Don’t go crazy with the enclosed material, however. A large heavy envelope will set off an alarm in a reporter’s head: This isn’t news; this is someone with a product they’re trying to sell. So include some backup material, but not so much that the reporter sees your letter and becomes defensive before opening it.
When e-mailing, don’t add attachments to your initial e-mail; this will often land you in a spam filter. Any smart reporter won’t open an attachment from an unknown person, any more than you would. Computer viruses are even more damaging in a work environment than at home, and a virus in a newsroom could be devastating. So don’t expect a reporter to open an attachment; accommodate that preference by not sending one.
With letters, as with nearly everything you send to the media, don’t count on everything being read word for word. Most people are too busy to carefully scrutinize all of your written materials. They’re looking for the basics, which you have to impart succinctly. If you can crystallize your message, you will have not only grateful media people to deal with but, very possibly, receptive media people as well.
Tips & Traps
Think in terms of summary. Be brief and to the point, always keeping in mind what a story on your project can do for the media outlet, not what the story can do for you.
Although you need to be concise, emphasize a few interesting details. After all, the story will come alive via details.
You need to walk a fine line between offering helpful news angles and writing the story for the reporter or editor, Professional pride comes into play, and editors do not appreciate being instructed on how the story should be written. I suggest you err on the side of brevity and allusion.
E-mail is tricky: it’s easy to become much too informal. Don’t make the letter sound like a stiff missive from a boarding school headmaster, but don’t get so chummy that the reporter will wonder exactly when it was you two went out drinking together.
This is a lesson that took me a long time to learn: the best kind of writing, especially in letter form, is to write it as you would say it. Gaudy phrases like “as per your request…” or “This serves to inform you…” are examples of dark-ages writing, and they do nothing but clutter the page. What I do (and I did it writing this book) is imagine I’m actually speaking to someone when I write.
Ask yourself as you type, “Is this how I would put it if I were talking to someone?” That’s not to say you can’t attempt to write well, but if you follow this suggestion, what you write will always be within another’s grasp.
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FROM THE GUERRILLA P.R. FILE
To show its solidarity with Americans reeling from the recession, Domino’s Pizza launched an unusual marketing campaign in 1992. The “Eat Your Rejection Letter” project idea was simple: just bring your employment rejection letter to your nearest Domino’s, and get $1 off the price of a pizza. Layoff notices worked too, and you could even show the notice to the delivery man for your credit. Is this a great country, or what?
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The Press Release
A Wall Street Journal report that explained the paper’s editorial philosophy and practices noted that 90 percent of its coverage originates with companies making their own announcements. Most of the time, those announcements begin with a press release. As I’ve said, no matter how we perceive the world, news is—and will always be—what somebody else says it is. If you feel your project is newsworthy, and if you are able to persuade the media to go along with you, then your project is news. Period! The press release is the basic vehicle of news, and with it a Guerrilla publicist taps into enormous power.
Many books attempt to teach press release writing, but there is no single absolute approach. I’ve marveled at elegantly crafted releases from amateur do-it-yourselfers, and I’ve held my nose reading releases from top corporations, written so poorly as to defy belief. Though there are as many styles of press release as writers, some characteristics are shared by all good releases. The basic format for a physical release (as opposed to one delivered by e-mail) is as follows:
Type your release double-spaced on 8½ × 11 inch paper, preferably white, with 1-inch margins on all sides. Be sure to use only one side of the paper (although two-sided would be more ecologically sound, most editors, unfortunately, don’t like this practice).
Some publicists I know use eye-catching colored paper, and a few journalists tell me colored paper can be effective. I find it both hard to read and silly, but you should go with your own taste. If you have a letterhead, use it. In the upper right-hand corner, type FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, or, if you prefer to have your release held until a certain date, type, for example, FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 15.
Always date your release, either in the upper right-hand corner or below the words FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Some place it at the end of the release in shorthand: 091808 for September 18, 2008. It doesn’t matter which style you choose, but it’s important to note when material is sent out.
Be sure to include a contact name, a phone number (daytime and nighttime; cell phone is not at all a bad idea), and an address. Place it under the date, or turn it into a final one-sentence paragraph at the end. It’s best to keep the length to one page, but this isn’t always possible. If you have a large amount of information, subdivide it into several shorter pieces, such as a biography of you and/or other principals, a one-page news release, or a history of the project (I’ll address this later). The key is to break up your information so it’s easier to read and so the media won’t feel inundated. If your release ends up being more than one page, do not staple the sheets. (In the interests of saving trees, you may want to type your release on 8½ × 14 inch paper, if you have a bit more than a page of material.)
