
Headlines ARE Everything!: Putting A Hook In Your Headline
In the world of news submission, it’s important to understand the distinctions between a lead, a headline, and a slug.
While these elements may seem separate, they essentially serve the same purpose when presented to an editor.
Although a captivating headline may catch the editor’s eye, it’s likely that they will tweak it before publication.
To capture the editor’s interest, your lead sentence plays a crucial role.
It serves as the gateway to your story, holding the power to either captivate or lose the reader in an instant.
A well-crafted lead should encompass the essential details – who, what, when, where, and why – succinctly and engagingly.
This first impression sets the tone for the rest of your press release.
Editors rely heavily on the lead to gauge the quality and relevance of your content.
By presenting a clear and compelling lead, you signal professionalism and entice further exploration.
If you find yourself struggling with the lead, consider crafting it after completing the body of your story.
This approach allows you to extract key information and prioritize the most significant details in a concise and impactful manner.
Whether you opt for a comprehensive lead or one that highlights the most important aspects first, the key is to engage the reader from the outset.
By organizing the who, what, when, where, and why in order of importance, you can create a lead that draws the reader in and prompts them to delve deeper into your story.
A well-crafted lead sets the stage for a successful press release.
If you find that your initial headline isn’t perfect but have tried revising it without success, don’t hesitate to submit it as is.
The editor may still consider it and make changes if needed.
Breaking News: The Power of Headlines
A headline is a brief sentence at the top of a story that grabs the reader’s attention.
It precedes the lead sentence and gives a glimpse of what the story is about without providing detailed information.
For example a headline might say:
– “Two dead in ten car pile-up.”
– “Boy as local hero.”
Notice how these headlines lack specifics but convey the basic idea of the story. They are designed to intrigue the reader and draw them into the article.
While you may suggest a headline with your press release, it’s important to indicate that it’s tentative and subject to change by the publication.
When submitting your press release, focus on providing newsworthy information that the editor will find valuable to their readers.
The news staff will shape your release into a format that fits their publication.
Even if your press release comes off as biased or promotional, it may still attract attention from the media.
Editors may rewrite it if they see the value in the news for their readers.
To improve your chances of acceptance, a strong introduction followed by a clear news format for the main content is essential.
Creating a Catchy Slug
A slug is a brief identifier that helps editors organize and prioritize press releases. Choosing the right slug for your story can increase its chances of being published.
Editors receive numerous press releases daily and rely on slugs to quickly assess the importance of each one.
It’s important to be honest and accurate in your slug to maintain credibility.
Think of your lead as a summary of your entire story. Your press release consists of the lead and the body, with the lead highlighting the key points of the news piece.
Visualize your press release as a pyramid, with the lead at the top. The body of the press release expands on the lead, providing more details in order of importance.
When a press release is being considered for publication, the editor may need to condense the information due to limited space.
In such cases, it is important to prioritize the most crucial details in the lead section, followed by a more detailed explanation in the body of the content.
It is advisable to avoid starting the press release with a question as it may be seen as professional and could potentially deter readers.
Instead, focus on providing a clear and concise introduction that captures the essence of the news.
Furthermore, it is important to avoid overcrowding the first sentence with too much information.
If necessary, prioritize the key facts and save less important details for subsequent sentences.
Negative statements should also be avoided in the lead section, as it is more effective to present information in a positive light.
In crafting the introduction, it is essential to consider the target audience and ensure that the lead reflects the most significant aspects of the press release.
Whether you prefer to write the lead first or develop it after outlining the entire story, the key is to adhere to the fundamental rules of clarity, relevance, and inclusivity.
By appealing to a broad audience and highlighting the essential information, you increase the chances of your press release being featured in publications.
Formatting Your Press Release: The Vital Part To Being Published!
Each and every day, you follow certain formatting criteria.
Whether you’re jotting down a note to a family member, or sending an email to your boss, you probably follow some general method of placing and styling your words.
Most media departments require their reporters and freelancers to follow particular guidelines for submissions before they will even consider reviewing your work.
In fact, most are so eager to ensure that everything stays within their procedures, that they will send you a copy of their guidelines, or a stylebook, for free!
Additionally, most media will send you a sample of their publication for a nominal fee, along with the guidelines.
If you look in any Writer’s Market, which includes submission rules for almost every print media in existence, you’ll find that most strongly suggest that you send off for their guidelines, and review a current copy of the publication, before you put your ideas in the mail.
