When was press release created

Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices. My comment: Pretty good for a high tech press release. However, I've boldfaced the nonsense words which attempt to create excitement but which actually fall flat.

What would have made this release stronger would be some reason for the reader to care. For example, if they'd positioned this as something fitting into a larger trend about buying high tech in China, they would have gotten far more coverage. Sharpie Liquid Pencil revolutionizes the classic, tried and true writing instrument - the pencil - with cutting-edge liquid graphite technology that writes smooth like a pen but erases like a pencil, eliminating the frustration of broken or dulling pencil leads.

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The Sharpie Pen doesn't bleed through paper and is perfect for everyday writing. My comment: Again, not too bad, but it still has some biz-blab, which I've boldfaced.

Eliminate the biz-blab and you've got a fairly interesting little story. BTW, note how well this press release dovetails with the branding philosophy propounded by Newell Rubbermaid's head of global sales in the post " Interview with a Sales Superstar. New study shows 72 percent of U. To commemorate the U. Although consumers love their phones, there is growing annoyance with the distracted behaviors people exhibit while their heads are buried in their phones.

Most U. Key findings from the study show the following from the surveyed adults:. Seventy-two percent identified bad mobile phone behavior as one of their top 10 pet peeves, but only 18 percent of mobile phone owners admit they are guilty of displaying such behavior. Nineteen percent of phone owners between the ages of 18 and 24 have dropped their phone in a toilet. For example, if a national organization announces facts that are relevant to your cause, you could make a good story by asking local experts for their reactions.

So what do you need to write your press release? Almost all newspapers, as well as TV and radio stations — even the smallest ones — prefer to receive material electronically.

Next, you need to have a story to tell your community. The story should focus on what your group is currently doing or on a future event, not something you did last month.

There are some exceptions here. Make them read like news article — Study news articles in your local paper. News articles will have the five Ws and the H in their beginning paragraph. This is called the lead. These basic elements are:.

The coalition called this lending pattern lamentable, saying it is why many of Maplewood minority and low-income neighborhoods have a much lower rate of home ownership [why].

Why is it important to the community? Why should they care? Emphasize one or two of the basic elements above. Be as provocative as you can — Most media, especially in large cities, get tons of releases every week, so you want to make yours stand out.

Find an eye-opening aspect to your release, or at least make sure your points are strongly emphasized. For example, perhaps pro-life and pro choice activist groups are working together on teen pregnancy prevention, or real estate groups and housing activists are working together on a housing initiative. In both these cases, the organizations involved might use their unusual situations to create press releases the media would snap up. Make the headline and lead as clear as possible — They need to hook the reader quickly or the release will be skimmed over and forgotten.

The strong leads are more specific, refer to actions rather than events, and imply or describe a conflict. All of these elements are attention-grabbers. The more of them and others — celebrity names, human interest you can include in a headline, the more likely people are to read your release.

Letterhead and formatting should look professional, and no typos! The release should also have short, easily readable sentences and paragraphs, as news articles do. Consider sending other materials with your release — If you already have contact with a reporter or editor, you may want to send a short cover letter reminding him or her of your previous conversation.

Maybe you know this reporter has a personal interest in your issue. There are a number of possible formats, but these are some of the more widely accepted. Short paragraphs with a space between each and slightly wider than normal margins are helpful. Your release should be relatively short — two or three pages, max. Many papers have limitations on the number of pages they can print, and therefore anything they publish has to be short enough to fit into their format.

Others try to fill as much space as possible, and thus will be happy to publish longer pieces. The same restrictions — or lack of them — might apply to broadcast media.

Attachments — a summary of the key points can help the reporter write an article, if the paper decides that would be more appropriate than a press release for the story you have to tell.

Several full quotes should also be included — try to make the quotes sound like they were spoken, not written. You can certainly refer to them by the acronym later on in the story, but the first reference should always be by name. If you have to include numbers or statistics in your article, spell out numbers and percentages less than ten. Month Day, Year -. Location and date line for press releases.

Its purpose is to give journalists a quick snapshot to decide whether the story is a good fit for their audiences. Stick to basic facts here and avoid hyping or trying to sell products or services, but do mention the angle that makes your announcement newsworthy. Also note how the introduction includes links. Press release introductory paragraph example.

The next few paragraphs in the body of your press release should serve to complete the story you introduced in the headline and first body paragraph. It should zero in on the newsworthy angle of the story and elaborate on it with details journalists can use to develop that angle.

Be sure to follow AP style guidelines so media outlets can use your text as is. Use short paragraphs, of approximately two to four sentences each, and feel free to include statistics in addition to graphics to back up your claims. Finally, include details that make it super-easy for journalists to cover your story.

If, for example, you are inviting a journalist to cover a company event, be sure to include details on how they can attend the event for free.

If your event is open to the public or specific groups, you should also include information about how they can attend the event, such as details about how to RSVP or register. That way, journalists have the details needed to invite their audiences beforehand and to attend themselves to write a follow-up story.

This means double the coverage from one press release. Their command of the press release format and ability to hone in on newsworthy angles makes it more likely your news will be picked up by media outlets. Check out our guide on press writing services for more information. As part of any good news story, quotes allow journalists to round out their stories with a human perspective.

For example, if you have a happy customer, you can add a testimonial quote. If you are introducing a new C-level employee, quotes from the new hire about how happy they are about their new role, and from another executive about what this change in the C-suite will mean for the business or its customers, offers more depth to the story.

Include a couple of quotes so journalists can choose their human perspective angle. Interactive elements are parts of your press release that journalists must complete an action to consume, such as clicking a link, playing a video, or downloading something. They allow journalists and readers to further explore your story while giving your business more ways of tracking their preferences and actions. In addition to the interactive elements mentioned above, common interactive content includes hashtags, social media handles, interactive images, and downloadable infographics and portable document files PDFs , such as an e-book, report, or case study.

These content elements aid journalists in digging deeper as they cover your news. For example, a branded hashtag tied to a product launch gives journalists a way to see firsthand what consumers think of it, which influencers are creating buzz around it, and be alerted when upgrades or complimentary products come out.

Likewise, interactive images could walk journalists through a virtual product tour and allow you to track how far they went in the product tour, and which product features they lingered on due to heightened interest. The final paragraph of your press release is called a boilerplate. You should also provide a link to your website and a media contact, which is the primary email or phone number a journalist should contact for more information.

Your boilerplate should be less than words. All companies mentioned in the press release should have their own boilerplate. For more details on how to write a boilerplate, read how to write a boilerplate. Finally, include an end notation at the bottom of your press release document. This tells the media they have accessed the whole document. Whether your press release is only one page long or has a second page, the final page should end with three centered pound signs, like this:.

A simple sentence like this is appropriate formatted in point Times New Roman or Arial font :. Offering journalists multimedia resources in your press release allows them to more effectively craft a compelling story. Press releases with multimedia create more engagement across platforms like social media, blogs, and even print outlets.

This is because journalists know that videos and other multimedia can increase engagement threefold. Embedded multimedia is viewable directly from published news wire stories, while attached multimedia must be accessed via hyperlink from within the article. That said, many press release distribution service plans include free multimedia attachments, which still provide journalists with visuals they can use to add depth to their stories.

Each service has guidelines for formatting the multimedia that is attached or will be embedded in your press release, including file size, type, and quality and resolution limitations. Be sure to include your original files as well as reformatted files so your media contacts can use them if they believe it will add value to their story angle.

When emailing your press release to the media, include links to original assets so they are available in their highest-quality form and not just a reduced-size copy which is often of lower quality.