Page 18 - WBG March 2025

FEATURE

Introduction—first paragraph in a press release that gives basic Six Rules Every Press Release Strategy Has to Follow
answers to the questions of who, what, when, where, why and how.
Press releases can be a very powerful form of marketing—but only
Body—further explanation, statistics, background, or other if they are done the right way. No matter what industry you are in,
details relevant to the news. if you do not follow these six rules, your press release strategy will
never succeed:
Boilerplate—a short “about” section, providing independent
background on the issuing company, organization, or individual. 1. Do not try to force news

Close—in North America, traditionally the symbol “-30-“ appears Primarily, press release writing is designed to showcase new
after the boilerplate or body and before the media contact developments. If you are making strides in your industry—like
information, indicating that the news release has ended. A more offering a new product that takes advantage of unique technology
modern equivalent has been the “###” symbol. or sharing the results of your ground-breaking study—then you
need a solid, non-salesy way to announce it. Publishing a press
Media Contact—name, phone number, e-mail address, mailing release is a great way to do it, provided that your subject matter is
address, or other contact information for the contact person. actually newsworthy.

As the Internet has assumed growing prominence in the news cycle, How do you know if something is newsworthy? Put yourself in the
press release writing styles have necessarily evolved. Editors of online minds of your target audience and ask yourself a few questions. Do
newsletters, for instance, often lack the staff to convert traditional you need to know this information? Have you been waiting for a
press release prose into more readable, print-ready copy. Today’s development like this? Would you be interested in the subject, even
press releases are therefore often written as finished articles which if you were not going to make money off of it? If the answer to any
deliver more than just the bare facts. A stylish, journalistic format of these questions is “no,” your topic is not as newsworthy as you
along with a provocative story line and quotes from principals can think.
help ensure wider distribution among Internet-only publications
looking for suitable material. 2. Never leave a question unanswered

Distribution Models No matter what the story’s about, good journalists always
The business is responsible for both the creation of the content ask six questions—who, what, where, when, why, and how.
and the decision to distribute it which makes press releases self- That means your press releases have to be written to answer all
published. Within the industry, a self-published press release is a of those questions. Remember, most press releases do not get
do-it-yourself release that bypasses the pricy newswire distribution followed up on. The odds of a reporter or producer actually calling
networks. In this approach, which is popular with many very large you for more information are slim. Most of the time, they take the
businesses and is universal among small organizations seeking the information you have provided in your press release to write their
only local media attention, the business’ own marketing personnel news story. Or they simply publish the press release as-is. If you
write the press release and send it directly to their choice of ignore any of these six question—or have sub-par writing that
newspapers or other media outfits. Although previously done on makes it too hard to figure out the answers—you will end up with
a small scale by individually mailing or faxing announcements to journalists that view your press release as incomplete, and thus, not
a small number of local media, this approach now tends to rely on worthy of their coverage.
e-mail and web distribution. Some hybrid models also exist, which
pay for distribution through established networks, but otherwise 3. Include quotes
follow the do-it-yourself model.
It is so easy to insert quotes into your press releases, and yet, so
Embargoed Press Release many people never do it! In order to produce good quotes, image
Sometimes a press release is distributed early and embargoed— explaining your topic to a reporter during an interview. What could
that is, news organizations are requested not to report the story until you say in a sentence or two that will really drive the point home?
a specified time. For instance, news organizations usually receive
a copy of presidential speeches several hours in advance. Product If, for example, your press release is about the new security officer
or media reviewers are commonly given a sample or preview of a business you are opening in Seattle, a simple quote like, “We’re really
product ahead of its release date. excited to bring XYZ Security Services to Seattle and inject a highly
professional family-owned service into the Northwest,” could work
Unless the journalist has voluntarily agreed to hone the embargo wonders. It shows you are not just a corporate entity—but a real,
in advance, usually via a legally binding non-disclosure agreement, human business owner that has a passion for his work. Instantly,
the journalist is under no obligations to honor it. However, even in you have added a new dimension to your news, without making it
the absence of any obligation, news organizations do not break the salesy. As an added benefit, including quotes is your only chance to
embargo for sources that they wish to cultivate. If they do, then the get the words “I,” “we” or “you” into your press releases. Other than in
agency or client that sent the release may blacklist them. quotes, those words are giant press release writing no-nos!

16 W.A.D Beyond Global