What makes a good press release?

This post is written by Evelyn Masaba, Communications Fellow, Feminist Movement Building at Pollicy.

• The problem: It seems like an easy and obvious thing to do for so many people, organisations or brands, but writing or even understanding what a press release is, is not as easy as it appears to be.
• Why it matters: Press releases are vital documents when it comes to external communications especially in the event of a crisis or major campaign.
• The solution: Writing a press release requires you to know what the release is, what it's for, how to write it and who to write for.

A press release is a document that an organisation, politician, public figure, or brand shares with the general public through the media or its own website and social media platforms in the event of a crisis, activity, campaign, or the need to clarify a situation.

Many times, press releases have been shared with haste, this is usually due to the fact that:

• Brands, organisations, and personnel don’t listen to their communications and public relations teams.
• There’s no standard crisis management strategy in place and this leads to the hasty sharing of information.
• There is no communications strategy in place.
• There is no communications team hired or in the organisation.
• The organisation is trying to get ahead of the news, crisis, or event.

Then comes the question of what is a good press release and how can it be achieved? A good press release is usually a simple, well written document that is precise without sharing unnecessary details.

Before you share or even write a press release, you need to ask yourself:

• Is it necessary?
• Is the timing right?
• What is the importance?
• Who are we writing to?
• What is the message going to be?
• Will it solve the issue or communicate the message?

Once all this is understood, have a strategy discussion that involves you knowing the:

• Audience: Who you are addressing in this release, because this determines the tone of your message and how it will be communicated. The audience also determines where your message will be shared from: social media, print, website, or even newsletter format.
• Newsworthiness: Many times press releases are published but never get the attention you were hoping for because of the weight it carries in news. Is this fair? No, it's not but it's necessary to know this before you share yours. This also works into your timing of when you share the release.
• A good heading is everything for your release. Make it catchy and people are going to zero in on your message after seeing it.
• Short and precise messaging for a release is very important so that your audience sees your message and understands it easily.
• End the release with a very brief boilerplate text that explains your brand, organisation or public figure.
• Share a contact detail at the end of the press release in case you want your audience to reach out, preferably someone in your communications department or media relations desk.
• Proofread everything.

After you have achieved all this, read through the release and make sure it is what you want to share with the general public.

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(Image Credit: Unsplash)