Assignment

PRESS RELEASE TEMPLATE 

 

A Brief, Tweet-able Summary of the News that Mentions Your Organization 

One or two subheadlines that explains your organization’s news and who it impacts 

Include additional info here that helps add context and will intrigue readers; keep it brief 

 

CITY, STATE – Date – Start your release with a clear, concise statement of the news. Restate your organization’s name and provide the necessary details for the story, linking to a web page that is directly related. Your readers should know the who, what, and when within the first paragraph. Include key statistics and the names of key players in this paragraph, but keep it brief; audiences will often read just the first few lines of your release, so you need to pack these sentences with all of the key information. End the first paragraph (or add a standalone line) with your call to action – it should be direct and easy to understand.  

The second paragraph is where you can tell your readers why the information in the first paragraph is important. You’ve gotten the crucial details out; now it’s time to give them more context. How does the information in the first paragraph impact them? How does it impact your company? Include more here to back up what you’re saying, and remember to show, not tell. If you’re including hard numbers, incorporate one hyperlink here to show where you got them, or use a chart to visually showcase your story. By this point, your readers should be able to tell you why this story is important enough for them to keep reading. 

When applicable (don’t force it), include a list to: 

· Highlight important takeaways for readers 

· Layout future effects of your story 

· Recognize customers, employees, or organizations 

· Summarize key figures related to your news 

· Boost your SEO results 

· Make your release more visually appealing and easier to scan 

“Focusing on the facts doesn’t have to take the personality out of your release, but personality shouldn’t get in the way of the facts. Including quotes from key people at your organization lends credibility to your release and humanizes your organization to your audience,” said Emily Engle, Customer Marketing Specialist at Cision. “I’ve worked with our customers on press releases for years and good quotations really take a release to the next level. Reporters can also use the quotes in your release to write their own story about your announcement.” 

 

If your readers are hitting your fourth paragraph, congratulations – you've really caught their interest! Now is the time to fill in more of the details about the news and your company. If you’re announcing a new product line for instance, this is where you explain more of the specifics around where it’s available and even where else it’ll be available in the future. Regardless of what you’re writing about, make sure you tell them what they can expect to happen as a result. 

 

Any other relevant information should go after your fourth paragraph, along with any other quotes (unless you have two equally important people who both need to be quoted early on). Take the opportunity to direct your readers to supporting resources with one more hyperlink. If your news is very technical or industry-specific, feel free to take more time here to explain what it is and how it works at this point. Be careful not to ramble; think like a journalist. Restate your call to action at the end of your release. 

 

Your Organization  

This is your boilerplate – it gives journalists and readers a brief overview of your organization. Tell them who you are, what you do, where you’re located, and who you serve. Include one sentence on your organization’s values, notable achievements, certifications, or anything else that your audience and the media benefits from knowing. Tell them where they can go to find more information about your organization and include a link to your homepage here as well. If you’d like, include your social media handles here too. 

 

Your Name (Or the name of the person you want the media to contact) 

Title 

Phone number  

Email address 

(You can make this information viewable to only members of the media if you prefer)