Press Releases & Feature Articles

Press Releases

Only 1 press release in 10 is published by any newspaper and the proportion they are accepted by a broad spectrum of press is lower still.

Three main reasons for failure are:

1. A release may not contain news or if it does it is so insignificant or so specialised that no one is interested except the issuer.
2. Many releases are badly written, include too much technical material and jargon and hide the real story deep in the body of the press release.  This is the most common reason for a release failure.
3. Many releases are not targeted accurately and are sent with a scatter gun approach to all contacts on the media list.

A successful press releases follows certain rules such as:

• A single A4 page is the ideal length.
• Unnecessary and pointless phrases such as ‘announces’ or ‘is pleased to announce’ should be avoided.
• Email is the best way to distribute a release as this helps the journalist to edit the story.
• Always date the release.
• A short eye-catching headline is needed to catch the attention of a busy news editor.
• The main facts must be included in a short first paragraph.  The ideal release should still be able to work if only the first paragraph is printed.
• Quotes such be included, attributed to a named senior individual for impact, if the target press are local the branch manager will be more appropriate.
• Each paragraph should be no more than three sentences with just one or two for the first paragraph.
• Too much detail detracts from the impact – accuracy is paramount.
• A good journalistic style is better than legal niceties.
• Jargon and abbreviations should always be avoided.
• Superlatives such as best and first or excellent should be avoided as well.
• A brief concluding statement about the organisation’s activities should be include at the end.
• The release should finish with ‘Ends’ to avoid confusion.
• A contact name both daytime and out of hours telephone numbers should be included at the foot of the release
• It may be best to provide several versions of the same release to provide for different audiences.  Technical publications may appreciate a longer version of the release with a data or spec sheet.
• A good photograph adds to the story.  Make sure it is suitably captioned.
• Using an embargo reduces the chance of the story breaking too early but don’t use it unless you really have to.

For examples go to https://iagre.org/PressReleases

Distribution

The importance of up to date mailing lists cannot be over emphasised.

Feature Articles

It is possible to interest journalists in writing an article about an organisation, its work or an interview with a significant member of staff.  Newspapers and magazines might also prefer a PR person in-house or an agency to prepare the feature.

The best types of features are those which follow the same rules as the material provided by the publications own editorial team. 

Material might include:

• Reviews of company products or innovations for regular features on the market in trade publications.
• Authoritative pieces on developments in the industry or sector ghosted for directors or senior managers.
• Advice pieces which might have the by-line of a senior member of management for general use but which can be offered to local newspapers as localised pieces carrying the name of the manager.
• Review or overview pieces signed by the company’s economist and offered to the general and specialised press as an alternative to something by one of their own specialists.

General rules:

• Always have a start, a middle and an end.
• Always write to the length specified by the editor.
• Most readers will decide whether to continue or move on to another item very quickly, so the first paragraph or two will mark the feature as a success or failure.
• Be objective when writing about industry developments.
• Provide portrait photographs of the author or products.
• Identify the author’s job title.
• Always make sure the official author is happy with the article and give them the opportunity to make changes.