Perfect Press Release Masterclass

Press releases are the most common tool in the public relations professionals’ armoury. Yet too many releases end up in the recycle bin – rather than the newspapers and magazines to which they’re e-mailed.

The Perfect Press Release Masterclass is a half-day workshop which focuses on how PR people can sharpen up their releases so they generate more coverage. The Masterclass draws heavily on the feedback from a unique research project in which 89 editors and senior journalists provided information about what they want from press releases. So the Masterclass is rich in the kind of real-life detail that you can take away and put to use in your next release writing assignments right away.

The Masterclass is perfect for young professionals just learning about press release writing. But it also contains plenty of material for more experienced release writers who want to freshen up their approach. It is also ideal for marketing professionals who want to learn more about what it takes to generate press coverage. Participants are encouraged to raise issues and problems they have with their own press release output. The Masterclass lasts for approximately three hours with a short break half way through.

Following the course, participants have the opportunity to write a press release and have it critiqued by e-mail by the Masterclass presenter.

Masterclass programme

The Masterclass is based around 20 modules:

Press releases as editors see them

- Deluge! The numbers of press releases editors receive
- Why editors don’t use press releases
- Looking at four releases through editors’ eyes

Why the press release is an important PR tool

- The releases that made it into headlines
- Different ways journalists might use a release
- How good releases open doors to other publicity opportunities

Six key things editors don’t want PR people to do

- The six features editors find most annoying in press releases
- Results of survey of 89 editors

Five key things editors do want PR people to do

- Basic ways to make editors take notice of a release

The 14-step approach to writing releases that editors want

- Why it makes the difference between being and not being published.

Step 1: know the point of your story

- How to define what kind of story you’re writing
- Ways to uncover the strongest story
- Why you need to keep it simple
- When not to send a press release

Step 2: check your story passes the “so-what?” test

- How editors apply the so-what? test
- How to judge whether your story passes the test

Step 3: assemble all needed information

- Six key words that help you find information
- Ways to make collecting information easier
- 10 quick tips for conducting interviews
- Why you must focus on the facts
- The key checks you must make for accuracy

Step 4: judge the weight of your story

- What is “story weight”?
- How journalists judge story weight
- How to judge your press release’s weight
- Why you score by getting the release’s weight right

Step 5: focus on your target audience

- How to craft your release for a specific audience
- The way to pitch your language at the right level

Step 6: write the introduction

- Why intros are critically important
- Five key traps that make intros fail
- How to get to the heart of the story in the first words
- Six ways to write an intro
- And a seventh which works even better
- How to find an “angle” for a story

Step 7: write the rest of the copy

- How to use your information in the correct order
- Ways to make your release more readable
- How to write quotes that get quoted
- How to “piggy back” on running stories
- A simple step that improves the chance of your release being used

Step 8: add a note to editors (if needed)

- Why “boilerplate” paragraphs turn off editors
- How to use the note to increase the chances of the release being used

Step 9: write the headline

- What you need to achieve with the headline
- A quick introduction to headline styles
- A simple formula that will help you write grabbing headlines
- How to choose the words to use in headlines

Step 10: add date and contact details
- Why journalists want dates on press releases
- The different contact details you should provide
- What the contacts themselves need to know

Step 11: add a note about other resources

- The resources journalists might want
- Three keys to providing pictures that get used

Step 12: edit your release

- Why you must check facts with primary sources
- How to spot and tie-up loose ends in the release
- Why it’s important to be able to substantiate claims
- How to tighten up the writing: words you don’t need

Step 13: get your press release approved

- How to define an approvals regime that works
- The seven worst approval pitfalls and how to manage them

Step 14: conduct a final check and send out

- Four points the final check should cover
- How to distribute a release so it gets noticed
- Follow up: three things to do; three things not to do

Celebrating success

- Six different ways to measure the results of press coverage
- Five ways to impress management (or clients) with the outcome

After the course

Write a press release and have it critiqued over e-mail by the course presenter