Make sure the information is newsworthy.
Not only do you want to make sure the release has an angle, your headline should tell the “catchy” story in one quick and interesting line.
Know your audience.
This requires knowing your audience so you have a better understanding of what information will be most important to them, and alternatively, which information can be excluded. This includes the demographic of readers, industry, and press. For example, when releasing news on agriculture a lifestyle reporter is going to have no interest in the story – go through your media list, and remove press that doesn’t apply.
Use catchy, to-the-point headlines.
Assume press are never going to read the rest of release following a headline that doesn’t interest them – this means, do as much work as possible for your media contacts. Your release headline should be what that you can see yourself reading as the title of the article.
Release it at the right time.
Different forms of media have different reporting deadlines. For instance, it isn’t uncommon for print publications to plan their stories one to three months in advance, while morning television shows are more likely to share a story with more of an immediate notice. This goes with the tip of “know your audience” in that it needs to fit the press demographic as well as their publishing schedule.
Use boilerplates that make the important information easy to find.
A boilerplate(s) is usually found at the end of a press release, and briefly describes the company or organization related to the news you are releasing. The short paragraph consists of just a few sentences concisely explains the company, organization, or individual(s) (usual a basic bio in that case). Always close out your release with a brief paragraph of information about the main parties involved in your copy - explaining who they are, what they do, and where to find them online [usually include a company website].
Include links.
In addition to including notable URLs about an organization or particular news being utilized, be sure to include a link to view photos or other media that pertain to the release, ideally digital media kits that include high-resolution photos, videos, etc.
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