Key Elements of Press Release You Need to Know

Defining Press Release

A press release is a brief news story specifically written by a public relations professional. It is only sent to the targeted people in the media industry. 

It is also known as a news release. It is a brief document that outlines the main facts of a story in a journalistic way. 

The main purpose of writing a press release is to pique the interest of the journalist or get media coverage. The press release should contain the information in a widely accepted format to help the journalist produce a compelling narrative.

It should be read like a news story, written in the third person, and cite quotes and sources containing important press release information.

What are the Essential Elements of a Press Release?

The key to writing a great press release lies in its ability to grab the reader’s attention with its interesting headline and to explain everything that the reader must know. 

Though there are several types of press releases, almost all of them share certain similar elements.

For writing any type of press release, here are the key elements of a strong press release that you must include. 

Headline 

A press release must have a compelling headline. A headline aims to grab the journalist’s attention and provide an overview of why your story is newsworthy.

Here is an example to help you understand:

Dateline

The dateline is included in the initial line of the first paragraph that contains the information of release date, state, and city. 

Don’t forget to include the date in the first line to let the journalists know that they are receiving current information. 

Let’s take a look at the example below:

For Immediate Release

This should appear on the upper left side of your press release under your letterhead. Each letter should be capitalized. 

Contact Information

Include the media contact information at the start, which includes the name, email address, phone number, and other media contact details of the person distributing the press release. 

Here is an example to help you understand better:

Lead Paragraph

Remember, journalists are reading a lot of press releases. To make your press release stand out, keep the lead paragraph informative and to the point. 

Be sure to answer “what, who, when, why, and where” in this paragraph. 

All the core details about your announcement should go here and the rest of the press release should include all the supporting information. 

Let’s take a look at the example paragraph below:

The Body Section

The body section which consists of two to several paragraphs, explains details, background, statistics, and some other relevant information.

Make sure you are following the pyramid structure, which includes starting from the first most information to the second most information and so on. 

Here is an example:

Supporting Quotes

This section focuses on creating credibility for the press release. Quotes are one of the essential elements of a good press release. 

Since most of the press releases consist of facts, Including a quote is a great opportunity to bring your details to life. 

Here is an example to help you understand better:

Call to Action

Always close your press release with a call to action. Never leave your readers digging for more information.

A call to action is one of the effective elements of a press release that can help you engage with your readers. 

Here is an example of how you can do that:

Engaging Details

To engage the readers in your story, you need to include specifics. Try to go beyond the what, who, why, where, and when details and paint an image of how all this information comes together. 

Without these details, your press release will be dull and generic and won’t have something to grab the reader’s attention. 

Here is how you can achieve that in your press release:

Boilerplate 

The boilerplate is a brief paragraph containing information about the company that you are referring to. Here you have to provide some independent background information. 

Here is an example of boilerplate in a press release:

Press Release Sample

Writing a press release that gets picked up by news outlets is not an easy task. Here you will find a great press release example that you can use and learn how to target your audience. 

So there you have it!

Now you know what are the elements of a press release. A press release, if written and formatted correctly, is a great way to gain visibility from good media outlet coverage. 

However, it is not easy for everyone to write a great press release, and that is where the best writing service comes in to help. 

At MyPerfectWords.com, you can provide your level of involvement. We will create a press release based on your provided information.