The same holds true for any press release.
Even though it is a news item, presumably void of any boasting or advertising mechanisms, each publication will have its own style and tone of writing the news.
A stylebook will answer any questions you have as to the publication’s preferred way of writing.
It will tell you if the editor wants the number twelve written in word form, or numbers (12).
It will inform you as to whether or not possible compound words are to be combined, or hyphenated.
A stylebook also addresses specific word choice questions that will tell you if the targeted media fancies the word Vietnam or the words Viet Nam.
It tackles issues such as capitalization, title specifics, time, dates, and names.
Even if a publication doesn’t have any required formatting guidelines, be sure to adhere to some type of professional style, so that your submission will project a more qualified appearance.
Here are some indispensable rules of conformity that will ensure you have the basics down before you launch your press release campaign into existence:
Disclosing the Deliveries
Whether it’s an article or a press release, the media want to be the first to receive and dispense of the news.
One very important aspect in delivering your release is to state on the cover whether or not you have simultaneously submitted your information.
No publication wants to print the same item that another one is printing at the same time, or worse, before them.
The idea behind the media is to be the first, and be the best.
Depending on whom you talk to, you’ll find that normally, it’s perfectly fine to send in your item to more than one publication, as long as you disclose it.
That way, you’re giving ample notice to the recipients that they might want to find out if another source has published it first.
The news industry is highly competitive, and as such, you have a responsibility to adhere to their courtesies as well as their formatting principals.
Some may insist on being the sole addressee for your item.
If so, weigh the options you have, and decide if it’s best to stick to a sole source, or submit it to more than one publication.
Whatever you do, do not lie to them and sneak off additional copies to their competitors.
If word gets back to the original source, you can count yourself (and the company for which you’re writing), out of any future publishing credentials with that particular
media.
If you find that your news item is one that should be submitted to only one source at a time, then prepare a list, in order of importance, of whom you wish to have first dibs on your publishing rights.
Once you hear back from each source, feel free to submit it to the next in line. Sometimes, this may not be practical, if the information is of a timely nature.
Additionally, some media will be very receptive to the idea of your submitting the story to two different forms of media outlets.
Most print publications will be content if you send one copy to the local state paper, and another to the top radio station in your area.
Perfect Your Timing
When delivering a press release to the media, it’s very important to ensure your timing is perfect.
Not only when the paper or other form of media might have the best use for it, but also what works for your news.
If the company that’s hired you is launching a new website or product on July 31st, don’t wait until that day to send in your press release.
Send it in early enough so that the editor has plenty of time to decide if he wants to use the story on the day of, or the day before, the debut.
The editor may need time to verify your facts and sources, or simply rewrite certain parts of your press release to conform to their own style and format.
Since you never know what the editor will decide, avoid using terms like “today,” or “tomorrow,” in your submission. Instead, use specific dates, such as March 3.
If you’re not sure what the typical lead time is, in other words, how far in advance the editor prefers to have the story in his hands, make a quick call and find out.
Most staff members are very familiar with the deadlines and turnaround time the paper needs to develop its stories.
Give Me My Space, Please!
Scientists say that humans need at least three feet of personal space to be at a maximum comfort level. Well, press releases need space, too!
It may seem excessive when printed out on paper, but an editor will greatly appreciate it if you format your page so that it allows for double, if not, triple spacing.
When as editor receives your story, reviews it, and decides that he wants to look into it further, he needs to have space on your printed copy to make notes, changes, and additions to your work.
Your paperwork will probably be moving between personnel, so it’s a great idea to give them room to work!
Paper quality should be considered as well. Use a standard white 8 ½ – by – 11-inch high quality bond paper.
Type your submission in 12-point font, in a style that is easy to read, such as Times New Roman.
Print your press release on a desk-jet or laser quality printer for the best appearance.
Position your story a third of the way down the page, after presenting your contact information, headings, and specific dates.
Once you begin your main content, make sure you left-justify your work so that the editor has room in the right margin to make further notations, if necessary.
Always maintain at least a one-inch margin on every edge of the paper.
If your press release has more than one page, be sure to write “continued,” or “more,” at the bottom of each previous page.
If you do wind up with more than one page, be sure to identify your work on each additional page by writing your last name, and the title of the story in the upper left-hand corner.
If you want to, you can also number the pages, beginning on page two of your submission.
When you have more than one page, use more than one page to print on! Never send your work printed on both sides of the paper.
