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Tips for Writing Good News Releases

  |   Insights, Public Relations   |   No comment

newspaperpressreleaseBefore you start writing a news release, imagine yourself in a reporter’s shoes.  When they pick up a news release, reporters will immediately be thinking:  How is this interesting and relevant to my audience?  And if so, why should I write this story now?  If the news release has a timing element, human story, and policy/action component that directly and positively answers those questions, the probability that the reporter will be interested in doing a story will be high.

A city or organization has a summer swim program for youth, so a public relations professional writes a commonplace news release that briefly describes the program and lists the pool locations, days, hours, fees, and contact information.  A community newspaper would probably run a short news item, but that would be the extent of the media coverage.

How could they have done better?

They could have increased the probability of getting more extensive coverage by writing a news release that contained a human story, had a policy and societal action component, and was strategically timed.

For example, the public relations person could have located one of the program’s paid lifeguards who learned how to swim through the program years ago.  They could also have mentioned the increase in childhood obesity and how kids who engage in regular outdoor exercise activities early in life are less likely to be overweight and suffer from associated health ailments like diabetes in later years.

The news release could be distributed one week before the first day of summer, and it could point out that this swim program conditions young people to establish healthy lifestyles early, mentors youth for employment and life, and provides equal access to fun and socially positive group interactions — all illustrated by a mini profile of an actual participant and beneficiary.

By following this general advice, you will have more success over the long run.  Your news releases will stand out from the volumes of news releases that others write each week and are largely ignored – dull news releases that are posted dead on countless organizations’ websites and read by only a few online visitors.

Tell the world how your issue affects the greater community and do so with human characters and in a timely way, as illustrated in the swim program example.  When you do, your news releases will have a much greater chance of attracting journalists from multiple mediums (print, TV, radio, online).  The reporters can use your news release as a starting point in developing independent stories that can reach thousands and up to millions of people.  By consistently doing this, you can use the full power of mass communications and increase your influence and power with your audience.

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