Press Release Template
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Get it right and your media attention can shoot to the moon! There are set items that are expected to appear in a press release. Journalists take these guidelines seriously and missing items may seem trivial to you, but can cause the reader (your journalists) to bypass your article due to incompleteness. Here is a general template to follow. |
Headline Announces News in Title Case, Ideally Under 80 Characters The summary paragraph is a little longer synopsis of the news, elaborating on the news in the headline in one to four sentences. The summary uses title case, with standard capitalization and punctuation. City, State (JoCool PR) Day, Month, 2008 -- The lead sentence contains the most important information in 25 words or less. 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. Be sure to include your important keywords in the headline, summary and lead paragraph. Add your Web address here for a quick link and to reinforce your site name and location. A news release, like a news story, 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. The standard press release is 300 to 800 words and written in a word processing program that checks spelling and grammar before submission to JoCool PR. The ideal headline is 80 characters long. JoCool PR will accept headlines with a maximum of 170 characters. JoCool PR recommends writing your headline and summary last to be sure you include 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. 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. It also includes links to your website in this form: http://JoCool.com. 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 website. 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. Do not include an e-mail address in the body of the release. If you do, it will be protected from spam bots with a notice to that effect, which will overwrite your e-mail address. “The final paragraph of a traditional news release contains the least newsworthy material,” said Mario Bonilla, member services director for JoCool PR. “But for an online release, it’s typical to restate and summarize the key points with a paragraph like the next one.” For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release (or for a sample, copy or demo), contact Mary Smith or visit www.JoCool.com. .You can also include details on product availability, trademark acknowledgment, etc. here. About XYZ Company: Contact: ### |