By Jane Sherwin

Does a press release take years of experience to write well? No, indeed. An effective press release follows a standard or boilerplate format, and for a reason: it’s designed to capture the attention of news outlets everywhere, whether on line or in print. And some people say that a press release, on line, can remain out there for years, gaining attention and search engine optimization. Here are some tips for writing great press release headlines, along with a standard outline for your content.

THE HEADER

The most powerful part of a good press release, and the one that does benefit from skill and experience, is a header that grabs your reader and makes very clear why it’s important to read the rest of your release. The header is like a newspaper headline, and is sometimes called “the hook”-because it does just that, it captures your reader’s attention. With practice, you can produce headers that draw your readers in, and may even be used by the newspaper or on line site that is presenting your news.

One way to practice is to study newspaper and magazine headlines. Which ones intrigue you, or make you want to read more? How do they draw you in? Consider these sets of examples, each one from low to high effectiveness.

Example #1:

LOW: New hi-tech snow shovel now on the market

MEDIUM: Hi-tech snow shovel a marvel of innovation

HIGH: Hi-tech shovel makes even heavy snow easy to remove

Example #2:

LOW: Association of American House Painters Conference to take place in February

MEDIUM: House painters will gather to explore latest in quality, technique and color

HIGH: Chemistry and color to be the center of house painters conference in February

Example #3:

LOW: Community Day Center announces new executive director

MEDIUM: New Director brings valued experience to community day center

HIGH: Former head of pioneering shelter to lead community day services

OUTLINE FOR STANDARD PRESS RELEASES

Here’s a boilerplate outline for any and every press release you may write:

FOR: Who is the organization releasing the information? Your hospital, yourself, your company, your school?

DATE: Date of the release

CONTACT: Who is the person to call for more information about the press release itself? Usually this is a public relations contact.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE or EMBARGOED UNTIL DATE GIVEN: This tells readers, especially reporters, either that the information is immediately available for public consumption or that they are asked to wait.

TITLE This is where you can do your most creative work. It’s where “the hook” belongs.

BODY: Consider the “who what why where when” rule for the body of your release. Arrange your information by the level of its importance–start with the most important point. If your association is holding a major annual conference, start with that and with the theme of the conference-why is the conference taking place? What are the advantages of attending? Tell your readers where and when the conference is to be held. Provide background about your association, number of members, how long it’s been in existence. And, finally, tell readers whom to contact for more information, whether this is a phone number or a web link.

About the Author: Learn more about Jane at

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. Subscribe to Jane’s free monthly e-newsletter at

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for practical tips on communicating effectively with customers, clients, employees and the public. Visit Jane’s blog, ‘Marketing with Newsletters,’ at ht

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