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Press releases are a cost effective method of getting your message across in the media.  Although many companies rely on outside help to produce their press releases, anyone can write and distribute a media release and get their story in the press.  

What makes a good press release?

A good press release is clearly written and well presented, focussed on a newsworthy event with appropriate background information, concise and to the point and well illustrated with high quality relevant images.   First and foremost, your press release needs to be newsworthy.  Most newsworthy events can be anticipated weeks or months in advance, since they will reflect project deadlines, events or schedules.  This gives you plenty of time to make the necessary preparations to get your message out there as quickly and effectively as possible.

Communication is key

As soon as an event or project is added to your press release schedule, you’ll need to contact all the other ‘stake-holders’, that is, any clients or other organisations involved in the project.  Some of these people may be required to give their consent to any media release about the work – this is normally clarified in any terms and conditions or contracts relating to the project.   You may choose to coordinate your press release with that of another stakeholder or consultant, or you may find that a colleague has useful press contacts, but that they had not intended issuing any press release.  Communicating with the project team at this point can have long lasting benefits to any marketing push, but it’s a good idea to keep in touch with the marketing departments of your partners at all times.  Not only can they help you with vital contacts and information, they’ll also keep you up to date about company events, and make sure that you get invited to any networking opportunities and parties. 

Use pictures to tell and sell your story

The general rule is that the better illustrated your story is, the more chance it has of being published.  That’s not to say, swamp the newsdesks of publications and websites all over the country with CD’s containing your ‘best’ hundred pictures.  You should choose a concise and varied selection of a few outstanding images, provided in print quality formats.  Print quality images need to be at least 300 dpi, and photographs should be of professional quality.   The illustrations for your story should be borne in mind at all times, since it may be possible to tailor the press release slightly in order to use an excellent image.  

Make yourself understood

This kind of editorial content is the best advertising that money can’t buy, so be prepared to put some time and effort into it.  Your press release doesn’t have to be a piece of literary genius, and it doesn’t have to be long, in fact, in many ways, the shorter the better.  It does need to be clear, so plan it out thoroughly before starting to write.   Ask yourself what your message really is.   What is happening/has happened?  What are the benefits?  Who is involved?  What is the outcome?  How long did/will it take?  Keep a list of points you need to make, and people you need to mention, and tick them off as you go through them.  

Checking and feedback

Once you have finished your draft of the release, spell check it thoroughly and show it to a couple of people whose opinion you trust.   Where appropriate, incorporate their suggestions into your text.    In many cases, you’ll be required to get some sort of sign off to the document, be it from a managing director or a client.  If you’re in business on your own, it’s a good idea to get into the habit of signing off finished drafts, since it is a recognised form of acceptance and will assist you later in locating ‘authorised’ documents.   Make sure you include a brief company profile and full contact details for further information.

Making contacts

Getting your message heard means telling it to the right people, and this is the most difficult part.  One of the reasons businesses use public relations and marketing agencies is because they have ‘contacts’.  To find your own contacts, you’ll need to do a bit of research.   If you’ve planned ahead, you can do this well in advance of your press release being issued.  Make a list of all the industry news sources and local and national news sources who may be interested in your story.  This list will be of use for your next press release.   Contact each organisation on the list individually, by phone wherever possible, and find out the name of the news editor, as well as the address to which you should send any press material.   Record all of this information accurately.  Now prioritise the list of contacts, starting with the publication which you consider to be the most important place to have your story published.   Create a shortlist of 3, 5 or 10 publications, depending on how well your industry is covered, in which an exclusive story would be beneficial to your business.

Make personal contact

A short while before the issue of your press release, contact the organisations on the shortlist.  Starting with the most important publication, phone up and ask to speak to the news editor of each publication.  The trick here almost always is to get past the iron-lady young women who are paid to ensure that most of the telephone calls don’t get through.  Sound casual, friendly and authoritative and you will stand a much greater chance of making it past this all important barrier.  If you can’t speak to the news editor, then try to speak to someone else on the newsdesk – this is the telephone call, and you need to try to get your story listened to and looked out for.  Some of the larger publications, in particular, may not publish non-exclusives from small companies, or may be able to devote more or better column inches to exclusive stories.  If you don’t offer the story to the big players on an exclusive basis, you’ll never find out what the prize could have been.  

Mail out to industry media

If your story is good enough, and you are confident enough, the chances are you’ll have had some sort of bite from a journalist by now.  If not, there’s no need to despair.  You still have the overall list of contacts, and a general press release is almost bound to get some coverage.  The internet is hungry for news, with no print and paper overheads to constrict it, and there are news sites devoted to every area of business.   Write a short explanatory email which captures the gist of the story, save the images and press release in universal formats, such as pdf and jpeg, and send it out.   If some of your contacts still require traditional media (i.e. paper) be sure to send them high quality prints alongside a CD containing your images. 

Track the progress of your story

It’s much easier to keep track of editorial coverage these days.  Internet searches and archived materials online make it simple to find out the majority of places who have run your story.  Many of those who have used your material may have contacted you for further information – keep an eye on their publications.   Print copies of any material you find online, and buy copies of all printed matter featuring your story.  Write a thank you note to the journalists whose names appear by your articles, and offer to keep them informed about your upcoming news items.   Be sure to put them on your Christmas card list – it’s not considered unreasonable to take such people out for dinner, after all people rarely object to a free meal.

Onwards and upwards

Once you’ve done all of the above, you’ll have issued and recorded your first press release, and hopefully gained some valuable editorial coverage.   Every press release is slightly different, so the chances are you’ll need to add to your press contacts list on a regular basis, as well as looking out for changes and new publications, but from here on in, it gets easier and easier, just repeating the processes again and again, but each time with more established contacts in the places that matter the most to your business.

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