Elements of a press release

Writing a press release can sometimes be difficult. But it isn’t the writing that is the hardest part. So many times people doing their own public relations fret about the writing and content of their press release. That shouldn’t be the case. Most reporters often overlook the writing as long as the right elements are there and the press release is newsworthy.

Here are the basic elements of a press release:

• Date
• Press Contact Info
• Headline
• Subhead
• Body
• Public contact
• Boilerplate

The first element is easy. The date. Right. See, told you it’s not hard.

Next comes the press contact info. This is the number and contact person the reporter will call for more information. This can be a different person than the person you want the public to contact.

Then the headline. Make it something punchy, but something that makes sense. You want it to convey what the press release is about.

Then the subhead. This is like a headline but goes into a little more depth about what you just said in the headline. A subhead is still one sentence.

The body. Here is where you go into details about your announcement. Make sure that you include Who, What, Where, When and Why. I have actually seen press releases that list those Ws and next to each fill in the information. So it’s like

• Who: Me
• What: My party
• Where: My house
• When: Tonight
• Why: Because why not?

Then underneath they go into detail. If this helps you remember to include all the elements, by all means do it that way. The most important thing is that those elements are there, not so much the format of how they are there.

Then list the public contact info. This is usually, “For more information, contact…….” at the end of the body of your press release.

Finally include a boilerplate paragraph. This is a paragraph that starts out with the word About. Then goes on to talk about your business. This paragraph is usually one that you will use on every press release. It just sums up who you are:

About XYZ Co.

XYZ Co., is the largest widget maker in the tri-state area. Founded in 1982, XYZ Co., produces 20,000 widgets a day that makes the lives of every living being easier.

For an example of what a press release should look like take a look at these press releases.

Just remember no matter how you write your press release, as long as it has all the important elements and truly is newsworthy you’ll get your point across.