Journalists are bombarded with press releases; most they ignore. To command attention, the right story must be submitted in the right way. When this happens, the results can be spectacular.
This in-house press release writing course will help your staff ensure that their announcements get results. It will show them how to identify news stories, angle them for different media (including the web) and write in a lively, engaging style.
They will learn to structure press releases for maximum impact, to prepare effective quotes, to handle interviews and to meet journalists’ needs.
This is a very practical course, with plenty of examples and exercises. Participants will have the opportunity to write a press release from scratch and assess it against criteria they have identified during the training.
To help them develop their skills further, they will receive a year of free support from their tutor and a detailed course manual, packed with tips and professional advice.
Learning objectives
By the end of this course your staff will be able to:
identify news stories, angle them for different media and present them as well-written press releases
structure press releases for maximum impact
write in a lively, engaging style that will help to attract editors and journalists
commission or write quotes and incorporate them effectively
target and distribute their releases
build relationships with individual journalists
handle interviews professionally
evaluate and learn from their results.
Morning session
Introduction
The purpose of a press release
The advantages of a press release
Why journalists and press officers need each other
The differing needs of press, TV, radio, and news websites
Is it news?
What makes a news story?
The difference between news, features and advertising
Why using a ‘non-story’ can be damaging
The power of human interest
Structuring your press release
Formatting
Using the inverted pyramid structure
Keeping your release brief and accessible
Writing the story
Knowing your audience
Identifying key messages and spokespeople
Giving your release a title
Getting your core information across - using the 5 Ws
Writing in a lively, engaging style
Using quotations effectively
Afternoon session
Preparing the other elements
Incorporating your logo
Adding contact details
Using ‘notes to editors’ to give further information, web links, photo opportunities, invitations, etc
Writing your organisation’s ‘boilerplate’
Illustrating your press release
Distributing the press release
Checks to make before you distribute
Timing - points to consider
Using an embargo
Targeting named journalists
Getting the most out of your story - publishing online and in newsletters
Following up
Contacting journalists - approaches that work
Handling interviews - essential preparations
Meeting journalists - do’s and don’ts
Learning from experience
Evaluating the results
Identifying the lessons
Further development
Reference sources
Post-course support
More information
The Press Release Writing course is available as an in-house course, which we would run at your premises. For more information,
click here.
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“The workshop-style of training worked really well: the case studies, the group discussion and the feedback on our own press releases were all very valuable.”
Suzy Lucker Client Services Coordinator & PR Manager Social Ltd
“For me, the best thing was being able to write my own press release and get the tutor’s advice and feedback on it.”
Karina Vanadzina Editorial Assistant Lancaster University
“I picked up lots of great tips that will help me to write better press releases.”
Christine Thorpe PR & Communications Officer The Housing Plus Group
Running the Press Release Writing course in-house
The Press Release Writing course can be run as in-house training anywhere in the world. If you have a group of staff who need the same skills, this option is cost-effective and convenient.
Tailored to your needs
The length and content of this course can be tailored to match your needs. In addition to covering some
or all of the topics given in the
example programme, you may want to add topics that are particularly relevant to your
organisation.
Flexibility
An in-house course is fully flexible. Tell us what you want to achieve and we will work with you to design a course to match. Tell us when you would like to run it and we will find a date that suits you.
Free support
Every course we run comes with a year of free support for each participant. We recognise that people do not think of every question on the day of the training. Our support service gives them the opportunity to ask their tutor an unlimited number of questions in the year following the course. In this way they continue to build their skills and confidence.
Ask us for a quotation
The cost of an in-house course depends on a number of things, including its length, its location and how much preparation we need to do. We can readily give you a quotation, so please contact us to discuss your needs.
Journalists are bombarded with press releases; most they ignore. To command attention, the right story must be submitted in the right way. When this happens, the results can be spectacular.
Learning objectives
Introduction