How to write a Press Release

We’ve all been waiting for it, and finally 2021 is here. Over the holidays Lennox has been buzzing with visitors. It’s been fantastic to see local businesses being supported after such a trying year.

Success stories are popping up all over the place and if that’s you, it should be part of your marketing strategy to tell people about it. Social media is great at spreading awareness, but a story in the media, whether in a newspaper, magazine or on the TV or radio is unparalleled. Getting your story ‘published’ is the best form of word-of-mouth marketing you can get. We refer to this as ‘earned media’ and it is more trusted and credible to the viewer than ‘paid (owned) media’ as it is seen as unbiased. Naturally, people get talking and before you know it, you will hopefully see an impact on your business in terms of customers and sales.

When something newsworthy happens, let the media know about it by sending them a press release. Journalists are busy bees, so when writing a press release, there is a bit of a recipe to follow to make their life easier.

  1. A Strong and Informative Title

The title is the first thing the journalist will read, so it must clearly describe your story, grab attention and not be too long. This will become your email subject when you send press release out to publications. If it’s boring, the email won’t be opened.

 

  1. Your Subheading is Everything

Journalists receive hundreds of press releases, so don’t have time to read them all. Write a sentence or two that sums up your story and this will become your subheading. Make sure you answer all the Who, Where, When, What, How and Why questions.

 

  1. Talk about the Important Things First

Your press release is not an essay. Like a news article, you need to include the most important and relevant information towards the beginning. When you’ve done this, you can go into more detail, adding quotes and interesting facts about your story.

 

  1. Include Photos with People in Them

Send photos (with people in them) along with your press release. Photos make things more engaging for readers and helps them relate to your story. By including a variety of photos that are captioned, you’ll give your story a better chance of being published.

 

  1. Quotes are important 

Boost the credibility of your story with quotes from the business owners, customers, members of the community…whoever is relevant.

 

  1. Your contact details

Often, journalists will want to get in touch to organise interviews, take photos or learn more. Include your contact details, so they can get in touch.

 

  1. Boilerplate

Appearing at the bottom of every press release, is an outline of your company, products, services, awards and website and social links.

 

And with that fine-tuned recipe, you’ll have a press release ready to send to publications. Happy writing !

Related tag: Digital Marketing Byron Bay

 

Proud of our recent media coverage for Club Lennox

We're proud of our recent media coverage for our client Club Lennox and their newest green initiative - installing a roof top solar system that will power two-thirds of the club.

In the media, we gained free exposure across several media platforms, including Club Lennox's General Manager Geoff Martin talking to Prime North Coast News and airing on TV, in print via Lennox Wave and Ballina Advocate and in online articles via The Northern Star (see below) and the SAE Group.

Solar-system-will-power-two-thirds-of-Club-Lennox-Northern-Star