Writing a Press Release

• Start dating. It’s good practice to place the date at the top of a press release. You should also number your pages.

• Gotcha! Develop a headline that sums up the message in one snappy sentence or phrase. Within reason, be bold, original and creative with your title. Your headline – and indeed your news release - is likely to be changed before it is printed, but a good headline will help grab the attention of a journalist. 

• Who? What? Where? Why? When? How? After the headline, the most important feature of your press release is the introductory paragraph. It must attract the readers’ attention and summarise the story. 

• What are you trying to say? The rest of the news release should expand on your introduction. Remember your key messages. You should include details of any partners or sponsors and their involvement. 

• Prioritise facts too, leading with the most important information. 

• Short is sweet. Make your news release short and certainly no more than two pages. Keep it simple and avoid long sentences and jargon.  

• Say it with words. Include a comment from a relevant person or persons, for example your chief executive or that of a partner/sponsor and ensure they approve this before you issue your news release. 

• Don’t be a stranger. Provide your contact details so journalists can get more information – and make sure you are available for calls. 

• Snap. Include photo call information if there is opportunity for a picture. For example, if you are unveiling a new facility, you may wish to invite the media to take photos of your chief executive or the spokesperson. 

• News extra. ‘Notes to Editors’ should include any information on the organisation that is not entirely relevant within the main section. For example, background information on your organisation or further details of a research project mentioned in the news release.

Advertising, Public Relations and Advertorials

Listed below is a simple checklist highlighting the main difference between PR, advertising and advertorial.

Advertising

• Advertising is paid for by buying space in the various media available.
• Advertising is something a company says about itself. It can say almost anything it wants to as long as it does not infringe advertising codes or laws.
• With advertising a company has control over what and when it will appear.
• With advertising, you get as much as you pay for.

Public Relations

• Editorial space is not paid for. It is only available on merit.
• PR is all about disseminating information about a company; correctly projected it will reach a wide audience.
• Editorial material is based on information that has been supplied or that the media has obtained independently. You have no control over what happens, so don’t ask!
• The amount of space a paper or publication devotes to a story is purely an editorial decision. One favourable paragraph or short story can be worth a whole page of advertising - and it’s free.

Advertorials

Advertorials offer a number of benefits including guaranteed coverage, control and image enhancement. Research shows that advertorials do attract good readership. They can, however, prove expensive as you actually buy space in the publication. Unlike an actual advertisement, your information appears in the form of an editorial - usually in a highly visual format. You can command a high degree of influence over the content, both photographically and editorially. The publication, in close cooperation with you, will produce the copy to retain their editorial style.

What is Public Relations?

Just what is Public Relations or PR? It's a strategic form of communicating that is used to obtain positive exposure for your company and keep key publics informed. It’s news releases, feature stories, interviews, analyst meetings, application stories, speaking engagements, newsletters, websites, product launches and events.

It's also developing a key message that differentiates you from your competition and selecting which mix of tactics will get your message to the marketplace with the most impact.

In order for the media to succeed, they need information that is both useful and entertaining for their readers. A company that is ‘in the news’ is more visible and more interesting. Good publicity can attract capital, partners and employees as well as potential customers. It can position a business as ‘the expert’ and ‘thought leader’.

The publicity generated is almost always the most valuable and cost effective way of promoting an offering. Unlike an advertisement, editorial publicity carries the perception of an unbiased third-party endorsement. And the benefits of a positive endorsement by the media can hardly be overstated.

Many people confuse public relations with advertising, but there is a world of difference between the two disciplines. Advertising is destined to sell a product or service by means of, for example, a TV commercial or newspaper advertisement, whereas the role of PR is to inform and educate by means of a whole variety of promotional activities which result in media editorial coverage.