How to write a press release body

2 years ago

The body of press release describes all the relevant details of the news story and the brand's involvement using the inverted pyramid formula.

Put the most newsworthy information at the top and the rest of information follows in order of importance, with the least important information at the bottom of the press release.

Bullet points for skimmers

A great way to "hook" readers' attention is by listing key points using bullet points. Bullet points are meant to summarize the news story. From the toolbar of rich text editor, select list icon to create a list.

Bullet points make it easier for readers to skim for important and key details quickly.

Insert relevant quotes

To add colour to your news stories, include quotes. Journalists are always interested in hearing from experts, key decision makers or company executives.

If it's a merger or partnership news story, you should add quotes from both parties.

You can also add quotes from customers, volunteers or attendees at an event.

Quotes are not meant to provide information. They should be used to provide insight and opinion and they should sound like as if a real person said them - not as if they' ve been written by the PR department.

Make sure included quotes are relevant and you have permission from whoever you are quoting, and also make sure you don't quote people who aren't available for interviews.

Try to limit quotes to 1-2 sentences.

Embed images and videos

Adding images, screenshots, videos , diagrams and head shots can help your press release stand out. Images and videos are important if you are showcasing a project or work.

Make sure that images are compressed to less than 2MB.

Just state the facts

Most journalists won't be interested in press releases claiming a product or service is the best . State the facts and avoid using hyperbolic language. Sounding self-congratulatory won't add any value to your news story and it will only make journalists ignore your press release.

Eliminate industry jargon

Some of the industry jargon doesn't mean anything to the average reader. If in doubt, ask a friend to read your news story. If they find it complicated and boring, you should edit for more clarity and conciseness.

Write in 3rd person

In other words, never use 'I' , 'We' or 'You'.

You are not writing to your target audience directly. You are writing it from your client's or organization's point of view.

Keep it short

The same as resume, the body of your press release should be concise and engaging, packing a short, yet powerful, informative punch. The ideal size length of a press release is about an A4 side - no more than 400 words. If your press release is longer than that , you've probably got unnecessary content that doesn't add any value to your news story.

Keep your press release body short and concise:

100% read the headline;

70% read the lead paragraph;

50% read the second paragraph;

30% read the third paragraph;

and only 10% read the fourth paragraph.

Your press release body length shouldn't more than 5 paragraphs - including the lead paragraph.

At Viral Press Release, the press release body length is limited to 600 words, including the introduction paragraph. Only Bold, Italics, H2, H3 , Unordered & Ordered List, img and video embed HTML Tags are allowed in press release body.