Writing a Press Release for This is Alton

Writing a press release does not have to be a chore. By following these simple guidlines, you’ll be able to write an effective press release to send to This is Alton and other local media.

There is a form for you to use to send us your press release quickly and easily on this page. Please use it to send us the release and up to two images to support it. This is our preferred method of press release submission. You can still use the contact form, but this one is better!

Before You Write the Press Release

If you have time, have a quick look round This is Alton, to get an idea of the tone of writing and the type of articles that appear. Use this to make the press release a bit more relevant to our readers. Always provide clear relevance to the readers. It can be frustrating when we receive articles that have no relevance for our publication.

3 Questions to Ask Yourself

1. Is a press release really necessary?
2. If you were running a story based on this release, what would be the headline be and does the first sentence fit into less than 15 words? If no, or the first sentence is ‘Mrs Miggins plc announces…’, go back to Question 1
3. Is what I am writing relevant to readers of This is Alton?

The Format of Your Press Release

Your press release should be sent in Word format or plain text. Do not just send your press release as an attachment only to an editor with nothing else. It may not get looked at! Make sure the subject line on your email has the headline preceded by ‘PRESS RELEASE:’ or something similar and that the body of the email has information about the press release or even a copy and paste of it included.

Do not send pdfs of press releases or posters. They increase editing and viewing time and may not be opened at all.

HEADLINES

Make your headline short and as interesting as possible. It should be short enough to use quickly in social media applications such as Twitter and Facebook.

If you’re emailing the press release, you’ve only got a handful of words in the subject line to grab journalists’ attention and make sure is says  ’Press Release: Your Headline…’ Your message is more likely to be read if the headline is interesting to the editor.

The headline should clearly contain the value of the press release to the reader. It should not contain the name of the issuing organisation -for example: ‘ABC announces new special initiative’ – obviously it’s ABC, they’re sending the press release!

Subject Matter and Language

Press releases that contain lots of technical terms are boring and only suitable for those people in those sectors. For Joe Public, plain English is perfectly good, and if a technical term is required, provide an explanation. Think ‘why would people care about this?’ when you read back your release before sending it. Make it clear in the release why readers need to know about this article. That is, provide a news angle to your release, rather than just an attempt at free advertising! Please, tell us in as plain a language what you do, who you do it for, why you do it and how our readers may benefit from it.

Paragraph Structure

Summarise what you are talking about early on in the release, preferably using the standard journalism 25 words of ‘who, what, where, when, why’. Releases often lack the time and place of an event, which can make all the difference. Don’t bury any important information down toward the bottom.

Once you’ve written your press release, leave it alone for a while and come back to it. Is the whole point of the release written in the last paragraph. Consider making the paragraph the most important information your introduction and go away again…then repeat the process until you are really happy.

Length

You should never really write more than 2 pages of A4 when press releasing. 250 – 500 words should be the maximum you write. Someone will contact you if they would like to make a longer story out of your piece. Add a link to a website for more information if you have to.

Quoting People

Only include a quote that someone might actually have said and do not quote people if they were not available to interview for your press release. Even worse is quoting someone who is not available for interview if the editor would like an additional quote from them.

Images

Different editors have different opinions of images, but here at This is Alton, love them…especially photographs.

Avoid embedding the images into the press release document itself. Always send them as attachments and make sure you leave notes in the release itself as to who is in each image and a credit to the photographer if required.

We recommend sending photographs to support your article as they keep people reading for longer when on your article page. Make sure your photographs are clear, in good focus and no larger than 5MB in size. They should also be in .jpeg or .jpg format. If you would not put that photograph on your website, please don’t try to get it onto ours!

In the form below, we have provided options for you to upload up to two images to support your article. Please use them!

Contact Details

Make sure you include contact details on your press release. If you are going away after sending it, include details of someone an editor can contact. Sometimes, there is not enough time to email a query, so a phone number is really very helpful.

Check List:

Use this quick checklist to make sure your press release is acceptable:

• Is the content of your press release in .doc, .docx, .rtf or .txt format? If not, make sure it is or copy and paste it into the box on the form.
• Is your Headline catchy?
• Have you read, re-read, re-worked and re-read your press release so it is as interesting to our readers as possible using plain English?
• Are the (up to) two images you are sending clear, in focus and in .jpg or .jpeg format? We may not publish them if they don’t make the grade!
• Are the images under 5MB in size and you understand that we may edit them?
• Have you included an image caption or list of people in the shot together with a credit for the photographer if he/she needs one?
• Do you have permission to use the photograph if you did not take it and does everyone (or the parents of anyone under 18 years old) in the picture know it will published and that they are happy for it to be online?
• Have you included contact details in case we need to contact someone about your story?

NOTE: To ensure you do not miss our weekly Tuesday mailout, please ensure we receive your article and images no later than midday on the Monday before the Tuesday mailout you do not wish to miss. We cannot guarantee publication of articles received after that time.

If you can answer ‘Yes’ to all of the above questions, please continue your submission by clicking here.

This is Alton

This is Alton is a news and features magazine site serving Alton and the surrounding areas. If you have a story or would like to write about your business, group or organisation regularly and for free on the site, please do hit the contact link at the top of the page to drop us a line!

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