Identify your story's angle

Now that you have collated all the relevant facts and figures, the next step is to identify the "angle" or headline of your story. A good story angle must have the following three attributes:

• It must be the most important fact in your story.
• It must be timely.
• It must be unique, newsworthy or contrary to industry norms and trends.

This story angle must be presented in the first paragraph as well as the headline of your press release. Most newspapers employ an "inverted pyramid" format that presents the most important information in the opening paragraph, follows by other information that support or develop the key points raised in the first paragraph.

Create a catchy headline

By all means, keep your headline short and simple using less than ten words. It should convey the key point raised in your opening paragraph in a light-hearted manner that catches people's attention and imagination.

Write in third-person voice

Unlike an emailed newsletter that is written in a personal voice, a press release must be presented objectively from a third person point of view.

The reason is obvious. Every journalist has a duty to provide his readers with impartial facts and figures. He must not be seen as endorsing a company's products or services.

Some of the guidelines are listed below:

• Refrain from using any sales pitch in your press release.
• Remove "you", "I", "we" and "us" and replace them with "he" and "they".
• Provide references to any statistics, facts and figures raised in the press release.
• Refrain from expressing personal opinions, unless they are done in quotes.
• Draw conclusion from facts and statistics only - not general opinion.

Provide "quotes" from the newsmakers

As a newsmaker, put your most important message down into a quote. Reporters always use quotes from the newsmakers to add an authority voice to their reports. If your press release contains quotes that are important and relevant to the story, chances are high that they will be replicated in full in the published article.

Provide additional background information

You should end your press release with an appendix that provides brief background information on your company, newsmakers as well as who to contact for further information.

Identify your readers

Do you understand your consumers well? As marketers, it is important for you to recognize the profile and buying behavior of your consumers. Information such as their age groups, interests and preferred media would come in handy when you want to reach out to them effectively.

The key to an effective communication, whether verbal or written, lies in presenting your messages to interested audience or readers. Whenever possible, you should only send your press releases to those media whose readers' profile matches that of your target consumers.

You must send your press release to the right persons in order to increase the chance of having your story published. Look through the chosen newspapers and identify those reporters who cover events or activities that share the same theme as your products or services. You can identify the reporters by the articles' byline.

Prioritize Your Messages

Before you start writing a press release, you should list down all the relevant facts and details on a piece of paper. This is a good writing practice. It helps you organize your story better. I encourage every writer to make it a habit to do so.

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