Press Kit Creation Template

Press Release

A quick note on how this template works. You fill in the blank boxes with your specific information. Once you complete each section and click on: "Send it to me now!" you'll receive the completed document via email as a MS word document which you can modify accordingly.

IMPORTANT: This template is software on our system so if you shut down your computer or your computer freezes while you're in the middle of editing your press release ALL of your information will be lost. We highly recommend that you CUT AND PASTE your information from a word document on your computer into the template on this page to insure that your work will be preserved. IF YOU REFRESH YOUR SCREEN, ALL CHANGES WILL BE LOST.

The first way to convey your news-making story is through a press release. A press release is a one-page explanation that shows the news media why you, your product, or your business deserve media coverage pronto. It is your challenge to create a compelling reason for readers, listeners, viewers, to be interested in what you have to offer now. Your "message" is the gist of what you want to share. Your "hook" is the grit that message is carried upon. Consider a hook the megaphone to get attention. It is a collar-gripping statement that must be compelling enough to make your press release stand out from the hundreds of others that crowd editors' and producers' desks every day.

Press releases are formulaic. Use the format below to write your press release. Journalists and producers are used to receiving materials with this formula, so don't deviate from it. You are welcome to be as creative as you like in the content. See an example.

HOT TIP!
Put it all on a page.

Put it all on one single-spaced page to send via email.

HOT TIP!
Personalize whenever possible.

If you're familiar with a journalist's work, attach a short note that tells him what you like about his style and the subject he's covering and why your topic fits in.

HOT TIP!
Give your subject emotional zing.

There is one potent part that's often missing from a press release-emotional resonance. Make your subject call up a shock of feeling. If whatever you are promoting has elements that will stir up strong positive and negative feelings about a subject, you have a better chance of being heard through all the noise of those competing for media attention.

Below are some examples to assist you in thinking up your own hot hook or angle:

• A new development about your product, business, or organization that would benefit others in a significant way.

• Why you are different from your competitors and why that matters.

• An upcoming contest, fund-raiser, event, or award. Something you have done or are doing to help the community.

• A controversial or surprising discovery.

• An amusing or humorous bit of information that delights and entertains.

• Something outrageous or (nearly) unbelievable.

• Something weird, quirky, or strange.

• Statistics, surveys, research, or polls that elucidate something significant.

• A direct connection to a holiday, anniversary, celebration, or historical event.

• A correlation between whatever it is you offer and a current trend, a trend started by you or your business, or a backlash against a trend.

• A tie-in with your product, business, or personality to a breaking story or timely news topic or event.

HOT TIP!
Tell a great story.

What is the quickest way to get in the news or make your own? The secret is so old and so obvious, you may have missed it. According to reporter Dennis Stauffer, in his book MediaSmart: How to Handle a Reporter, it is this: Tell a great story. "A news story is supposed to be true, but otherwise the criteria for what makes a good story are the same as in fiction. We look for strong characters (newsmakers), good dialogue (sound bites/quotations), and something novel and dramatic to tell (scandal/disaster/victory). We strive to somehow touch our audience by relating things in personal terms, and we try to present it in a way that will attract and hold someone's attention."