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Working words

Why craft better news releases?
Because the payoff can be really big

by Natalie Canavor and Claire Meirowitz

Written any good news releases lately?

Though many of us in business communication churn them out regularly, we often don't take as much care crafting them as we do with other vehicles like articles or brochures. And now that we're delivering most releases electronically these days, we may not think subjects through as thoroughly or present them as carefully as we did when paper was the medium.

This carelessness can play out in missed opportunities: The news release, which nearly everyone calls a press release, is still a mainstay of organizational communication. Whether you're announcing the appointment of a new CEO or a new product, holding a fundraiser for your nonprofit, or spreading the word about an upcoming meeting, you'll need to write a news release. And it should always be a release that will accomplish your goals.

Here are some tips drawn from our experience on both sides of the desk: as writers of news releases, when we wore public relations hats, and as publication editors who've put in plenty of time working with releases written by others. We also asked some editors we know for their likes and dislikes, to give you an edge in issuing news releases that really work.

1. Be clear on your purpose.Your goal is to reach the public, but the media is the gatekeeper—so see the media as your first target audience and construct a release that makes what's important to their audience crystal clear. "It annoys me when I can't find the hook," says Melissa L. Bogen, a medical editor whose work includes summarizing numerous press releases. "Why is this product unique? Why is it newsworthy?"

2. Be clear on what you want to achieve. Are you trying to move people to action, e.g., to make a donation or attend an event? One of us was once asked to write a release promoting a special event, and only after it was ready did the fact emerge that the event was not open to the public. This meant the release had no purpose and therefore the media had no reason to use it. Be sure to find out such facts at the start and be able to explain to the client or department head why issuing the release would be a mistake.

3. Know your story. What's interesting, valuable, relevant to the people you want to reach? "Sometimes the information can be much more interesting than the release sounds," says Claude Solnik, health care and special sections editor of the weekly Long Island Business News. "For example, it's not always a new product that's important but what it does that matters. So if you tell me you have a new treatment for diabetes, it's not the medication I'm interested in, but how will it help people? How does it help the world?" Editors, Solnik points out, are always scouting news releases for bigger stories, so stay tuned to the forest, not just the trees, and you may earn your company a bigger spotlight.

4. Keep it clean and simple. Don't use a lot of adjectives, adverbs, clichés and empty rhetoric. If your boss insists on the empty words, try pointing out that your target publications don't run that kind of material. And don't use jargon. "The biggest problem I find in releases," says Solnik, who routinely reads more than 100 per week, "is that they use a lot of technical language instead of explaining things in simple terms. It feels like the writers try to make things complicated, and it's confusing—makes me think they're trying to impress their clients and leaving us to figure out what actually happened."

5. Know the media you're targeting, and its angles. "Newsworthiness is the hurdle that a release must clear to get into a story or column I write," says Ken Schachter, who covers technology and the regional business scene for Long Island Business News. "The essence is to understand the publication and speak the reporter's language." He doesn’t cover product launches, for example, whose significance can be hard for reporters to judge. "We cover transactional issues—mergers and acquisitions, trends, business strategies. So don't tell us you've just developed floor wax version number two. Say, 'Hey, this product is going to triple our business in five years and here's some evidence to prove that.'"

6. Take the trouble to tailor to different kinds of media.

• If it's TV: What's visual? Exactly when will it happen? When are the action options? Who can be interviewed on camera?
  


• If it's for local media: What's the local angle? Will there be local residents to interview?
  


• If it's for radio: Will there be quotable people around? Can this event be described to listeners so they'll get the idea?
  
  
• If it's for print: What's the deadline or deadlines? Can you send the release on a slow news day so the paper will be more likely to slot in your news?
  

7. Don't use quotes for the boring and obvious and rhetorically ridiculous, nor for hard facts. Quotes should preferably be real, conversational sounding, and should say something about how a speaker sees or feels about the subject. Ask the person good questions to get the right quote: Why does this matter to you? What will this conference accomplish? Why are you invested in the event? How will this new product affect your company's bottom line?

8. Write for clear and quick reading. Use headlines and decks that provide news in a nutshell. Short paragraphs, words and sentences. Active voice. Be succinct. Get to the point. Avoid "announced today" statements. Don't weight the release down with too much detail. Don't skip the essentials. Edit! Rewrite! Never send your first off-the-top-of-your-head release! Just because most releases are now delivered electronically doesn't mean they don't demand your best writing and editing skills.

The bottom line: Preparing an effective news release calls for all your best writing and thinking skills. It's worth the time because it gives you the ability to reach people and tell your story in media your audience trusts, without paying expensive advertising bills.

And collectively, creating newsworthy, timely releases can build credibility for both you and your organization like no other avenue. Every editor and reporter we know values good releases and looks at new ones from time-proven sources with special interest and attention. That's the bedrock of a strong media relations program—and
what you want for your organization.

In a future column, we'll give you specific ideas for writing powerful press releases.

Don't forget the essentials

• At the top: Be sure to include complete, reliable contact information, including your cell phone number. For a reporter, not being able to reach someone for more information—or being called back two days later—can be maddening.
  


• Make sure that you or another public relations person is not only reachable, but also able to quickly facilitate a conversation with a relevant company person.
  


• At the end: Don’t forget a coda/boilerplate statement about your organization. This should briefly say what your company or organization does and should include your web site address.
  


• Also at the end: Include a street address and brief directions if you’re trying to get a reporter to cover the event. Make it easy for him or her to find you.