1. What is the point of a Press Release? The goal of a press release is to drum up interest in your company, product, or project. Ideally, a press release should not extend beyond one page, and it should always be fact-filled and to the point.

2. Letterhead/Logo It’s a good idea to place your organization’s logo or letterhead at the top of your press release. This makes it easy for press staff to identify where the press release is coming from and it lends credibility to your news. Press release format is something you should consider when developing your brand standards.

3. Release Time: Release time is found first thing, right at the top of a press release. It usually says one of two things “For Immediate Release” or “Embargoed Until [Date].” “Embargoed Until [Date]” means the press release isn’t to be published until the date listed See an example here: http://www.centerforcollegeaffordability.or g/uploads/For_Profit_PR_0622210.pdf http://www.centerforcollegeaffordability.or g/uploads/For_Profit_PR_0622210.pdf

4. Headline: It is critical for the headline of a press release to be attention grabbing, while conveying the topic of the release

5. Summary: The summary is a brief overview of the content of the press release. It highlights the main points, allowing the reader to skim the summary and get a good idea of what the release is about. In online press release distribution, the summary is often displayed in listings with the headline.

6. Dateline: The dateline includes the date of the press release and the town or city the news is taking place in. For example, if the company is based in San Francisco, the dateline would include San Francisco along with the date

7. Press Release Body: This is the meat of the press release. Usually, the first paragraph answers the 5 W’s (who, what, where, when, and why) and is followed by quotations and any supporting facts and details

8. Boiler Plate: The boiler plate is a paragraph that gives a general overview of the company, product, or person being discussed in the press release. Usually, it follows a line that says “About [company, product, or person] being discussed in the press release.

10. Call to Action: This is a brief line following the boiler plate that usually starts with “For more information about [company, product, or person being discussed in the press release] or more about this news angle, contact [PR Relations contact’s name, number, and email address].

11. Contact Info: This section contains as much contact info related to the company, product, or person as possible. It’s better to list too many ways to contact than not enough – you never know what a person’s preferred method of contact is, so feel free to list any method of contact you can think of.

12. Closing: To let the reader know there isn’t a second page that happens to be missing, you should close with either ### or -30- at the bottom of the release.

14. Press Release Examples http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/p0 502-physical-activity.html http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/p0 502-physical-activity.html http://prarrow.com/press_release.php?id=66 33 http://prarrow.com/press_release.php?id=66 33

15. Press Release Summary Logo Release Time (Date or Embargo) Headline (Attention Grabber) Summary (2-3 sentences) Dateline Press Release (5 W’s. No ore than 2-3 paragraphs) Boiler Plate Call to Action (How can people find out more info?) End with ###