two press releases
Browse websites looking for press releases (see for example, the PR archive on the USF St Pete website).
Prepare two press releases. Before you begin, please note that you should NOT use first person; write as though you are an outside observer reporting on what you see/experience. In other words, do not use “we†or “Iâ€.
In press release number 1, your company is hosting an event that you would like to publicize. Make sure that you highlight the good things about your company and the event. This should not be longer than 250-300 words.
In Press release number 2, your company has just done something spectacular in your company’s field of business and you would like to let the world to know about it. Again, 250-300 words.
Press releases
Companies and organizations write press releases (or news releases) to announce new products and services, new policies, special events (such as branch openings, company anniversaries, mergers, and grand openings), management changes, and sponsorship of social-action and cultural programs. The purpose of a press release is both to inform the public about the company and its products and services and to enhance the organization’s brand identity. Even the announcement of what might be regarded as an unfavorable event, such as the closing of a division, can put a company in a good light by demonstrating candor, the ability to act effectively in a crisis, or the potential long-term benefits of a change. Large corporations and institutions usually have their own public relations staffs or use outside agencies. However, if you work for a small company without public relations resources, you may be called on to write a press release.
The press release should be clear, concise, and written with particular attention to the five w’s: who, what, where, when, and why. Begin the first paragraph with the place and date of the announcement.
Write the release using the decreasing order of importance method of development. Put all critical information in the first paragraph, information of the next level of importance in the second paragraph, and so on. Editors may need to make your release fit the space they have available; if they must cut your release, they will delete the last paragraph first, and then the next to last, and so on. Make sure your facts are accurate, and you should be careful to define any unfamiliar terms.
Releases are usually distributed through online outlets as well as by local newspapers and television and radio stations. Of course, organizations post versions of news releases on their own Web or social media sites and distribute them to such special groups as trade publications or professional associations. See also blogs and forums and newsletter articles.
Writer’s checklist Preparing Press Releases
✔ Use company stationery with a minimum of one-inch margins on each side of the page.
✔ Use boldface type for the headlines and double-space paragraphs for easy reading and copying.
✔ Use “-more-†centered at the bottom of the page when you need to indicate that another page follows.
✔ Allow one blank line and center “# # #†or “-30-†or “-End-†to indicate where the press release ends.
✔ Send the release to a specific person, such as a business or technology editor or blogger.
Here is an example
News Release
Bentley Plastics
3535 Michigan Avenue â– Chicago, IL 60653
Contact: Marjorie Kohls E-mail: mkohls@bentley.com Phone: (312) 712-1946 Fax: (312) 712-1950
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mark Williams Joins Bentley Plastics as Vice President
Chicago, Illinois, May 22, 2015: Marketing expert and author Mark Williams has been appointed Vice President of Marketing at Bentley Plastics, a manufacturer of polymer tubing and coils. He will direct the Illinois and Indiana district sales offices and coordinate overseas distribution through the company’s Singapore office. Williams will travel extensively throughout Southeast Asia while developing marketing channels for Bentley.
Formerly, Williams was director of services with International Marketing Associates, a consulting group in New York. While at IMA, he developed a computer-based marketing center that linked textile firms in the United States, Finland, and Great Britain. A graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, Williams is the author of Marketing Dynamics, a book used in marketing classrooms at major universities.
Bentley Plastics, headquartered in Chicago, has main plants in Skokie, Illinois, and Gary, Indiana. Since 1978, Bentley has also been producing tubing for French distribution through the firm of Jourdan and Sons, Paris.
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Here are three sites that I have used before to guide press release writing:
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