How To Start A Press Release

Writing a press release is just like writing a news article. As in a regular news article, your item must contain the 5Ws and 1H: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Be sure that your article contains all of these or your reader might notice the incompleteness of your article. To help organize your thoughts, jot them down in a list format first.

Now comes the part that most people don’t know about—the proper arrangement of the facts. In what order should they be arranged? Which W (or H) do I mention in my lead sentence? Most companies always put their company’s name first in a press release. The correct answer is to write about the most important piece of news first. Is your company the first service provider in the area? Write about the “where” first. Did Michael Jordan visit your offices? Write about the “who” first. After establishing the most important fact in the lead sentence, then you mention your company.

Why should you write like the newspaper reporters do? Because it makes your article look more professional and less of a hard sell, and thus, gives your article more credibility. Write your article well enough, and local newspapers or online news sites might pick it up, giving you free exposure in the news!

By: Rocky Teodoro

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Rocky Teodoro is a project manager for inWrite. We offer proofreading, copyediting, copy writing, technical writing, and translation services for companies that do not have the time and resources to hire full-time language specialists. We can write press releases for you on a project basis or on a regular basis. Visit our Web site at www.inwrite.org.