"89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases"

Lesson #3:  Break the rule that says you must have the
                          "5 Ws" in the first paragraph  

Busy journalists like the "5 Ws" (who, what, when, where and why) because they spend just a few seconds reading a press release before deciding
whether to use it or toss it. So they want the key facts in the first paragraph.

But other people who aren't journalists and find your press releases online might spend five or 10 minutes, or even a half hour, reading all the press releases at your website.

In Week 3, I'll show you the two instances in which you'll want to use the "who, what, when, where and why" formula. But now that you're writing press releases so that anyone can find them, you can include one or more of these things in the first paragraph:

• An enticing question that pulls readers into the release
   
• Relevant keywords that can be found by the search engines 
   
• A problem and a solution (More about this in Week 4)
   
• Free tips or advice
   
• Your key message
   
• Keywords that let the reader know exactly what audience the release was written for

In the weeks ahead, you'll see examples of all of the above.


Opportunity #3: When you celebrate an anniversary

If your company or nonprofit is celebrating its 5th, 10th or 20th anniversary, or any anniversary for that matter, write a press release. But most people, including journalists, won't think that's newsworthy. So always use your anniversary as a springboard to announce something else that ties into the anniversary. For example, on your 5th anniversary, you can sponsor a contest and ask your customers to tell you about the most unusual way they use your product or service. On your 10th anniversary, you can sponsor a special event like an open house. See other tips on how to create interesting news hooks that tie into your company anniversary in the free article at my website called "How to Create Free Publicity for a Company Anniversary." 

Tomorrow: 3 rules you must follow


Need help with publicity?
The Publicity Hound's Resources List includes products and vendors that can help with many aspects of your publicity campaign. You'll find press release distribution services, publicists, audio experts, ghostwriters and more.

***Have you missed previous lessons in this tutorial? You
      can find them below:

Lesson 1     Lesson 2