How to Write a Press Release

A press release isn't a sales brochure with a headline stuck on top.

It's a news story — and it needs to be written like one.

Journalists need to understand quickly what has happened, why it matters and whether the story is something they can use. The easier you make that job, the better chance your press release has of getting their attention.

This practical guide shows you how to structure a press release from beginning to end using the same basic principles journalists use when writing news.

You'll learn:

• how to write a clear, factual headline
• what the crucial first paragraph needs to contain
• how to answer Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How?
• how to develop the story in the paragraphs that follow
• where to put quotes — and what a useful quote should actually add
• how to use WITH PICS, ENDS and Notes to Editors
• what contact information and supporting material a journalist needs
• how to make the finished release straightforward for a newsroom to understand and use

Written by journalist turned PR specialist Patrick Barnham MCIPR, the guide approaches press releases from the journalist's side of the desk.

The principle is simple: write in the journalist's language.

That means putting the important information first, keeping promotional language out of the story and giving the journalist the facts, quotes and supporting information in a familiar, usable structure.

If you've never written a press release before — or you've been writing them without really knowing whether you're doing it the way journalists expect — this guide gives you a clear structure to follow every time.

Stop wondering what goes where. Build your next press release like a news story.

4-page PDF guide