Press Releases: A Recipe for Success

The Great British Bake Off finale is fast approaching and to mark the occasion, we’ve whipped up an easy-to-follow recipe for the perfect press release!

Ingredients

5 Ws

An attention grabbing headline

A large measure of “he”, “she”, “it” and “they”

A newsworthy introductory paragraph

A third party quote

Method

1.  Place the 5Ws in your [hypothetical] bowl

Think about the who, what, where, when, and why? Just because you think your news is interesting and compelling, it might not be to the audience, so always write with them in mind

2. Add a compelling headline

Headlines should be no longer than 10 words and should be compelling enough to make the journalist, and the readers, read on. Don’t mention the company that the story is about, describe what it does instead. For example, DENTAL PRACTITIONER BRUSHES HIS TEETH

3. Stir in a large measure of “he”, “she”, “it” and “they”

Write in third person – no one likes hearing me, me, me. PR is very different from advertising and much more credible, so writing in third person and not bragging about the news is always a great start

4. Whip up a newsworthy introductory paragraph and add this to the mix

Make sure your introductory paragraph is newsworthy and includes the hook or angle of your release. It shouldn’t be too long, and should be written in a way that if the rest of the story was cut out, the audience would still know what’s happened or is happening. For example, a local company has expanded its team – you wouldn’t know which company, who they’ve appointed, or why they have, but, you will still know that a company has appointed someone

5. Incorporate a third party quote

Include third party quotes from someone that is relevant to your story and remember that it’s not a testimonial.

Remember, it’s always worth getting someone else to read your press release so that any typos or mistakes are picked up before your final product is presented to the judges (or in this case, a journalist).

Finally, serve hot [off the press] before your story becomes old news, and enjoy the sweet smell of success :-)