If you’ve never written a press release, much less read one, you might not know what a boilerplate is. So let’s take a look at the history, form and function of the boilerplate.

A Little History

In the mid-1800s, “boilerplates” were steel plates used to make steam boilers for ships. Fifty years later, the newspaper industry adopted the word, and its connotation of sturdiness and reusability, to refer to “a unit of writing that can be used over and over without change.”*

The Modern-day Boilerplate

Today, a boilerplate, in reference to news releases, is the last section of the release where you include general company information.  This chunk of text is usually reused for each news release and across other marketing channels so that messaging is consistent despite the type of communication that is being distributed. 

An example of a company boilerplate:

Write Your Own Boilerplate

To see more examples of company boilerplates, visit the Marketwire website and click on any of the recent press releases that were being distributed. If your company does not have a boilerplate in place, here are seven tips to help you write one:

1. Keep the boilerplate to one to two paragraphs max, to make it concise and easily scannable.  Remember, you are able to tell folks much more about your company on an “About Us” corporate web page.
2. Stick to verifiable facts.  Do not make any claims or insert any opinions in your boilerplate. Standard factoids might include: the date the company was founded, office locations, public or private status, etc.  Avoid statements that are open to interpretation.
3. Include a link to your company website.  If you’re submitting a press release, there is a high probability that you have used an anchor text to boost your SEO campaign.  It’s a good idea to insert a full hyperlink to your company website.
4. Consider a positioning statement or an added value statement.  In addition to the usual company facts, including a compelling fact about your organization attracts readers to a section of your press release that is often overlooked.  For example, if you’re a nonprofit organization, include interesting stats on research, volunteer participation, fund-raising or event attendance.  Reporters and media can take these stats and promote your news release even more.
5. Avoid industry jargon.  Just as we recommend avoiding industry jargon in your press release, avoid it in the boilerplate as well.
6. Use relevant keywords.  SEO still matters, whether it’s the first 150 words of a press release or the last 50. Be sure to insert the right keywords so that the boilerplate continues to flow.
7. Keep it up to date.  Once in a while, re-read your boilerplate to make sure it’s accurate and, if it’s not, revise it so that it remains current and factual.

Do you have any additional tips on perfecting a company boilerplate?  Please comment below or Tweet or Facebook me.  Also, feel free to copy and paste your boilerplate (or link your press release) for others to comment and make suggestions.

*Source: Online Etymology Dictionary

We’re tied to our electronic devices. Writing? Blogging? Emailing? Texting? No problem. But when it comes to oral communications, many of us fall short. We pepper our conversations with “uhs,” “you-knows” and other annoying sounds and filler words. Poor body language, vocal variety and tone distract from our message. We ramble and bury (or omit) the important points we want to make. And we wonder why people don’t “hear” what we’re saying. These shortfalls are magnified when we speak in front of an audience, whether it’s a small group of peers or [yikes] hundreds.

Unless we’re lucky enough to be on the speaker circuit or are a company spokesperson, we usually don’t get many opportunities to practice our public speaking. So how do we become confident and proficient at this vital, yet often-underdeveloped skill? Here’s an idea: join Toastmasters. It’s an international organization with “self-help” groups all over and a curriculum based on years of refining what it takes to be a good speaker (Toastmasters was founded in 1924).

Simply Google “Toastmasters” and you’re sure to find a group near your workplace or home. Most groups meet weekly, so you get frequent opportunities to public-speak, whether that means via prepared, formal or short impromptu speeches. Another bonus: Because members play different roles during meetings, such as “Ah” Counter, Grammarian, Speech Evaluator, Topic Master and Toastmaster, the organization gives you valuable speaking and leadership training that carries over to the workplace.

From my two years in Toastmasters (I wish I had joined years ago), I can attest to its effectiveness. Here are a few nuggets I’d like to share with you:

