By using our website you agree that we use cookies. More information

| Agree

Blog

10 Steps to Writing a Press Release

Press Release

A press release is a 400- to 600-word announcement about your company. It is shared with the media to generate positive coverage. Well written, it can dramatically increase your brand awareness.

A good press release contains a compelling headline, a meaningful introduction and informative content. It follows certain style and formatting guidelines. This ensures that the respective addressees (journalists, media representatives, bloggers, etc.) can read your information quickly and easily.

Download our free template for a press release as Word-, Pages- or PDF file.

A successful press release effectively and concisely conveys the Who, What, What, Where, When and Why of your message - all in a properly formatted document with heading, subheading, introductory and body paragraphs, a quote, company description and contact information. We have put together 10 points to help you write a good press release:

1. Determine the topic and the target group

The topic is the current news you want to share with the media. This can be anything from a product release, important information about your company to an event. Knowing the specific topic will not only help you to gather the crucial information, but also who your audience is. So make sure you describe your concern or message clearly and concisely.

2. Format your press release

Before you start writing, set up your document. Use a standard word-processing software, pay attention to margins, fonts (Arial or Times New Roman), and sizes. Correct, consistent formatting makes it easy for journalists to find the important information in your press release quickly and easily.

3. Add release details

Specify when the information is to be published. Let the recipient know whether you want it to be published immediately or after a certain date (embargo). In the latter case, write "Prohibited until [date]" and the date on which the information can be published.

4. Start with a concise headline

The title of your press release should be between 65 and 80 characters long and serve as the title. The headline should be concise and persuasive and clearly communicate your primary message.

In addition, consider using keywords in your headline that rank well in Google. While press releases generally don't have much SEO value, they can appear in Google search results if they contain keywords that people frequently use in their search.

5. Formulate an explanatory subtitle that motivates you to read on.

The subtitle is centered directly below the heading and does not exceed 20 words. They are intended to provide additional information about your messages and at the same time encourage further reading. It should be consistent with the main heading, but also provide more information.

6. Create a powerful introduction

The introduction consists of 50 words or less and is determined by the location of the company and the date of the press release. It also answers five questions in two to four sentences:

  • Who - Who is involved? Which company? Which persons?
  • What - What happened? What is the story? What is going on here?
  • Where - Where did it happen or where will it happen?
  • When - When did it happen? When will it happen?
  • Why - Why is it important for the reader?

These sentences are crucial because few people read beyond the introduction of a press release.

7. Develop your story in the text block

The text of your press release should contain three to five paragraphs and follow the introduction. Write these sections as precisely as possible - ideally no more than 300 words - and add any specific details on your topic. To create more interest and credibility, close with a clear call to action (CTA) and include a quote or image to support your message or message.

8. Add a company description

The last big part of your press release is the information about your company. In addition to the general company data, a short description informs readers about who and where your company is and what it does. A good company description usually consists of 30 to 100 words. Write this information below the last paragraph.

9. Include contact information

Provide contact information for a specific person in your organization who can answer questions about your press release. It is important to include your direct email address, phone number, and social media handles, if available, instead of a general company contact address.

10. Distribute your press release

Now that you have written your press release, you are ready to put it in the hands of journalists, reporters, bloggers and media representatives. You can distribute your press release in three ways: by posting it on your website, by using sales services, and by sharing a link to social media. For best results, use all three distribution methods.

Plan and control all your marketing activities with Merlin Project

Let's put this into context: press releases are only one part of the marketing activities in companies. In addition there are mailings to customers, social media activities, blog posts, etc.

The next challenge is to make the use of numerous marketing tools to build an Omnichannel presence consistent and transparent. Efficient marketing control is the key to success.

With Merlin Project you can clearly present complex campaign processes, highlight dependencies and illustrate your milestones in the overall project. The project plan is up-to-date because you can map the constant postponement of delivery dates and approvals with just a few clicks. So you always have a status overview, add your notes to it and add open points or to-dos.

Thanks to the filters, extensive overall plans are quickly reduced to the required information. You maintain the entire project in one file.

Regardless of the applied project management method, Merlin Project lets you map your projects in waterfalls or agilely. If required, the Kanban board is created and available in the same document as the classic Gantt chart.

Posted by Stefanie Blome on June 21st, 2019 under Project Management
Tags: PR free template multi-channel marketing

Merlin Project on the Mac and iPad

Your ideas, our magic – make projects easy! Test now 30 days for free.