Press Release Format
At the top of each press release a person submits they must include their personal contact information, including, name, company they are representing, email, phone, and fax number.
A press release in general needs to be two to three pages long, double spaced. A press release needs to be long enough to explain a person news and information but not contain so much information as to bore the reader. The editor or reporter who receives the information needs to be the one to write the story, the person writing the press release is simply giving enough information to create a desire in the reader to research or follow up with the story, or for themselves they are creating an opportunity to be interviewed about the story.
The person writing the press release will want to put something like, "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE," at the top of the press release so that the reader will know this information is time sensitive.
A press release must start with a good header, or title. The title should be clear and simply stated. There must be enough information contained in the title for a person to know what they will be reading about. The title should catch the readers attention without the use of too many words or catchy phrases.
Following the title, in the first paragraph of the press release, the person writing the press release must restate and explain the title. The person writing must do this as well clear and concise in as few words as possible. The person writing will want to make the main point of their press release in this paragraph. They will also need to catch the readers interest in this paragraph and provide enough information, without giving too much, so that the reader will want to continue reading.
The body of the press release must not contain too much information. The body will need to explain, who, what, when, and where, again in clear and concise language. The body of the release should always contain correct and factual information. A person who is writing a release may want to include phone numbers, dates, etc. in order to provide information to the reader that will allow them to check the information given. Also the writer of the press release may want to add quotes, or praise of their article from credible sources. If so the person writing the press release will want to add the credentials of the person who is giving the praise, their employment, and any awards they have won - to lend credence to their press release.
A person writing such a release will always want to include the date of the story a few times so that the reader may know if it is time sensitive or not, and not miss the time of the information if so.
In the last paragraph of the press release the writer will again want to include their contact information as well as any additional sources that the reader may follow up on to verify the information in the press release as well as to lend further credibility and credence to the article.
Writing a press release does not take long but a persons press release will be easily overlooked if they do not make their information clear enough, so as to make it easily understandable; if they do not put in enough factual information that can be checked, so as to lend credibility to the article and the person writing the article; and if they do not make their press release too long and wordy, so that the person reading the release can easily understand and make a judgment on the release dependent on their understanding of what has been said.
For additional information on Press Release Formatting you may go to:
http://www.publicrelationsideas.com/the_best_way_to_send_a_press_release_000006.html
http://www.publicrelationsideas.com/the_real_job_of_press_releases_000032.html
http://101publicrelations.com/killer.html?s=prideas&c=killer_press_releases