• Consider your audience: it’s all about what they hear and understand, not what you hear yourself say. You can deliver almost any subject to almost any group, but it’s how you “spin” it that separates a successful speech from one not so well-received. One thing that’s great about many Toastmasters groups is that members hail from many walks of life and cultures. This forces you to modify your subject matter and speech delivery accordingly. It’s also great practice for your business audiences, especially if you’re a marketing person presenting your organization’s PR strategy to a group of operational folks, for instance.
• Style is far more important than the words you use in order to get your messages across. According to a well-known study by Professor Albert Mehrabian, only 7 percent of meaning is in the words that are spoken, while 38 percent is in the way words are said and a whopping 55 percent is in facial expression.
• A little nervousness is helpful; too much is debilitating. Public speaking can be terrifying for many of us. For our first couple of speeches, we’re thankful that we made it through without fainting or coming across like an idiot. But the more often you speak, the more you’re able to concentrate on the finer points of your performance. And a performance it is. Well-known speakers still get nervous, but just enough to keep them on their toes.
• Know your material and practice, practice, practice. Most people start out with speaker notes. Although they’re not a “bad” thing, notes can turn into a crutch that prevents you from connecting with your audience. With practice, you’ll embrace your messages and be able to deliver them with enthusiasm and commitment. I’ve found that even though I have notes (in case I suffer a total brain lapse), I usually never refer to them. Although you’ll deliver your speeches in different ways each time you practice them, without notes you’ll come off as more sincere while establishing better audience rapport.

Keep these tips in mind when you participate in meetings, rub elbows at networking events and make small-talk at cocktail parties. Every social or professional encounter can be an opportunity to practice. There are many more tips to becoming a successful public speaker, but nothing replaces just getting out there and doing it. And Toastmasters is a low-cost, nurturing and effective venue. You can find out more about Toastmasters at www.toastmasters.org.

Connecting your product or service with seasonal, lifestyle and special interest stories can make your news and business flourish. A feature press release does just that yet is often overlooked as a marketing tactic. This type of content is what media outlets need to fill occasional holes and create interesting, thought-provoking articles that consumers like to read. Feature releases cater to certain lifestyles or provide benefit to those with special interests. With a longer shelf-life (sometimes called “evergreen”), feature releases can be recycled and can thrive in markets outside your industry, allowing your news to reach new audiences and consumers.

Let’s entertain this idea further…

Imagine that your company sells cameras and you have a new model. As an expert, you know this product could sell, but you need to get the word out. A feature press release tells your story and markets your product to consumers, without a hard sell.  Mother’s Day is around the corner, and with all of the opportunities it brings for photography, Mother’s Day provides a perfect opportunity to promote your camera to consumers and the media.  Tailoring your feature release into a story or a “how-to” article about cameras and photography gives consumers something interesting and useful to read, and media outlets a story to run in print or online.

Sticking with this camera/Mother’s Day example, here are a few suggestions to incorporate into your feature release:

• Write about your new product, positioning it as a great gift idea for Mother’s Day.
• Mention the benefits of your product. For instance: Cameras can create a lifetime of memories by capturing great photos for years to come.
• Offer fun ideas that relate to cameras, photography and Mother’s Day, such as “Mommy and Me” scrapbooking parties (host one in your store and promote it in your release), or offer great photography tips for the perfect Mother’s Day shot.

This type of expert opinion and “how-to” can help your bottom line by creating brand awareness, in turn increasing sales. Creating feature releases connect people from different walks of life that can relate to Mother’s Day and picture-taking. Feature releases also add depth to your messaging and extend your news beyond your industry, giving editors something to print or journalists story angles and sources.

To write your own feature press release put on your thinking cap. Explore creative ways and different angles to present your message to the media (Hint: Think “out-of-the-box”).

5 tips to start writing your feature release:

• Make the headline and first sentence grab the reader’s attention.
• Write your release as if it’s an article, not a commercial.
• Don’t add a boilerplate. Even though editors normally don’t read them, feature stories are not about business events or forward-looking content that require corporate backgrounders.
• Always include detailed contact information so editors and consumers have someone to reach out to.
• Use multimedia and search engine optimization to draw attention to your story and gain online visibility.

For more helpful hints, view Marketwire’s 10 Tips for Writing a Feature Press Release, which will guide you to writing a successful release. For another Marketwire article on features releases, read “Finding your features story.”

Marketwire allows you to stay connected with journalists and media outlets for maximum exposure. For a list of submission dates as well as holidays and events, view our features calendar, so you’re constantly in the loop for upcoming deadlines. Plunge in and view an example of a feature press release to gather more ideas and information for your own release. For any questions, ideas or suggestions contact Marketwire and see how you can take advantage of our Feature Newsline.

From the Editor’s Desk is a monthly series that highlights editorial tips, best practices and other useful tidbits of information, written by a member of Marketwire’s own editorial team.

As a member of Marketwire’s Editorial team, I read our clients’ press releases before they are distributed and have noticed that some of the most common mistakes have to do with times and dates.

