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Writing Press Releases

Writing an effective press release – often referred to as a news release – is different from writing a letter, speech or, indeed, a feature article. It is a writing style that is taught as part of relevant professional qualification courses and though it is not difficult, it does require some thought.

Press releases should follow these guidelines, so that they are consistent across the Association in terms of content and style. This consistency helps people recognise who and what IWA is.  Working through this checklist will give useful pointers to what to do and what to avoid.  Before putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard), can you answer these?

  • Is your press release really necessary – what is its purpose?
  • Who do you hope will read it – what is/are your target audience(s)?
  • What, if anything, do you hope they will do as a result of reading it – have you made that clear?
  • To whom do you intend to send it – and why?
  • Will it pass a “so what/who cares?” test for the media outlets who will receive it – are you saying anything of interest to their particular readership? If you aren’t sure, don’t send it to them.
  • Have you got an angle to the story that is more than just “Look what we’ve done”?  What is that angle?
  • Is what you are planning to say consistent with the Association’s vision and mission statements?  Which ones?

Structuring the release

Keep it brief – you should be able to say everything relevant to the story in less than 250 to 300 words. If you can’t, something is probably going wrong.  Have you really defined the purpose of the release?  Perhaps a news release is not the right format, or maybe you need different releases for different media and audiences.

It can be helpful to imagine the news release as an inverted pyramid with the most important facts needing to be at the top and the rest in descending order of importance.

The opening paragraph is critical and may require several drafting attempts to ensure it conveys the information you want.  It shouldn’t usually exceed about 30 to 40 words.  It needs to encapsulate all the important information about the story, and it should be able to stand alone in a publication if the editor is short of space.

The opening sentence should contain the essence of the story, as online publications will often use only the opening sentence as a click-through link to the rest of the story.  If the opening sentence is not informative and interesting, readers will not click-through.

However, rather than overloading an opening sentence with too much indigestible information, don’t be afraid to use a ‘hop, skip and jump’ approach – split it into two or even three more succinct statements that act as springboards into the rest of the story.

Drafting your Release

Don’t forget to include the five Ws – who, what, when, where, why. Then follow with the rest of the information including ‘how’. When drafting, use

  • Short words, sentences and paragraphs
  • Active voice
  • Positive language
  • No jargon, especially for the general media (readers of a waterways magazine might reasonably be expected to know what a lock’s “cill” or “tail gate” is, but not readers of a local weekly newspaper).
  • Beware of stilted, insincere or self-congratulatory quotes, as well as the blindingly obvious, such as “We are pleased that the canal has reopened”.
  • Good quotes:
    • Break up text
    • Add human interest
    • Add impact and emphasis
    • Add authority and credibility
    • Bring the story alive

When you have written the body of the release, it’s time to draft the headline. Its purpose is not to provide a witty pun to give readers a laugh. The publications’ subeditors will decide what appears in print – your headline is to help journalists to spot the story.

Distributing your Release

Nowadays, the preferred method for publications to receive press releases is by email. Insert the text of the press release in the body of the email as plain text, single-spaced in a normal email font such as Georgia.  Don’t use a quirky font such as MS Comic Sans in an attempt to make the message ‘stand out’ – it will only irritate recipients.

Don’t format the message with paragraph spacing, text justification or the italicisation of quotes. This only creates more work for publications that might be considering using your release.

Don’t try to attach or insert an IWA logo. If for any reason the recipients’ email software ‘strips out’ the image or replaces it with a symbol they will waste time wondering if they are missing anything important. They aren’t! The important thing is the quality of the story.  Press releases should follow this template:

  • PRESS RELEASE: Headline
  • Issue Date: [Day Month Year]
  • Content: [details of the Story – who, what, when, where, why and any other information]
  • ENDS [type the word in so it’s obvious where the text of the release ends]
  • Hi-resolution photos available on request [add low resolution attachments for editor to see and don’t forget to include the photo caption]
  • For more information please contact [ XXX] [ email ] [ phone].  Please make sure that the nominated contact(s) will actually be available for 24 to 48 hours after sending out the release, and that they have available any photos or supplementary information offered.
  • Notes For Editors
    Avoid lengthy Notes for Editors at the bottom of the release. Additional information should be available via a link to the website.
    The Inland Waterways Association is the membership charity that works to protect and restore the country’s 7,000 miles of canals and navigable rivers.  IWA is a national organisation with a network of volunteers and branches who deploy their expertise and knowledge to work constructively with navigation authorities, government and other organisations.  The Association also provides practical and technical support to restoration projects through its expert Waterway Recovery Group. 
    There are some optional additional notes that can be added if they are relevant to the article.  There may also be additional notes to add for relevant topics or other organisations (particularly if it’s a joint press release).

Advice on Images

  • Where possible, when taking a picture, try and give it a sense of place (somewhere identifiable)
  • Try to include several elements in one picture (e.g. a pearly queen in a canal side photo of London)
  • Avoid using photos of people holding up a big cheque.  Hopefully the story is about more than the giving or receiving of a donation.

Sending Press Releases

You can find local media contacts via the internet.  Remember to think about radio and TV (as well as printed media) and relevant local social media influencers.

Email addresses should be listed in the BCC field, with the email sent to you.  Ensure you include your branch or region newsletter editor in your distribution list as well as [email protected] – so that your story can be shared in Bulletin and IWA’s Waterways Magazine, where appropriate.