An e-mail version of the release, which is becoming more common every day, would have roughly the same format but would include e-mail addresses and Web sites as contact information along with the snail mail address, phone, cell phone, and contact name. It’s hard to gauge exactly how long a page will be in e-mail, so it might not be a bad idea to write the release in a word processing program and then cut and paste it into the e-mail—but make sure your margins are set in a way that will make the e-mail easy to read. People don’t like to have to keep changing the margins on an e-mail to read it, and reporters, with very few exceptions, are people.
Keep the message simple and the paragraphs as short as possible: no more than two or three sentences. Try to begin your paragraphs with action-oriented verbs. If you’re sending your release to TV and/or radio, phonetically spell out difficult names for easy pronunciation.
If you go longer than a page, use a “slug” or identifying word or phrase at the upper left corner (e.g., MID-VALLEY YOUTH CENTER). Don’t hyphenate or carry over a paragraph to the following page.
Errors of fact, spelling, and grammar are totally unacceptable. When I spot these in other releases, fairly or not I tend to write off the entire content. I’m sure that’s true for journalists as well. Get it right. All of it. If you’re not good at finding such errors—and spell check is not enough—find someone in your office who is good at it, and let that person proofread everything you send out before you send it out. I can’t emphasize enough how off-putting and amateurish typos and spelling and grammatical errors can be.
Where applicable, use bullet points or asterisks, and leave as much white space on your release as possible. An uncluttered page indicates an uncluttered mind. It’s easier to read and will make a better impression on reporters.
Finally, at the bottom, type three hash marks—# # #—to signify the end of your release. Don’t write “30”—it will counterproductively date you.
Once you are secure with the format, you’re then faced with the task of writing coherently and effectively, which is far more important but not as hard as you may think. Remember, your release is designed to entice while at the same time convey a news sense. It’s a delicate balance. So observe the following guidelines related to content:
The
single most important advice I can give you about press releases, and anything you write, do, or say when it comes to media, is this: Be honest. Do not fabricate information, do not blatantly stretch the truth, do not omit pivotal details. If you do any of the above, you will be caught; you will be vilified and written off by the media. Beware. They know where you live.
You’re ostensibly presenting “news,” so make sure you include in the first paragraph the Five W’s of journalism: who, what, when, where, and why. Nothing else is more vital. Because your release is supposed to be akin to objective news, save the editorializing for your quoted material. That’s when you have a chance to voice pointed opinions. Your message should be structured in descending order of importance, i.e., most critical information at or near the top, and the lesser points following.
This concept, known in journalism schools as the Inverted Pyramid, imagines exactly that: a pyramid set on its point, with the wide base now on the top. The theory is that the important juicy information goes at the top of the news item—in your case, the release—and then slightly less important information, then a little less important, and so on, until you eventually run out of news and stop writing. Newspapers are written in this fashion because when the story is placed on the page, if it runs too long, the editor will know to cut the information from the bottom of the story because it is less vital. That’s how you should write your release, because it is, for all intents and purposes, a news article.
Use strong action-oriented language and clear sentence structure. Never overestimate an editor’s understanding. That doesn’t mean you should talk down to people or patronizingly spell out basic information. But make sure your message about the nature of your project is understandable to anyone at any level of education. Someone writing about jetliners should write in language comprehensible to someone unfamiliar with aviation.
Keep in mind that not everyone knows all about your business or your project. Not everyone is familiar with the jargon that is inherent to every industry and group. You don’t have to explain every word, as you would to a three-year-old, but you shouldn’t write to a reporter using the same kind of insider language you would use with a veteran colleague. Reporters who don’t understand what you’re saying will not be inclined to use your item.
Be careful about hype. We all have a tendency to trumpet our wares, but the media are cynical and do not warm up to overkill.
Don’t claim that your greasy spoon diner has the best burgers in the world. That’s best left to the world’s burger eaters to decide.
While I’m on the subject of hype, beware of overhype in terms of presentation. My friend Trisha Daniels, at one time a talent booker for The Maury Povich Show, told me about a publicist who sent a one-sheet press release in a box the size of a microwave oven; and another who sent his release enclosed with a carton of grapefruit. Both ploys caught her attention, but neither worked. One was a pointless gimmick; the other was a flat-out bribe. Trisha didn’t hesitate for a second to send the grapefruit back.
Here’s an example of a press release I wrote not too long ago for my own firm. Analysis follows:
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LCO-Levine Communications Office Wins Bulldog Award Leading PR Firm Recognized for Campaign on Behalf of Hollywood Stuntmen
LOS ANGELES, SEPTEMBER 18, 2006—PR firm LCO-Levine Communications Office, Inc., has received the Bronze Award for Arts and Entertainment in the 2006 Bulldog Awards for Excellence in Media Relations and Publicity. LCO’s campaign increased Hollywood’s awareness of stunt coordinators’ important contributions to film and television, a potentially integral step in the stunt community’s 15-year battle for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to introduce an Oscar category for stunt coordinators.
