Press Release Submission

HEADLINE

The Headline is one element for a press release - it is designed to catch the reader's attention, and to signal what the story is about. When a press release is shown in a search listing such as Google, the headline is what is in bold type.

SUMMARY

The Summary expands on the headline and clarifies it. In a search engine listing, part or all of this goes below the headline; it gives enough information that people can decide whether to click on the listing; in the traditional "all in one page" release, it helps people to decide whether they want to read further.

BODY

In the Body of the release is the entire "story" - which will benefit from some context or background that explains what's new or important. While the Introduction is not "separate" from the Body, it is good to think about how to introduce the story to the reader. Why is this important to your intended audience? What is the "current situation" or the background for what led up to this news item. Alternatively, who is being talked about and what is their general business or professional focus.

The central paragraphs of the release will continue the story, explaining the sequence of events, or the details of what is new or different than before. Ideally, a problem or challenge will be solved, a resource will be added that helps people in some way, or a new option will become clear.

The description of an event such as a presentation, or a job or project that is being designed or completed, can be enlivened by including quotes that are comments or reactions (what people think or have said about what has happened or is in process) or a quote from the subject of the release (perhaps yourself) that says why this is of interest or what you feel about it. There can be more than one quote, but only one can be "pulled out" to be featured in a special graphic area. The quotes are your chance to state opinions and make the release personal; the rest of the release is generally written in the third person, avoiding "I", "we" and "you".

The summary of the Body is a way of "wrapping it up" - a bit of a summary along with a "call to action". It is a good place to tell people where they can get further information (your website) or to mention what is "coming next" or what else this is related to in your business.

ABOUT

The About section is generally fairly simple, with a short boilerplate description of the person or company - something that can be used in any press release, although you can customize it to suit the context of this particular release. In addition, it is customary to include basic contact information here. One trick we use in some of our press releases is to refer back to previous releases with a hyperlink - this will give more information about the company, and stacks or builds the SEO from this release onto the previous one(s), giving them another boost, and ultimately helping your site to rank better.