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Guide to Quick and Easy Press Releases |
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Written by California College Republicans
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Saturday, 23 July 2005 |
This is a quick-and-easy guide on how to write, format, and distribute a press release.
Letterhead – put the press release on letterhead with the name of your organization and its logo on top. Your letterhead should be clean, simple, and easy to understand.
Time Stamp – always put “for immediate release” and the current date at the top of the press release.
Contact Information – choose one person to handle all media inquiries. This person should have a cell phone or a reliable telephone number at which they can be reached, and should also be very good at answering questions off the top of their heads.
Headline – should be bold, catchy, and it should direct the reporter to the topic that you want to talk about. Humor and “man bites dog” headlines work best.
Lead Paragraph – state the city and state where the event it taking place, followed by a one-sentence paragraph that explains the gist of what your press release is all about.
Quotes/Opinions – be sure to include quotes from leaders of your organization or other people who are important to the story. They should be colorful quotes that emphasize the message you want to get across.
Facts – include a paragraph stating the facts of the situation and citing any statistics or historical events that add context to the story.
Details – the last paragraph should include nitty gritty details if you have any. Oftentimes this is a good paragraph to tell reporters a specific location and time an event will take place.
### - the triple pound sign tells the reporter that this is the end of your press release. It is mandatory that you include this at the bottom of your release.
Distribution - Press releases should be faxed to all relevant media outlets between the hours of 6 am and 8 am in the morning, followed by phone calls around 8:30 am. Phone calls should be made to verify that the outlet has received the press release and to inquire if they plan to cover your event.
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