First, let me tell you a little bit about a press release.

They are structured exactly like a news story. They are fairly formulaic. There is a standard list of information that needs to be included in each press release – the five W’s – who, what, where, when and why.

One of the best ways to learn how to write a good press release is to go to a press release distribution site and read the press releases there to get a feel for how they flow, what information is included, and in what order the information is written. www.prweb.com, for instance, has dozens of press releases on their front page. Read at least half a dozen from beginning to end.

Standard Press Release Format

Here is the standard general format of a press release:

FIRST PARAGRAPH: Summarize the “news”, the reason why you’re writing this press release. Let’s say you’re a personal trainer and you’ve released a new series of flat ab videos which feature exercises that won’t hurt your back. You’d start out saying something like: Tens of thousands of people suffer back injuries every year while doing exercises meant to flatten their abdominal muscles. Now, (your name here) is pleased to announce the release of (Your Product Title Here), the first series of ab exercise videos targeted to those who are prone to back injuries”.

SECOND PARAGRAPH: A quote from someone at the company, talking about the news event – why you created this product, or how happy you are to be forming this new partnership, or how honored you are to receive this award, etc. So here, a quote from the creator of the videos, saying something like “So many of my clients were seeking exercises that they could do to flatten their abdominal muscles, which wouldn’t injure their backs. I looked everywhere and couldn’t find a good resource – so I decided to create my own series of videos”…etc.

THIRD PARAGRAPH: More details about the news, product, etc. In this example, perhaps say how many videos there are, how many exercises, how easy these are to do, etc.

FOURTH PARAGRAPH: Another quote talking about the product, how it’s helped people, etc., or what your qualifications are for creating this product – “I’ve been a trainer for 17 years, and have been certified in xxxxxx” (name awards, training, certifications, etc. – it’s good for credibility. “I designed these exercises specifically to….” etc.

FIFTH PARAGRAPH: A testimonial from customers, if you have any. Here you would quote a satisfied customer talking about how well this product worked for them or what this product accomplished for them.

SIXTH PARAGRAPH: Wrap up about the product, including the URL you want people to go to.

This isn’t set in stone, you can deviate from it a little bit, but if you go to any press release distribution site, you will see that this is the basic, standard formula for any press release.

So you always want to include:

A couple of quotes – and always attribute them in the third person, even if you are quoting yourself. It is ALWAYS “According to Joe Smith of Smith Enteprises,” even if you’re Joe Smith.

Remember to place all of the who, what, where, why, when information – what date and time and place an event is taking place, where people can find your website, etc.

Check the previous posts on this subject:

How to Write, Format and Distribute a Press Release I
How Do Press Release Sites Work?
Why to Write a Press Release?
How to Write Optimized Press Releases