The Bulldog Awards are the only PR awards judged solely by journalists, and recognition is a true testament to the expanse of a firm’s flair for media relations and publicity. The awards recognize results-driven strategic media campaigns, and award recipients must possess a high level of “creativity, tenacity, and media prowess.”
LCO’s campaign, which was headed up by LCO president Dawn Miller and vice president Liam Collopy, certainly hit all those notes. Prior to the 2005 Oscar season, their client Stunts Unlimited raised the issue of the Academy’s neglect to recognize stunt coordinators as Oscar-worthy. LCO decided to initiate a comprehensive targeted campaign, mobilizing the collective support and endorsement of other stunt organizations. LCO used an aggressive grassroots approach, incorporating an online petition, a joint press release, a New York Times exclusive, and an education-building campaign with the media, providing research and supplementary information on the enormous skill and talent required to be a stunt coordinator.
The campaign resulted in 93 million impressions. Some highlights are print coverage in Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, and the Los Angeles Times, and broadcast coverage on the Today Show, Nightline, and BBC News. LCO also secured endorsements from California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Screen Actors Guild president Melissa Gilbert, among others.
About LCO-Levine Communications Office
LCO is a proven entertainment PR firm with more than 23 years of experience delivering outstanding campaigns and results. The firm has three specialty divisions—Entertainment, Literary, and Lifestyle—and is committed to providing Passionate, Focused Results. Visit LCO on the Web at www.LCOonline.com
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This release, while mostly about my company, also places one of our clients firmly in the spotlight. As you can see, the headline is short and clipped. I often see headlines with three or more clauses, but that’s poor form. Faced with a choice of simplicity or complexity, always choose the former. Headlines should be no more than one clause, leading off with the protagonist. If you’re pushing the church chili cook-off, write “First Community Church to Stage Chili Cook-off,” or something like that, keeping it short by deleting articles like “the,” “a,” “an.”
Even though the chances of your own headline being used verbatim by the press are virtually nil, your headline has two purposes: to summarize the gist of your story, and to grab the attention of the reader. Notice in the above example I led with the name of my firm. That’s important in establishing the protagonist of the release. In describing the content, I cut right to the chase: “wins Bulldog Award.” It tells the editor what the release is about and doesn’t add unnecessary detail. If they want to know more, they’ll read farther down.
The first paragraph paints in broad strokes the essence of the release; the second, third, and fourth paragraphs provide support, with the illustration of the campaign for which we won the award, which is important to the story and helps reiterate the client’s cause. The only quotes are from the award, not from anyone in my company. I could have used quotes if I’d chosen to, but in this case, when noting an award the company has won, it’s best to keep it simple: just the facts. Quotes aren’t always required but can be very effective, both in personalizing the release and for sneaking in subjective commentary that would otherwise be inappropriate in a journalistic setting. Let me hammer this home once again: press releases mimic actual newspaper stories, so you must appear to put forth a modicum of objectivity if you want to gain the interest and respect of journalists. That’s why we note that the company won an award, and then discuss the campaign instead of talking about how wonderful we are.
For your opener, distill up to three key points into two or three sentences. Be simple and direct, and present your information like a news story. If you like, use language that captures the flavor of your project, e.g.: “The city’s hottest chili chefs battle appetite burnout at First Community Church’s Annual Chili Cook-off.” This opening paragraph should contain answers to the five W’s: who, what, when, where, and why.
In your next paragraphs, introduce supporting information. One way to do this is to pull out strains introduced in the lead, and expand on them. No more than two “strain
s” per paragraph. “Strains” in my example above are references to the campaign to recognize stunt coordinators at the Oscars, which isn’t what the press release is about, but adds a lot of interest and lets us note the success we achieved with it.
If you are the main person involved, quote yourself. Make your quotes cogent, concise, and snappy. Break them up into two sections by pausing at the end of the first clause, as in: “It’s a perfect way to make our point,” he said. “The Chili Cook-off brings in people who might not know about us so we can help introduce them to our service.”
Everything publicists do requires a framework of veracity. I couldn’t just say “There ought to be a Stunt Coordinator Oscar” without explaining why. Everything you write has to have a reason. You must beware not only dangling modifiers but also dangling contentions.
But what do you have to write about? Are you announcing the opening of a store? A sensational new kitchen tool? Whatever it is, your main hook is your focus. Ideas for subjects are all around you. If you’re not sure you have a real news hook, how about a survey? Concoct a question like that florist who asked his customers whom they’d most like to send a bouquet to. Tally the results and turn them into a release. You can do releases on business predictions. Although prophecy is a dubious activity, the media eat it up.
If you’re a retailer of some kind, cook up some poll or series of questions you can ask your customers. Take as large a sample as you can and write a press release on it. It’s unscientific, but that would never stop the papers from reporting it. Let your imagination run wild with these surveys.
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