Here are a few “time-sensitive” mishaps to avoid when writing your own press releases:

• Include the right time zone. When should you switch the time zone from Standard Time (ST) to Daylight Time (DT)?  In North America, until March 13, 2010, we’re in Standard Time; from March 14 through November 6, we’re in Daylight Time. Note that these dates change yearly, but generally occur around the same date. A great resource is http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock.
• Reporting earnings accurately. Is it time to report your company’s earnings?  Be sure to include the correct fiscal quarter.  Since companies are in various quarters of their fiscal years, look out for inconsistencies. But if you’re copying text from an old template, be sure to replace the old quarter with the current one.
• Know how to indicate the time of day. Another time issue that our editors often see is inconsistencies in “a.m.,” “am” and “AM.” Which is it? The Associated Press and The Canadian Press stylebooks, journalists’ go-to manuals, indicate the use of “a.m.” and “p.m.” as the official format, but consistency of style throughout the release is what’s most important and easier on the reader.
• Include the correct year. It may sound like an odd mistake, but it does happen, particularly around December and January, and the typical slip is to include the wrong year with the date. Did your event happen last November or December? Did your fiscal year begin in January? Make sure the date reflects the right year.

Don’t feel bad if one of these oversights appears in your releases because editors see them fairly regularly. The best way to catch mistakes is to proofread your work (more than once) and get as many eyes as possible to look at it before sending it out. But, if you’ve already hit “send,” not to worry — Marketwire editors are available around the clock to ensure your press release is interesting, informative and “in time”!

When evaluating a media monitoring service, there are many factors to consider: your scope of coverage, which provider to choose and the service tier that best fits your budget. However, while it may not seem to be a difficult choice, one of the most important decisions you will make is selecting the best keywords for your new monitoring account – keywords that will deliver the most relevant and targeted clips.

Choosing the right keywords and phrases is essentially a balancing act. If you pick terms that are too broad, they will return hundreds (or thousands) of clips per day, leaving you with a virtual stack too large to read through. However, if you pick terms that are too narrow (for example, just your company name or your name) – and you are not in the news at the moment – you may find you get very few or no daily results. In both of these cases, having too many clips can be as dangerous as having too few – both will leave you disappointed with your monitoring provider and its system capabilities.

So, for starters, what are some good keywords and terms to consider for your new monitoring account? In addition to the obvious (i.e., company name), be sure to think about your product names, trademarks, servicemarks and executive names. Then, moving to a broader level, you may want to consider your competitors and other industry peers or partners. Finally, on the broadest level, you should consider industry terms and keywords, geographic terms of interest and even subject-specific terms like disaster-preparedness news relative to your business. Ideally, most of your keywords should come from the first two of these tiers in order to return the most relevant results – and keep your daily clip-file to a manageable size.

Once you have some keywords in mind, think of ways to further refine them before adding them to your monitoring account. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Avoid acronyms as keywords. Above all else, beware the use of acronyms as a monitoring search-term. What might seem incredibly obvious to you (as the meaning behind the acronym) could be cryptic to your monitoring provider, leaving them to guess at the meaning behind the acronym. Also, acronyms increase the chances of returning false-positive clips many times over.
2. Use “wildcards” wherever possible. Many monitoring systems allow you to leave an ending series of letters off of your search term and/or to use a wildcard character (*) to generate broader results. For example “technolog*” would generate results for “technology,” “technologies” and “technologist.”
3. Think like a search engine. While it may sound obvious, think about your search term as if it were being typed into the query box on the front page of a major search-engine, like Google. When you enter a broad keyword, like “environment,” the search engine has no way to know if you’re referring to environment – in a climate or conservation sense – or of the economic, financial or hostile sort.
4. Add clarifying words. If there is a term that conveys the sense of your keyword, or makes a broad term more specific, include it as part of the search term. For example, if you are considering a word like “telecommunications” (very broad) as a monitoring keyword, be sure to supplement it with other terms like “public policy” or “lobbying” to get results closer to your intended topic.
5. Consider exact phrases for precise results. Many – if not all – monitoring providers offer support for exact phrases as part of keyword selection. Wherever possible, be sure to take advantage of this for more precise results, such as “travel to Mexico” or “Acme CEO John Smith.” However, be advised that monitoring systems have no tolerance for variations on an exact phrase, so it’s best to use these precise phrases sparingly.
6. Utilize case-sensitive searches wherever possible. If you have a search term, such as a proper name, that could be confused for a generic one (such as “White House” versus “white house”), you will likely want to use a case-sensitive search. This will instruct the system to identify a story as a clip only if a case-sensitive match is found, giving you a much higher rate of success when looking for names or phrases that could be easily confused with generic terms often found in unrelated articles.
7. Stay “near” and dear. One of the best ways to make a keyword more specific, aside from adding clarifying terms (in No. 4 above), is to look for other words to appear near your term. To achieve this, many providers offer a “near” function, allowing you to find clips where a second keyword appears within X words (five to 20 words, usually) of the first term. For a story on the “economic” environment, using a “near” search could help identify clips, while still giving you flexibility for those words to appear without being as specific as an exact phrase.
8. Learn to speak Boolean. Many search engines and database systems have taught us the Boolean language – if, or, not, and, etc. — and monitoring systems are no exception. In fact, many monitoring systems allow you to submit your search strings in Boolean format so they can be loaded directly into the system – allowing faster setup times and more precise control over the keywords going into a monitoring system. Here is a link to a primer on Boolean search, and a list of commands.

