My God...in all this time, no talk of Press releases!

You know...it's come to my attention that all this time, I may just have skipped over one of the basics of PR...writing a press release. Well, without further adieu, here are the principles:

1. Follow the standard structure

Starting with a powerful headline, use power-words to add excitement to your release. The first line of your release should be the most impressive and informative. Starting with the date and location, the first line should give just the right amount of info to trigger the reader to read on.

Follow it up with a brief and powerful description and supporting paragraphs answering what, when, where, why, who and how questions. Give relevant quotes to highlight some of the important elements. The closing paragraph should summarize and restate the entire contents of the release. Give the "about us" section in the end.

2. Avoid fancy language; be direct for the reader

The press has a very short attention span. Write short and easy to understand sentences. If you get stuck, keep a good press release in front of your eyes while framing yours, this will help you stick to the structure and give you more ideas. Do not forget the sources of the facts that you mention. Also, don't be afraid to use quotes.

3. Provide relevant contact info at the end

Give complete contact details at the end of the release. Include name, email, phone number and mailing address if required. Remember that some of the journalists will take info from your website.

To give you an idea of some of the work I've done for clients and former employers, here's an example ''traditional news release'' you can click on to see for yourself.


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Mark Buzan is Principal and Chief Magnifier in Action Strategies, a full service Marketing Communications, Public Relations and Public Affairs Consultantcy. Make sure to contact him for advise on reaching audiences you may or may not have yet considered in your marketing communications campaigns. You can view his website at www.actionstrategies.ca.