Press releases are a great way to get the word out about an event or product, but half the battle is making sure reporters, producers and editors don’t hit the delete button as soon as it pops into their email inbox.  Here are some tips that may help you with your press release writing and distribution to newsrooms.

Tip 1: When emailing a release, keep the subject line short, but catchy. For example, if you’re sending a release about physicians delivering bad news to patients, you may want to use the subject line: Bearer of Bad News. It may seem a bit odd and not even a good representation of the story, but it will generate people to read the first few lines of the release, at the very least.

Tip 2: Now that you have their attention, you have to keep it. Often in press release writing, people write down any and all the information they can think of. It is important to get right to the point. You should be able to know exactly what the press release is about after reading the first sentence.

Also, press release writing should follow an inverted pyramid format. Important information at the beginning, which includes who, what, when, where, why and how. That way if a journalist only reads the first few paragraphs of the release, he or she will get everything they need to know.

Tip 3:  If the reason for your press release distirbution is to get a news crew to cover your event, be specific. Explain who will be available for interviews at the event and any video opportunities. For example, if you are promoting a H1N1 health fair, make sure to mention physicians will be available for interviews and there will be an opportunity to shoot video of patients being vaccinated for the virus.

 Tip 4: Contact information is necessity. Mentioning the event details or the name of a company in the release is not enough. Be sure to list a contact name, phone number, email, address and website… the more the better. You do not want to miss out on coverage because a television station could not get a hold of you.

Hopefully these tips will help you when you are distributing a press release for news coverage.  Remember, news coverage can be subjective. Some things will catch one producer or reporter’s eye, but not another. The more people you can send it to at one place, the better chance you have at getting noticed.

How to Distribute a Press Release, How to Write a Press Release, press release writing, sending a press release to a newsroom