With these tips in mind, and some careful consideration of your search terms beforehand, you’re well on your way to selecting the best keywords for your monitoring account. Just remember: It’s rare to get the best results on the first pass, so it may take some tweaking and refining in the first few days in order to achieve the best results. But once your keywords are set up and performing correctly, they will require very little maintenance and will provide you with a stream of highly relevant reading material going forward.

Do

• Think like a search engine
• Consider the addition of clarifying terms to reflect sentiment or meaning
• Consider the use of wildcards to broaden a search term
• Use exact phrases and case-sensitive searches wherever possible
• Use search-engine tools (NEAR commands, Boolean terms, etc.) for further tuning

Don’t

• Use acronyms as keywords
• Assume your service provider will understand the meaning behind your keywords at first
• Expect the best results on day one; monitoring often requires keyword-tuning during initial setup
• Sign up for a monitoring provider without a hands-on trial to test their service

Keep in mind that many providers offer free trials of their monitoring services to help clients get started. At Marketwire, we allow clients an extensive, no-cost demo of our News Dashboard Monitoring solution. These trials are not just a free benefit, but are also necessary in order to help you get your keywords selected and refined — and to review an initial stream of clips to ensure your keywords are returning the best results.

At Marketwire, one of our most lauded competitive advantages is the consultative approach that we use in our daily interactions with clients who want to distribute their company news. Marketwire sales, customer service and editorial teams are available to help at every step of the way – from writing the release to submitting it for distribution – to ensure as best they can that your press release is set up for success.

But, because you’re dealing with the media (traditional and social), analysts and bloggers who are on constant information overload, a proper foundation for your press release is an absolute must, to even hope for a glance from their journalistic eyes. They need easy-to-read, digestible and newsworthy content in order to go through the dozens, even hundreds, of press releases they receive on a daily basis.

Here are a few basic but necessary tips to write a press release for those busy audiences:

1. Proofread your press release –Although our editors proofread every press release that comes into Marketwire, it should be a common practice for you to proofread your own press release as well. Ask another person to read your press release before submitting it. Journalists often use this trick when proofreading their own articles: Read your press release aloud. Not only will you catch grammatical errors, but you will also notice hiccups in style and flow. Don’t forget to use spell-check, but don’t rely on it either.
2. Avoid being too “sales-y” – The purpose of a press release is to inform your target audience about certain facts involving your company or organization: “Company ABC Acquires XYZ” or “Company ABC Releases New Product to Alleviate Pain.” Your press release is not a platform to blatantly sell your products or services. (Leave that to your advertising teams.) Instead, you are providing information and communicating news to your target audience, however persuasive your tone.
3. Avoid stuffing your press release with too many keywords – One of the biggest benefits in sending an online press release is its search engine optimization — SEO for short — benefits.  However, a common mistake that people make is overstuffing their news releases with too many keywords in the headline and body.  This is bad SEO practice.  By doing so, you dilute the keyword presence in your release.  Instead, focus on a couple of carefully placed keywords.
4. Incorporate anchor texts – Anchor texts are one of the best forms of SEO, but are often underused. Search engines use them to form algorithms for search results.  Using keywords in an anchor text, such as “press release distribution,” enhances the relevancy of the target page pertaining to the keywords used.  Thus, if you don’t insert anchor texts that link back to your website, you are not utilizing your press release distribution service to its full benefit.You can find additional information and resources on SEO tactics on Marketwire’s Welcome to PR 2.0 microsite. Read sections: Build Keywords and Optimize Concepts and Engage the Media and Consumers.
5. Maintain consistency — from headline to body – The headline, subhead and body of your news release should seamlessly interconnect to maintain consistency and proper flow. The first sentence should weave into the second, second into the third and so on.  With each sentence, provide a new tidbit of information that relates back to the first, but, in and of itself, can stand on its own.Example:First sentence: Company ABC acquires Company XYZ to form Company 123.

