A press release, or a media release as it is sometimes called, is a way to make an announcement to the news media about your organization and your web site. This could be a product release, a webinar, a new version of software, a new section in your web site, the latest financial results, a new strategic partnership and so on. The list is endless.



Press releases are used by all the major companies to inform the press about what is going on in the company. As you read on, you will discover the different parts that make up a press release, how to write them well and how to distribute press releases on-line including at the Free Press Release Center.

A press release is made up of different sections. It starts with a headline then there is a summary of the press release and then this is followed by the actual contents and finally the contact information. A well written press release can capture the attention of journalists and get you good exposure. In preparing your press release you need to consider several key things which are outlined below.

The first part of the press release is the headline. The headline is in title case. This Means You Capitalize Every Word Except for Prepositions and Articles of Three Words or Less and Short. Ideally the headline should not be more than 170 characters and it doesn't end with the period (or a full stop as the British would say). Your headline needs to be sharp, to the point and eye catching. Some journalists see hundreds of press releases each day. Your one needs to stand out.

The summary paragraph is a synopsis of the press release in regular sentence form. It doesn't merely repeat the headline or opening paragraph. It just tells the story in a different way.

Next comes the actual text of the press release. This is known as the body of the press release. The first paragraph, known as the "lead", contains the most important information. After that you need to remember that in a press release you need to keep sentences and paragraphs short, about three or four lines per paragraph. The first couple of paragraphs should cover the who, what, when, where, why and how questions. The rest of the press release expounds on the information provided in the lead paragraph. It includes quotes from key staff, customers or subject matter experts. It contains more details about the news you have to tell.

At the end of the press release you need to include a short back ground paragraph about your organization. You then need to list the contact person's name and phone number. You should include a phone number so that journalists can contact you easily without having to wait for your to reply to emails.

One very important thing to remember when writing a press release is that you are writing for journalists and not for potential clients, consumers or visitors to your web site. Journalists use press releases as a starting point for a larger story or feature. Press releases written as sales pieces will be completely ignored.

It can be very difficult to get your press release noticed by a journalist. It is a sad fact, but many press releases are quickly tossed in the trash without being studied. Journalists have deadlines and a job to do. Press releases help them do that job, but unless your press release stands out it will be in tomorrows garbage collection. You need to get the journalists attention. The press release needs to be good. It needs to contain news. And most of all it needs to be better than the other 200 press releases the journalist saw that day.

Once your press release is ready you need to distribute it. A good starting place is the Free Press Release Center. The power of FPRC is in its keyword linking. With each press release the you can choose a keyword and a URL (different to your main site URL) which will appear as a link (using the keyword as the anchor text) in your press release. This gives you free links to your site using the anchor text of your choice. Plus it is in a natural context, i.e. the text of their release.

A press release is a great way to get media attention for your web site. Used well your web site news can be tomorrows headlines.

About the author: Gary Sims has a degree in Business Information Systems from a British university. He worked for 10 years as a software engineer and is now a freelance consultant and writer. You can contact him at the Free Press Release Center.