Need A Press Release For Your Biz? No More Excuses! Read On For Diy Press Release Tips

Many of my small business PR clients come to me with questions about press releases. How long should a release be? What information should the release include? Do I need my logo on the release? In response to these questions, I thought I would share some super basic press release writing tips.

In addition, thanks to Google Analytics, I can see many of the visitors to my Web site are searching for a press release template so I'll provide you with a sample release as well. So for those of you doing your PR on a budget, here's a quick DIY PR lesson including the components of putting together a press release.

Length - As a general rule, a press release should not be longer than one page. Rarely, do I find that my clients need more than one page to share their story.

Logo - Graphic mark of your company. This is typically placed in the upper left hand corner of the release.

Contact Information - Contact information should include name, email and phone number of the contact handling communication with the media.

Dateline - The dateline includes the month and year as well as the location of where the release originated.

Headline - The headline is a short, clever and concise statement about your company announcement. The headline should include a media "hook" that is unique, newsworthy and attractive to journalists.

Opening Paragraph - The first paragraph should contain the most essential information of the story. Some journalists may not get past the first paragraph so it's important that the release includes the who, what, where, when, why, and how.

Secondary Headline - The secondary headline allows you to expand on your announcement with a little more information that will hopefully entice a journalist to keep reading.

Hyperlinked KeyWords for SEO - Choose 2-3 of your company's keywords to hyperlink back to your Web site page. The Web site page you link to must include the same keyword or phrase linked in the release. The first key word I've linked in the sample press release is "affordable public relations." These words link to my homepage, http://www.pescepr.com, which also includes the words "affordable public relations."

Body - The body contains more detailed and supporting information relating to the announcement.

Quote - One or two quotes can be included in the release. The quote should be strategic, insightful and offer a relevant perspective as it relates to the announcement. The person quoted could be a representative from the company and/or a third party expert.

Boilerplate - The boilerplate is one paragraph at the end of the release with basic background facts on the company - company launch date, private vs. public, Web site, etc.

For a press release template, please visit my Web Site

By: Thea Zagata

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

Thea Zagata is the founder of Pesce Public Relations. The company is best known for its popular DIY PR Packs, which empowers small business public relations clients with the tools they need to secure their own publicity. For more PR tips and tricks, visit her blog on her Web site or follow her on twitter @DIYPublicity