How can you make your press release stand out?

It's widespread knowledge that one of the most popular ways a business receives free publicity and builds its expertise attracting media attention. Although it takes time and work to get noticed by journalists, the basis of a first-rate public relations campaign is the press release. If you are seeking to establish a positive relationship with news editors, many times a press release is the most efficient way in.

However, not all press releases are created equal. Most of them wind up in the trash. If you want members of the media to call you regarding stories you pitch, or the stories they are already working on, you have to send the right message in your press releases.

The following five elements should help you communicate your message effectively:

1. The Five W's and that one H of Reporting - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How Facts are the foundation of every news article, and when reporters need basic, factual information they often turn to press releases. This is the why who, what, when, where, why, and how of the story are so important. When creating your press release, take a few minutes to note the facts about the news you wish to communicate. This information is vital for the entire story, and you should reinforce it in the lead paragraph of your release so news editors don't have to read much to get the gist of your message.
2. A Brief, but Catchy Headline Headlines should communicate the main idea of the story, capture the attention of the reader, and so in ten words or less. Your press release headline should present the news in in a catch, but informative manner, such as "Teen Smoking is On The Rise" "Despite Improves in Technology, Productivity is Down".
3. You'll Need a Hook Once you've gotten your readers' attention, you need to hook them. It should be something to compel the reader to continue reading, such as a startling fact or statistic, a compelling question, or a common problem. This hook often communicates a common problem and a startling statistic, such as "This year 40 percent of high school students will try tobacco" or "At least 30% of adult males have an undiagnosed learning disability."
4. An Expert Opinion or Two As you go into more detail about the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your news, giving as much detail as you can in as few words as possible, you will beginning developing the body of your press release. In doing so, you should also include quotes that the reporter can pull directly from your release. The media loves getting quotes directly from the source of the news and by giving them a quote or two, you make the their job that much easier, greatly improving your chances of getting mentioned in the paper. If possible you should use quotes that really highlight the impact of your news.
5. A Call to Action Even if you've gotten all your main points in, you still have to close your press release with a call to action. If you want reporters to call you for an interview, you should say so. If you want them to cover your event, make that your call to action. Don't forget to include your contact information.

Remember the goal of your press release should be to get media mentions for your company. It's like free advertising and it establishes you as the expert in your field. Remember, even if you don't get written up in a full length story, media professionals may keep your information on file for when the do need your expertise. So the better your press release is, the better your chances of getting that free publicity, you are seeking.