A press release should never sound like an ad. Avoid making extreme, unrealistic promises or exaggerating your organization's work. Reporters are trained to despise hyperbole, and they don't appreciate it in their inbox. "The greatest protest rally ever" is a poor start to what could have been a newsworthy story. Before distributing a press release, read it over with a reporter's eye. Are you addressing a newsworthy topic? Will this story generate ideas for news or feature articles? Does the press release read more like a fundraising appeal? Recruit a reporter as a volunteer so she can review your proposed press releases with a trained and critical eye.
Always include a dateline such as "Los Angeles, CA" at the beginning of your first paragraph. You may either use your organization's city or the city where the news is coming from. When possible, selecting cities with greater national significance may get your press release more attention. For example, if your small town organization is awarded special recognition by a Washington, DC, board, start your press release with "Washington, DC."
When pitching to a reporter, whether via email or wire service, imitate the standard press release format used by PR Newswire. By reading a few of the releases at http://PRNewswire.com, you'll see the standard components and flow. Significant variations would look amateurish to a reporter.
Fact-check your press release before distribution. Remove any embellishments and exaggerations. Remember, reporters will expect you to answer tough, journalistic questions. If you're not prepared to discuss your claims in a phone interview, don't flaunt them in a press release. Inaccurate information in a press release can generate bad publicity and ruin your credibility.
Using research, statistics, and studies is a simple way to add validity to your press releases. For example, if you are announcing a campaign to encourage sororities to offer breast cancer self-exam guides to their members, bolster your press release with statistics about the growing number of breast cancer cases among younger women and survival rate breakthroughs that have been made due to early detection. If your organization has done any of its own research, try to incorporate those findings into your press releases. If not, you can also use studies done by other organizations. A simple Google search should yield an abundance of reputable research done on most topics.
Finally, assign an editor to review your release and correct any grammar and spelling mistakes. Don't let a typo make your organization appear unprofessional and ruin your chance for free publicity. Where possible, replace weak verbs with strong action words –"will" for "may," and "does" for "might." If you're unsure about a grammatical issue, refer to The Associated Press Stylebook.
