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A press release is an
announcement of a newsworthy item that is
issued to journalists and
other media representatives. And it is a
document that is generally
formatted in a basic manner across the
publishing industry for
quick, efficient handing across the board of
your news by media
professionals.
With regards to the basics
of press release writing, here are
seven basic elements that
every press release should contain:
· FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: These
words should appear in the upper
left-hand margin and you
should capitalize every letter.
· Contact Information:
Insert this after the release statement above
and list the contact
information of the company spokesperson.
· Headline: This should be written
after the contact information.
· Dateline: List the city of
origin for your press release.
· Lead Paragraph: The first
paragraph needs to grab the reader's
attention and should contain
the relevant information to your
message such as the five W's
(who, what, when, where, why).
· Text: Next comes the main
body of your press release where
your message should develop
fully.
· Last Paragraph: Make sure
to alert the reading audience where
to turn for more
information; i.e. a postal address, phone
number and website link.
Plus offer something free for them; a
report, newsletter or other
gift.
To learn what’s hot and
what’s not in your particular industry,
check out PRWeb® at
PRWeb.com for current press releases.
No need to re-invent the
wheel. See what’s working there and
treat the information as a
general guideline for your own news
format and presentation.
You can also head to Content
Propulsion Lab. It's the place for
“Do It Yourself” companies who would love the benefits of a
high-end Public Relations
firm but lack the budgets, at
-30-
By Diana Barnum, CEO of http://OhioHelpGroup.com & president of
http://MovingAheadCommunications.com for help with marketing,
public relations and
writing. Subscribe to blogs for Free tips:
http://movingaheadblog.com &
http://fridaybizoppreport.com
or call: (614) 529-9459