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Writing Tips for Google News


10 Tips to Writing a Successful Press Release for Google NEWS

  1. REMOVE: “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (if you don’t, Google News will index that as a header)
  2. STRONG TITLE- ONE SHORT PUNCHY SENTENCE
  3. Subtitle/header should be a compelling headline. The headline makes your release stand out. Keep it short, active, and descriptive. If you don’t know how, read a number of compelling headlines to get inspired. You can do a search on the Internet to find compelling headlines.
  4. CITY, STATE (NEWSWIRE) DATE - START TEXT -Hook the reader with the first paragraph. A first paragraph must summarize the five W’s: who, what, where, when and why. In fact, most readers will give up if you haven’t hooked them in the first few lines.
  5. Put the most important information at the beginning. This is a tried and true rule of journalism. Editors receive dozens of releases everyday and they don’t have the time to go hunting for the important information.
  6. Don’t say it, show it. Avoid saying something is “unique” or “the best”. Instead, show how people will benefit - i.e. save time, save money, make their life easier, etc.
  7. Get a quote from someone who has reviewed your product or used your services.
  8. Spell-check and spell-check! Do remember to proofread your press release for typographical errors before you send them out.
  9. BOTTOM LINE: For more information, contact: followed by your contact information. Provide all possible contact information including mail address, telephone, fax, e-mail and web site (especially for online business).
  10. End your press release with ### or with -33- after your last lines of text. This symbol lets your reader know they have successfully received the entire release.

You may also want to add a boilerplate, be it a short bio or company’s profile at the end of the release. The boilerplate remains the same in all release and is typed in a smaller font. For my corporate clients, I use a boilerplate, for my own release, I always include a one-sentence bio.

Thank you,

Anne Laszlo-Howard

for PR services, visit www.annehowardpublicist.com

EXAMPLE:

STRONG HEADER TO HOOK THE READER
2nd header as a tease

CITY, STATE,(RUSHPRNEWS) DATE - The first paragraph contains the most important elements and most answer the Ws: Who, Where, Why and What. Answer all the important questions in the first paragraph.

Use direct language and back up any claims with facts. Get an expert quote. In the second paragraph, develop a little deeper the ideas introduced in the first paragraph. Back up your claims with quick examples. Don’t use vague language, demonstrate.

Breaking quotes up into two parts is a good way to break the monotony and also give more credibility to the words by introducing your speaker and his/her qualifications. Keep your release to 500 words or less.

Conclude again with contact information. It is recommended to include a boilerplate. That is a short statement about the company that is to be included with every distributed document.

COMPANY NAME - tag line
Date Here

For more information, contact:
Contact Name
Address 1
Address 2
City/State/ZIP
Phone:
Fax:
Website:
E-mail:

End with ### to let your reader know that the release ends at this point.

###