copies
of the releases?
Make it your goal to have reporters, editors and program
directors look forward to reading your press releases.
You'll be amply rewarded.
David M. Freedman is a Chicago-based freelance writer,
editor, and media relations consultant. He has served
on the editorial staffs of professional, trade, business,
and consumer magazines; and successfully launched a
commercial newsletter. He has done media relations work
for professional service firms, nonprofit organizations,
and high-tech startups, and received a Your Honor Award
from the Legal Marketing Association in 2001 for excellence
in media relations. You can reach him by telephone at
847-433-5000, or by e-mail at dave@dmfreedman.com.
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