Strive Notes

To write great news releases that get covered you need to be able to write like a reporter.  Journalists write about people so that readers can see themselves in the story. So use personal words to enliven a boring news release.  “Revenues reached £1m last year”, becomes “More than 250,000 univeristy students living in the Southeast signed up for the service, pushing revenues to £1m last year”.

Always look for a human angle as a story hook.  “Company A renewed its contract with Company B,” becomes “Since the mid 90s when they were both fledgling Internet start ups, John Smith of Company A and Bob Jones of Company B have done business together. Now they’ve announced a five-year extension to the contact.”

Refer to specific people to brighten mundane announcements. “Company A will expand its call centre”, becomes, “When her son Johnny started to school last year, Jane knew she needed a new challenge. So when she heard that Company A needed people in its call centre, she didn’t hesitate to apply. Before long, she was made supervisor. Now the company offers the opportunity to more people like Jane as it announces plans to expand the team by 100″.

Enliven your release with realistic quotes that capture the speaker’s style and provide insight.  “The unfortunate events which unfolded yesterday will be investigated,” said John Smith, manager,” becomes “We mean to find out the truth about how our customers service department was defrauded,” said John Smith, manager. “We’ll leave no stone unturned.”

Reporters typically receive more than 60 news releases each day.  If you want yours to be noticed, write it as if you are telling a story, because that’s exactly what you are doing.

Filed under: public relations