Don’t misinterpret my title…it’s not that I don’t think press releases are important, it’s that they always need to answer the question: “so what?” I am speaking from experience, but not as a public relations specialist; I used to be a journalist (well, a practicing journalist; “used to be” implies that I’ll never go back, which is not necessarily true) who had to sift through piles of press releases to determine if they contained information local readers would actually care about.  Will it excite them? Fill them with compassion? Make them incredibly angry? It needs to envoke some kind of emotion.

 In addition to answering the “so what?” questions (rather early in the press release, I might add), it’s important that these documents state the who, what, when, and why. If all this isn’t immediately apparent, there’s a good chance the news media will trash it. Oh,  wait…I mean…they might accidentally lose it.

PR Web Press Release Newswire gives some more detailed press-release tips; here are some paraphrased highlights:

-Ask yourself, is your news “newsworthy?” This is obviously related to the “so what” question.

Start strong. . You have a matter of seconds to grab your readers’ (usually journalists) attention.

Write for the Media. This seems pretty obvious as well, but it always helps to remind yourself of the primary audience.

Realize that not everything is news. Face it; that’s life. Some press releases will be eagerly scooped up, others will be “misplaced.”

Avoid fluff, embellishments and exaggerations. Journalists learn to smell “fluff” from a mile away. Even if the fluff is true, you may want to tone it down a bit to enhance your credibility.

Economics of words. I love this tip. Words are tool; use them to construct the quickest, most meaningful message. “Eliminate needless words; vigorous writing is concise.” - Strunk and White, Elements of Style.

There are additional points to consider when your writing press releases that are released solely online, whether it’s an attachment to an e-mail or a social media release (SMR), which is making even mass e-mails of press releases seem old school! These are distributed via the web, often interactive, and cab potentially be  a visual treat for the audience, but there is something to the old adage “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”  Personally, I think it just complicates the whole press release process and severly depersonalizes it.

But, if you totally disagree with me and are solely going to disseminate SMRs (I see how it is…), it’s important to remember that folks don’t read online text the same way they read print documents; first, they are going to skim and jump around more when reading online. This means you should design for easy scanning, which means big, bold headers; adequate leding (space) between lines; and clear, no-fuss typeface, to begin with. Keep it as short as possible; reading is more difficult online due to the screen glare. Your readers (mostly journalists) may print out your press release if you e-mail it, but they’ll read it as an electronic file first.

Other than a standard e-mail attachment or an SMR, organizations can also post press releases on their website in an easy-to-find place so that they can be accessed by anyone who visited the site, instead of only the people they directly send them to. You might keep a link to the freshest, most recent press release in a highly visible spot on the site home page, making sure it’s “above the fold” and visitors do not have scroll down the page to see it. There could also be a link to an archive of older press releases, which can give your site visitors insight into what types of projects and goals your organization is working toward.