How to write attention getting media releases

Attention, if you run your own business, are in charge of publicity or promotion for a not-profit organization or work in a corporation and want to grab the media’s attention, then you need to know how to write a media release.

The release must grab the attention of the first person who reads it. Media outlets receive a great number of media releases each day and only a few make it into print. The rare one will get the attention of the news desk and result in you being contacted for further information.

The media release or as some call it the press release when done right will garner your organization some attention. How much depends upon several factors.

One is the subject matter. What are you informing people about? Is it an event, a new product or promotion? Be clear and concise.

Two, it must be news you are forwarding the release to a news department so make sure the story is indeed news.

Three, answer the who, what, when, where and why questions. The first draft of the release will answer each of these five question is a single sentence. Use active verbs

Four, avoid verbs that sit on the page and lack any sense of motion, for example, is, are, do, did, has, could would, should.

Use verbs such as, acquire, achieve, and verify, active, words that move the reader along.

Now that you have your first draft ready, it is time to reread it and see how it answers the following three questions:

1- Is it relevant?

2- It is interesting, at least moderately?

3- Is it newsworthy?

If the release fails to answer any one of these three questions then go back and do a rewrite and check it again. Repeat until all three questions are answered.

Edit and proofread, ideally, have some else proofread it for you. The media release must not have any typos, spelling mistakes or glaring grammatical errors.

If you are in charge of producing and distributing media release, make sure that your media contact list is up to date; you want the release to get into the hands of the person it is meant for and not sit in a pile because you did not have the editor’s or publisher’s name or email.

An up-to-date media contact list is a valuable resource. Keep your well-tended. If you do the work you can reap the rewards.