Anne Laszlo-Howard
Anne@rushprnews.com

10 tips to writing a successful press release

1.     The first lines of your press releases must include: "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE"

2.     The second line: Date of the release

3.     The third line: For more information, contact: followed by your contact information. Provide all possible contact information including mail address, telephone, fax, e-mail and web site (especially for online business).

4.     Title/header should be a compelling headline. The headline makes your release stand out. Keep it short, active, and descriptive. If you don't know how, read a number of compelling headlines to get inspired. You can do a search on the Internet to find compelling headlines.

5.     Hook the reader with the first paragraph. A first paragraph must summarize the five W's: who, what, where, when and why. In fact, most readers will give up if you haven't hooked them in the first few lines.

6.     Put the most important information at the beginning. This is a tried and true rule of journalism. Editors receive dozens of releases everyday and they don't have the time to go hunting for the important information.

7.     Don't say it, show it. Avoid saying something is "unique" or "the best". Instead, show how people will benefit - i.e. save time, save money, make their life easier, etc.

8.     Get a quote from someone who has reviewed your product or used your services.

9.     Spell-check and spell-check! Do remember to proofread your press release for typographical errors before you send them out.

10.   End your press release with ### or with -END- after your last lines of text. This symbol lets your reader know they have successfully received the entire release.

You may also want to add a boilerplate, be it a short bio or company's profile at the end of the release. The boilerplate remains the same in all release and is typed in a smaller font.  For my corporate clients, I use a boilerplate, for my own release, I always include a one-sentence bio.
Thank you,
Anne Laszlo-Howard