This page is aimed at helping you write a press release, plus give you tips and ideas to capture the attention of journalists and make your story stand out for attention!

The six main parts of a press release:

1. The Headline: Headline Announces News in Title Case, Ideally Under 80 Characters. (Do not use all caps) Capitalize the first letter of all words in the headline (with the exception of: "a", "an", "the", or prepositions such as: "of", "to", or "from"). The combination of upper and lower case makes it easier to read. NOTE: Headlines are a maximum of 170 characters on this site. We recommend writing your headline and summary last, pulled from the most important news elements in the body of the release. Use title case in the headline only, capitalizing every word except for prepositions and articles of three characters or less.
   
    
2. The Summary: The summary paragraph is a little longer description of the news in the body of the release, elaborating on what you put in the headline using one to four sentences. The summary uses sentence case, with standard capitalization and punctuation.
   
    
3. The Body: City, State (Company released by) Month Day, Year -- The lead sentence contains the most important information in about 25 words. Grab your reader’s attention here by simply stating the news you have to announce. Do not assume that your reader has read your headline or summary paragraph; the lead should stand on its own.
   
   
   
   A news release, keeps sentences and paragraphs short, about three or four lines per paragraph. The first couple of paragraphs should answer the who, what, when, where, why and how questions. The news media may take information from a news release to craft a news or feature article or may use information in the release word-for-word, but a news release is not, itself, an article or a reprint.
   
   
   
   The standard press release is 300 to 800 words and written in a word processing program that checks spelling and grammar before submission. The rest of the news release expounds on the information provided in the lead paragraph. It includes quotes from key staff, customers or subject matter experts. It contains more details about the news you have to tell, which can be about something unique or controversial or about a prominent person, place or thing.
   
   
   
   While typical online news and PR distribution sites do not allow the use of hyperlinks in the body of the press release at all, we encourage you to use them, (with common sense and reserve) on relevant keywords or phrases that will help build your company’s web site search engine ranking. We do not recommend using more than two in the body of your release.
   
   
   
   Example: “The National Mail Order Association (NMOA) announced their latest book on starting a mail order business titled…” The key phrase “…book on starting a mail order business…” is hot-linked to the book.
   
   
   
   Typical topics for a news release include announcements of new products or of a strategic partnership, the receipt of an award, the publishing of a book, the release of new software or the launch of a new Web site. The tone is neutral and objective, not full of hype or text that is typically found in an advertisement. Avoid directly addressing the consumer or your target audience. The use of "I," "we" and "you" outside of a direct quotation is a flag that your copy is an advertisement rather than a news release.
   
    
4. The final paragraph: In the final paragraph you can restate and summarize the key points with things like: People can get a (sample, copy, demo, or purchase) at the following places…, by visiting…, or by contacting ???? at... You can also include details on product availability, trademark acknowledgment, etc. here. The last line is three pound signs (###), centered, showing that the body of the release has ended.
   
    
5. The about: This is where you tell about your company. Include a short corporate backgrounder, or "boilerplate," about the company or the person who is newsworthy before you list the contact person’s name and phone number.
   
    
6. For more Information: This is where you put who to contact and how. Your Name, Your title. Company Name Company Address Your Phone: 111.222.3333 Your Email: yourname@yourcompany.com Your company website.

A reporter reading your release should be able to make a decision about your story in their fist scan of the message. Don't waste that space with contact information up front. They will scroll down to find out who to contact if they want to follow-up with you.

When you post your press release on Direct Marketing Newswire, your Headline goes into the “Title” field, and your Summary, Body, Final Paragraph, About, and For More Information, go into the “Content” field.

In the “Keywords” field for the Direct Marketing Newswire you should try to use 2 to 4 words that relate to your release and/or the person it’s for. i.e. Small Business Help, Direct Mail Printing, New Mailing List, New Catalog Launched, New Event for Infomercials, Copywriting and Graphic Design, Refrigerated Fulfillment Service, etc. The key thing to remember is search engines see these words too, so selecting appropriate words is helpful. You can see a detailed list of direct marketing vendor categories here: http://www.directmarketingevents.com/dme/vendors.asp for some key word ideas.

While no one can guarantee your press release will be published or used for an article, there are things you can do to improve your chances. The biggest road block in most press releases is the release itself.

Does the press release's opening paragraph address or answer the basics of standard journalism: who what when where why how When you write your press release, remember your audience. It isn't your customers you’re aiming at, your audience with press releases is journalists. Journalists are in the ‘fact’ business. Their goal is to provide their readers with a complete portrait of whatever they're writing about.

To appeal to the fact-oriented mind of a journalist, forget marketing emotional appeal. You need to give them the facts about your product or service, hard data that shows why your product or service is good and news-worthy. Then let them decide for themselves. If you forget this, there's no way they'll run your press release.

Don't trust your word processing program to catch errors in grammar and spelling. Have a few individuals read the release before submitting it.

Do not use HTML tags, bold type or color text which may not transmit consistently across all computer platforms. Our system will remove such tags.

Some additional tips for a successful press release:

• Make sure the information is newsworthy.
• Make sure the first 10 words of your release are effective, as they are the most important.
• Deal with the facts.
• Avoid excessive use of adjectives and fancy language.
• Start with a brief description of the news, then distinguish who announced it, and not the other way around.
• Ask yourself, "How are people going to relate to this and will they be able to connect?"
• Provide as much Contact information as possible: Individual to Contact, address, phone, fax, email, Web site address.
• Make sure you have something with enough substance to issue a release.
• Make it as easy as possible for media representatives to do their jobs.