   Second sentence: Through the acquisition, the newly established company will reinvigorate neglected product lines and establish new ones.

   Third sentence: Older products will be redesigned, while concepts for new products will be drawn up as early as March. [It’s also common practice to include a quote in this paragraph to support the information in the release and further explain its newsworthiness.]

   Additionally, the first paragraph of the body should contain the main point, more or less reiterating the headline.  Because many in your target audience receive so many press releases every day, make your point quickly and concisely.

6. Avoid industry jargon – Write your press release at a 4th-grade reading level and avoid any industry jargon to ensure your news is comprehendible to the majority of your readers. Using “industry speak” can sometimes be a turn-off if readers can’t connect the jargon with the story.
7. Don’t forget to follow up – Sometimes, the information announced in a press release is so newsworthy that pick-up is almost inevitable and the issuer of that release needs to do very little in order for their release to “make news”  – food or toy recalls, a major shuffle within a company’s board of directors, consumer product launches, etc.  However, best practice dictates that a follow-up email, tweet or (gasp!) phone call can make for a more personal connection between the writer of the release and the intended audience.  Don’t think of distribution as the magic bullet for coverage, but instead, realize that distribution puts your news in front of the journalists, analysts, bloggers and influencers you want to reach.  Building strong, long-lasting relationships with those audiences is up to you.

As print media struggle to compete with other news sources such as blogs and online outlets, feature stories are growing in popularity because they attract and engage readers. Some newspapers are even writing news stories in “features style” to lend a human element to breaking events. And these ready-to-go stories are boons for overworked journalists, especially if they include photos and illustrations.

A features story, in contrast to breaking news, is often used to fill news holes and satisfy consumer demand for subjects that matter to them such as travel, health, family, pets, personal finance, home and garden, and holiday gift buying. Right now is a great time to take advantage of the holiday buying season.

So how do you make a features story work for you – even if your organization sells B2B? Take a look at content you already have – you can probably find a way to slant or refocus your messages to give them mass appeal. Consider the following formats:

• Human Interest and Personal Stories – Spotlight your customers’ or employees’ personal experiences, achievements or concerns
• How-to Articles – Help non-experts learn how to do something, perhaps through a step-by-step approach
• Service Articles – Give advice to consumers so they can make informed decisions
• Seasonal or Themed Stories – Showcase your product or service in a holiday gift guide, or use a holiday or themed promotion
• Evergreen Stories – Create timeless articles that can be used at any time with little or no updating

Here are a few tips on writing a features release:

• Use an attention-getting headline and lead
• Write your release like an article, summing up details in the second paragraph (source, stats, URL) so if the story gets cut this information won’t get lost
• Use bullet points (“top ten” lists)
• Take a “McNews” approach (sound bites, quotes from engaging spokespeople)
• Use visuals – especially photos and captions
• Don’t include a boilerplate

Now is the time to flex your creative muscles. A features release can be a great catalyst to your PR program and even expand your organization’s business horizons. Check out Marketwire’s Features Newsline page for more ideas and information.

Press releases, a.k.a. news releases, are a staple of many public relations efforts and continue to provide traditional and social media audiences, as well as consumers, with a wealth of information on products, services, people and events.

Press coverage (both traditional and online) and attention across social networks can be more effective than any other type of advertising, and a well-written press release can garner great rewards for your company by increasing sales, driving qualified leads to your website or drawing attention to important causes and events.  Writing releases smartly and strategically is extremely important: editors and bloggers alike read press releases quickly and with a well-trained eye, and if they can’t find what they are looking for within the first paragraph (sometimes even within the headline itself), they are more likely to disregard it altogether.

How do you compose a well-written and well-structured press release to grab the attention of your audience?  The steps below can help.

DISCLAIMER:  In this post, I’ll speak to more ‘traditional’ types of press releases — social media press releases (SMPRs) assume an entirely different format.  In upcoming posts, we’ll cover how to put together a great social media press release, how to best use multimedia to enhance your release, and how to make your releases search-engine friendly.

