Writing a good press release is like telling a good story -- you have to take care to grab the audience's attention early on -- and keep it.. Like any news story worth its salt, a press release must have a reason for being. We call that the hook.

What about this story will hook readers?

If a press release is to have any value, it must get past the most critical and important reader of all -- the editor or publisher who receives it. Catch their interest and you might just see your story in print. Bore them and all
your hard work gets filed in the cruelest file cabinet of all -- the trash can. To do this, you must
know what makes for a good news item.

Understand what makes for good news
If you understand what an editor or publisher looks for in a good story, you can better position your press release to be acted upon.
Here are some things to consider.
* Is the information being related timely? Was the award presented last night? Did the new product launch this week?
* Does the press release relate to something that's in the news. Perhaps your company made one of the components for the next installation being added to the International Space Station.
* Will the item be of interest to the readers of the publication? Don't send your press release to Popular Mechanics if you sell bath soap gift baskets. Remember to keep the target audience in mind when you write your release -- and when you send it.

Sublety is often the marketer's best friend, but we prefer the direct approach
Do not forget that your press release is being read by an audience unlike any you usually target. It is going to media professionals who tend to be turned off by the kind of copy that, we know, does work in marketing. What to you sounds like poetry written for the human mind comes off sounding like sales pitch No. 109 to most editors. Stick to the facts. Do not embellish and, by all means, avoid superlatives. To your customers, your site may very well be "the Internet's No. 1 resource for Pollen Collectors." For the purposes of your press release, however, stick to what you can prove and become "an online resource for beekeepers and pollen collectors."