A Comprehensive Guide to Preparing Releases that Get Results

Most experienced editors have a love-hate relationship with press releases. They rely on releases (and the people who write them) for story ideas, facts and valuable sources. A good news release can be a lifesaver when it arrives just in the nick of time with an interesting story idea, an arresting headline, compelling lead, powerful quotes, maybe even a print-ready photo.

Freedman, David M. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Press Releases

Press Releases Are a Colossal Waste of Time: Mail the Media a Letter Instead

I haven't sent out a traditional press release in the last 10 years. But I have placed stories about my clients in The Wall St. Journal, New York Times, ABC News, The Today Show, Good Morning America and just about any other major media outlet in the United States. Editors surely don't need me or any other publicist to write their stories. They need me to point them in the direction of a good story, succinctly give them the facts as I see them, the sources I know and then get out of the way so they can write their own stories. I do those things by writing pitch letters, good ones.

Ochman, B.L. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Press Releases

Why Craft Better News Releases? Because the Payoff Can Be Really Big

Written any good news releases lately? Though many of us in business communication churn them out regularly, we often don't take as much care crafting them as we do with other vehicles like articles or brochures.

Canavor, Natalie and Claire Meirowitz. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Press Releases

How To Write A Press Release For Your Services 

If you have an interesting story to tell, a press release will help you to make newspaper editors aware of it. Maybe you recently won an award. Maybe you stumbled upon some interesting information in the field you work in. Or maybe your design contributed towards some kind of achievement on behalf of your client. Depending on the scale and content of your story, you can send your press release to marketing websites, marketing magazines, the relevant trade press, the regional press, and even the business section of the national press.

Crowley, Shaun. FreelanceSwitch (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Press Releases

Top Five Tips For a Great Press Release 

A news publication gets a lot of press releases over the course of the day. In an ideal world, this document delivers valuable and maybe even actionable news and, if things are really well done, gets journalists excited about sharing it with the world. What's beautiful about this is that it is a realm over which you have some control, and improvements are easy to achieve.

Natividad, Angela. CMSwire (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Press Releases