1) Start it strong. Your headline and first paragraph should tell the entire story in a nutshell. You have only a matter of moments to grab the media’s attention.
2) Write for your audience. Speaking of media, they’re who you’re composing your press release for. Try to develop a story as you would like to have it told and anticipate their needs. They’re trying to entertain, educate, and inform their audience. The more your release does all of those things, the more likely it is to be used.
3) Ask yourself, “Is my press release newsworthy?” Do not use your press release to make a sale. The purpose of a release is to inform. Answer the who, what, where, when and why questions of journalism.
4) Realize that not everything is newsworthy. Just because something is exciting and newsworthy to you does not automatically make it newsworthy. Will someone else find your press release interesting? Focus on the elements of your event that makes it important to someone else.
5) Just the facts. It may be tempting to embellish the truth. Don’t. Stick to the facts and avoid exaggerations. The media is naturally skeptical, anyway. If your press release sounds too incredible, it will be ignored.
6) Pick an angle. This goes hand-in-hand with making your press release newsworthy. Make it timely or focus on current events or social/political issues. Every press release needs a hook.
7) Use active voice. Active verbs instill life into your release. Since every word counts, make them all strong. Writing in active voice helps ensure your press release will at least be read.
8) Make every word count. So important we’ll say it twice. Keep your release concise and to the point. Avoid unnecessary adjectives and redundant expressions.
9) Avoid jargon. Jargon is language specific to certain professions. It’s best to avoid jargon if your goal is to optimize your news release for online search engines, since the general public will not search for jargon words or phrases. That includes acronyms limited to your expertise.
10) Avoid hype. Never do this!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON’T DO THIS!! ***DO NOT DO THIS EITHER***