Step 1.  Make sure your release signifies a newsworthy event

The most important element of the release is its newsworthiness; it must contain something relevant and interesting  to the reader. What makes for a newsworthy event? Consider writing about:

• New product announcements, recalls, availability, shipping, etc.
• A major new customer or significant partnership or alliance
• Corporate, or “C” Level, activities or changes
• Significant changes in company structures (large hirings, layoffs or re-organizations)
• Facility changes
• Updates in technologies
• Earnings statements or guidance
• Exceptionally good or unusual news, such as a company winning an award
• Other newsworthy events

And remember, your news doesn’t have to be important to everyone (rarely is that the case), but it does have to be important to the audience you’re sending it to.

Step 2. Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How

These are the cornerstones of your press release; use them to build the headline and body of your release. While this information needs to appear throughout the release, many editors look for answers just from the information in the headline and opening paragraph of the release.

Step 3. Know your audience

Think about which journalists and bloggers will be interested in your release.  Is your news of national importance, or important to a local or niche audience? A well-researched and targeted list is a better distribution strategy than simply blasting your release to thousands of non-specific contacts.  More does not necessarily mean better!  Avoid using too much technical or industry jargon — any confusion of these terms will only serve to alienate a reader that isn’t familiar with them.  Include links that give the reader more information and consider a social media press release for the greatest online and offline distribution.

Step 4. “Grab” with your headline, “pull” with your opening paragraph

Often, your headline is what makes your release stand out.  As you are writing it, picture in your mind exactly how you would want the headline to appear in a newspaper or atop an online magazine column.  The headline needs to be written so that it is as alluring as it is informative.

After you grab a reader, use your opening paragraph to pull them in with the most vital information. For example, if your release is serving as a product announcement, the very first paragraph should include the price, availability/shipping date, and perhaps a customer reference for comment.

From an online perspective, your headline or title is extremely important because it will be displayed in syndicated feeds and assist search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing in ranking your news in search engines.

Step 5. Get organized

Similar to a newspaper article (in print and online), make sure that all the information you present is organized from most important to least important. Although the most important information should appear in the opening paragraph, make sure the information in the following paragraphs is still pertinent to your topic and your objective.  Research has shown the inclusion of rich media such as pictures, audio, and video goes a long way in increasing your chances of being published online, so consider including them as well.

Step 6. Be accurate

Being accurate means avoiding flowery or subjective statements, such as statements of belief or superlatives.  Statements of belief are mislieading, unless they can be substantiated (the cheapest, the most successful, etc).  Similarly, superlatives (best in the industry, the strongest made, most widely used) are weak unless they can be proven.  That said, superlatives that are true make for excellent opening paragraphs, or even headlines.

Step 7. Stick to the facts

Stay on topic, be as concise as possible.  Sometimes less is more.  Stay away from hype and stick with the facts.  Unfounded statements will only cast a shadow of doubt on the release, your company, and even your own credibility as a writer.

Step 8. Include quotes

Support your assertions with quotes from analysts, customers (especially if the release is product-related) and executives from your company. Quotes can help make a release exciting, while also substantiating the information that release is conveying. The quotes need to be approved by the person that said them and in some cases also by your legal department.

Step 9. Include a background and links to additional resources

Include details about your news and any implications it will have on your industry or the world as a whole.  If possible, try to include history in order to give context.  Provide as much information as anyone would need to understand your news.  The more self-contained your release is, the better; the more easily a writer can create a story directly from your release, the better its chances of getting published.

NOTE: Using links and SEO is extremely important – stay tuned for future posts.

Step 10. Finish with a corporate summary (‘boilerplate’) and contact information

Conclude with a short corporate summary – it doesn’t have to be longer than three to six lines, but should include full company name and headquarters location. Be sure to include the name, phone number, and email address of someone who can be contacted about the details contained within the release to provide more information.  This must be a person who is extremely knowledgeable about the topic and readily available to answer the phone.

And last but certainly not least, make sure you proofread for spelling mistakes, and try to have several people look it over before you submit.  When reviewing the release, consider the tone and think about the goals and objectives you are trying to achieve.  Are you merely trying to disseminate information or are you trying to increase sales?  This should be reflected in the tone.

Don’t get discouraged if your release isn’t picked up immediately or if it takes several releases until you finally get the coverage you want.  It may take a lot of time and persistence to make the news.  Send press releases regularly, monthly or even weekly, depending on your budget and communications strategy.