A press release can be highly beneficial to a business. Whether you’re promoting your business, or a new product launch, collaboration or charitable endeavors, if published – in print or online – a press release is a great way of promoting your company, its products and services to a far-reaching audience. We seek out guidance from friends at Zebra Marketing &Communications to share best practices and tips when writing your own press release.
Crafting your press release

A press release always needs a catchy title, to gain a journalist’s attention. It should sum up what the article is about in a short and snappy way. The first paragraph should also summarise and get to the point of what the press release is about. Both of these things will determine whether a journalist features your press release or not. If it’s not interesting to them, why should it be of interest to their readers?
 
When writing a press release, write it in the third-person, and keep the ‘five Ws’ in mind, as well as the ‘how’:
You may want to include a quote and provide a call to action in the last paragraph. Don’t forget to include your contact details and a link to your website. Then, to mark the end of the press release, use the word ‘- Ends -’ in bold. Ensure that your press release is no more than two A4 pages, to keep it succinct and relevant.
 
Don’t forget to include contact details for the journalist, as well as a few sentences summarising your company at the end, as they may wish to include this upon publication too.
 
Once you’re happy with the press release and have proofread it several times, be sure to include any good quality photos relevant to your press release, such as of your new products and a headshot of you as the business owner.



Send it on its way
Consider where you want to send your press release to. Whether it’s going to be sent to local and regional news media, or specialist magazines in your sector. Contact details for the editor or journalists can usually be found on each publication’s website.
 
To send your press release, attach it along with any images, and copy and paste the wording into an email. Include ‘Press release’ and your title in the email subject. Address the journalist by name and then include a short summary of what the press release is about. Then it’s ready to send.
If you don’t receive a response right away, after a few days re-send it, with a gentle reminder to see if it’s of interest, to help get your press release featured.
 
Once it’s been put in print or online, send an email thanking the journalist for featuring it. They will then look more favourably on further emails and press releases from you in the future, leading to more coverage and more business for you.
A press release can be highly beneficial to a business. Whether you’re promoting your business, or a new product launch, collaboration or charitable endeavors, if published – in print or online – a press release is a great way of promoting your company, its products and services to a far-reaching audience. We seek out guidance from friends at Zebra Marketing &Communications to share best practices and tips when writing your own press release.
Crafting your press release

A press release always needs a catchy title, to gain a journalist’s attention. It should sum up what the article is about in a short and snappy way. The first paragraph should also summarise and get to the point of what the press release is about. Both of these things will determine whether a journalist features your press release or not. If it’s not interesting to them, why should it be of interest to their readers?
 
When writing a press release, write it in the third-person, and keep the ‘five Ws’ in mind, as well as the ‘how’:
You may want to include a quote and provide a call to action in the last paragraph. Don’t forget to include your contact details and a link to your website. Then, to mark the end of the press release, use the word ‘- Ends -’ in bold. Ensure that your press release is no more than two A4 pages, to keep it succinct and relevant.
 
Don’t forget to include contact details for the journalist, as well as a few sentences summarising your company at the end, as they may wish to include this upon publication too.
 
Once you’re happy with the press release and have proofread it several times, be sure to include any good quality photos relevant to your press release, such as of your new products and a headshot of you as the business owner.



Send it on its way
Consider where you want to send your press release to. Whether it’s going to be sent to local and regional news media, or specialist magazines in your sector. Contact details for the editor or journalists can usually be found on each publication’s website.
 
To send your press release, attach it along with any images, and copy and paste the wording into an email. Include ‘Press release’ and your title in the email subject. Address the journalist by name and then include a short summary of what the press release is about. Then it’s ready to send.
If you don’t receive a response right away, after a few days re-send it, with a gentle reminder to see if it’s of interest, to help get your press release featured.
 
Once it’s been put in print or online, send an email thanking the journalist for featuring it. They will then look more favourably on further emails and press releases from you in the future, leading to more coverage and more business for you.