5 Tips for writing an effective media release

Creating an engaging, informative, and well-written media release is key in gaining publicity in the media and reaching a large audience. When done correctly, getting media coverage can be a great way to help your business gain greater visibility since it provides your product or service additional credibility and exposure. In turn, if you would like to receive media coverage for your product, service or business, being able to write an effective press release is an essential skill.
In this article, we have compiled a list of helpful tips to write an effective media release to reach your target audience, drive engagement and bring in new customers.

1. Make sure your story is newsworthy

Before you begin to write your press release, ask yourself if there is news value in your story. Most readers are typically interested in reading about novel concepts they have not heard before, or about something that could help them solve their problems. To write an effective press release, you will need to find a newsworthy angle. Ask yourself why people could be interested in your service, product or business. What is novel or different about it?

2. Target the editor

While you should keep in mind your target audience, you should tailor your media release to the specific media sector you are writing it for. Specifically, you will be writing the media release for the editor, journalist or broadcaster who will be reading your piece first. Therefore, your media release should be as close to a finished news article as possible. It is important to write your media release in third person, while maintaining neutral tone and avoiding grammatical mistakes and typos.

3. Create an effective headline

The headline is a key component of a media release, as the media will be using it to determine whether your article is worth reading. Therefore, it is important to create a concise headline which will grab the editor and/or journalist’s attention. Since most journalists will only spend a few seconds reading your headline to understand what your media is release about, it is crucial to make your headline clear and to the point.

4. Summarise your story in the first paragraph

Once you have grabbed the attention of the journalist with your headline, it is important to retain it in the first paragraph of your media release. The opening paragraph should perfectly complement the headline by providing a fuller explanation of what your story is about. However, when writing your first paragraph, it is also important to avoid including too much information.

5. Use quotes correctly

Including quotes from relevant individuals in your media release can be a great way to accurately convey information, but it is also important to avoid too many quotes, or to include quotes with irrelevant information. If you do use quotes in your writing, it is important to ensure that you use them to provide important information or details not included elsewhere in the text, to express an opinion on an important issue, or explain how a particular product or service could be of benefit to customers.

Conclusion

A media release is an official statement about a newsworthy story to media outlets and is intended for public circulation. When written correctly, a media release can help business owners reach their target audience, as well as to drive engagement and bring in new customers. Creating an effective media release requires careful preparation. In order to make your article stand out from the rest, it is important to create a newsworthy story, target the editor with your writing, create an effective headline and summarise your story in the first paragraph, and use quotes correctly within your media release.