And remember, as netiquette rules suggest, never type in all capital letters. It’s considered shouting, and for print work, it makes it difficult to read.
Stick to the elementary formatting, and you’ll keep the editor’s eyes happy.
Crossing Your “t’s” and Dotting Your “i’s”
Some things to double-check before you submit your work for publication:
1. Did I use the right tense and keep it uniform throughout the press release? Try to keep your press release in the Active voice.
Instead of using the Passive voice, saying: “A meeting will be held on Monday night,” try using “The organization will meet on Monday night.”
2. Are my abbreviations, if used, correct? Many organizations use acronyms, so the media have devised a way to employ the practice in their reporting.
The general rule is to completely spell out the name on the initial reference, such as: Federal Bureau of Investigation, followed by the acronym FBI in any following mentions of the organization throughout the story.
3. Have I capitalized Proper nouns and brand names? Always avoid capitalizing any words that do not require it.
Use capitals for proper nouns, names, and specific popular areas that the community will generally understand as being a certain region.
4. Are any numbers, lower than 10 spelled out in word form?
One rule of thumb for numerical references is that very small and very large numbers are never written in figure format.
Instead of writing “1” you would write “one.” And you would refer to fifteen thousand in word form, not as 15,000.
5. Have I excluded the use of any time specific words, such as “today” or “tomorrow?”
If you accidentally include the use of one of these types of words, it will usually be eliminated from the content.
The only time it is appropriate to use these is when a media sector is speaking of something that has already happened.
Normally, this occurs in an afternoon paper, which reports on the happenings that took place earlier in the day.
6. Are my courtesy titles for each person mentioned in my press release correct? For example, am I correct in assuming it is “Mrs.” instead of Ms?
Most media do not even use courtesy titles at this date, preferring instead to simply refer to the person as “Jane Doe,” initially, and “Doe” from that point on in the story.
But, depending on your target media’s guidelines, you’ll need to make sure that if you did use courtesy titles, that you’ve used them properly.
7. Have I omitted any use of sexist language, such as policeman or fireman, and instead, made them gender-neutral?
Traditionally, certain jobs were gender-specific, such as those on the police force or fire fighting staff.
Now, a firefighter can be male or female, so the title has evolved to reflect the new change.
8. Have I succeeded in not using any words of fluff that would make my work appear to be biased to the public, such as “best,” or “wonderful?”
One of the biggest mistakes public relations departments make when submitting a press release, in hopes of getting news coverage, is in turning their “news” into an
“advertisement.”
Look at your press release from the public viewpoint, and see if you think they might misconstrue any information you’ve added to look unbiased in their eyes.
9. Is my work addressed to the correct personnel, and furthermore, is my own contact information correct?
One critical mistake some inexperienced writers make is addressing their work to the wrong personnel.
Worse, some even send it to a staff member who hasn’t worked for the publication in years!
An editor can only assume your work is sloppy if you fail to make a quick phone call to verify your contact information.
10. Have I used my spell-checker, and then reviewed the document with my own eyes for proper word usage?
Be sure to watch out for words that the computerized spell-checker might not catch.
If you wish to say, “For the next two years,” make sure it doesn’t read “Four the next two years.”
Have another person read your press release before sending it in, to catch any errors that you might fail to spot.
Wrap It Up!
Formatting doesn’t end with font styles and page settings.
Sending in your submission has a rule of its own, and everyone should follow the basic procedure courtesies.
If your press release is more than one page in length, never ever staple your pages together.
Either number your pages with proper identification (in case any page gets separated from the others), or use a paper clip to fasten them to one another.
A staple is only going to make the editor either rip the pages apart, or go through the hassle of trying to find a staple remover on his already-cluttered desk of unsolicited submissions.
There is no need to send your work in any fancy method. Unless it’s a time sensitive piece, don’t use overnight carriers that will require personnel specific
signatures.
Simply use standard sized packaging, and refrain from writing messages on the outside of the envelope – it either won’t be read, or it will make an unprofessional impression.
Proper formatting is the easiest way to gain the trust of an editor.
If everything looks good from first glance, then he or she is going to march forward in giving your document a careful consideration on whether or not they wish to include your work in an upcoming issue.
Go To Profit from Press Releases Part 1
Go To Profit from Press Releases Part 2
Go To Profit from Press Releases Part 3
Go To Profit from Press Releases Part 5