The Key Format for a Successful Press Release

By Ruth Williams

A press release is an ideal means of letting people know about an event involving an person or business. It should follow a predetermined format to achieve optimum success. The role of a press release is to get the reader's attention and encourage them to find out more about the story. They're also a handy means of submitting information to search engines. This informative article focuses primarily on the fundamental parts of a good press release.

* The headline 's what primarily attracts the reader`s attention. This should incorporate details pertaining to the content and keywords / phrases which people are likely to search for. Most of all it needs to make the readers want to find out more. The easiest way of trying to think up a suitable headline is to draw the main keywords from the body of text and make them into a catchy sentence. A good deal of time should be spent on getting the headline right.

* Following on from the headline should be a summary. This briefly outlines the main story and is an area in which the individual's or organisation's details can be added. This should be short and snappy to encourage the reader to continue. The ultimate aim of a press release is to promote an individual or organization. So mentioning the name in question early on in the press release is crucial in order to make the link between them and the news topic.

* Before the main subject matter of the press release is the Dateline and Lead Paragraph. If the reader hasn't completely read the headline or initial summary then this is where they'll get concise information about when and where the news event happened. This should be a short and punchy account of exactly what the press release is about. It should only be about twenty five words in total, it's to keep the reader interested now that they've made the decision to read the story further.

* The Body Copy follows next and is the main part of the report. This section should be 300 - 800 words long. There should be no html tags, tables or forced line breaks in this particular section.

* The latter part of the press release is generally about the individual or business. The Boiler Plate Statement is the 'About Us' information. It comes after the news story and normally stays unchanged throughout press releases.

* The very last paragraph of the press release provides the contact details of the individual or company. This can incorporate their web address, location as well as contact telephone number. People might wish to phone after seeing the press release.

Press releases are generally short in length. They are for telling people about an event which has taken place, not about educating them. The content needs to be newsworthy, based upon fact and unbiased. Photos, sound and video can be added to press release to make it more enticing. Links to your web site may also be included in the body of the press release which can be very beneficial for generating visitors to your internet site.

About the Author:

Does your organisation require a fresh approach to marketing? Bird and Co Creative is a Worcestershire based graphic and web design company, producing innovative marketing solutions for other companies throughout the UK. For more information and to see their portfolio check out www.birdandcocreative.co.uk.