A press release is composed of four main parts:
• the title;
• the sub-headline;
• the body;
• the closing.
Each of these parts can be reduced to a few words, but it must be present. It should be taken into account that this is what the interested party expects for the dissemination of the news.
The title
Always listed in news catalogs and almost always at the top of the press release itself, the title should be a single line, of five or six words at most, containing a date, if possible.
The title is one of the parts most responsible for stimulating attention. Much care must be taken in its writing.
Titles that are too long lose their impact. Remember that the title should evoke, not explain. A few well-chosen words.
Some examples of titles are:
• Scholarship for an MBA offered by Italtel;
• March 31, 2007, optimization course;
• April 3, 2007, ADICO social dinner;
• Marketing and Communication awards Woman of the Year;
• New General Manager at YoYo.
The sub-headline
This is a meaningful phrase that, by completing the title, summarizes the news in an extremely concise form. Every word must be chosen carefully, given the limited space, to ensure that all key elements are present.
Usually, the sub-headline is displayed in news catalogs; in some cases, it is also included in the press release itself, between the title and the body. In this case, the sub-headline must be designed not to repeat the first lines of the body.
Here are some example sub-headlines for the titles indicated above.
• Italtel offers a scholarship for the Master Business Administration edition 2007 course at Bocconi University of Milan.
• YoYo – Rolling Training organizes an optimization course for search engines in Milan.
• Members of the Italian Association for Marketing, Sales, and Communication will be guests at Villa Torretta in Milan. Award for member of the year.
• Woman of the Year 2007 award presented to Rita Levi Montalcini, at the event organized at the Congress Center Fondazione Stelline in Milan.
Title and sub-headline can support each other. For example, an acronym in the title could be expanded in the sub-headline. In other cases, for titles that are too long, one might opt for a version without stop words (a, the, etc.), relying on a more fluid form in the sub-headline.
The body
The main rule is the classic rule of journalistic communication (and not only), conventionally called the “five Ws”. If it is possible to make an exception regarding the order, it is important that the following parts are present:
• who is the main actor, organizer, originator, interested party;
• what is being organized, has happened, is announced;
• where the action, event, manifestation, or fact took place;
• when the event is scheduled, the fact occurred, or the agreement was signed;
• why it happened or what are the motivations, justifications, or intentions.
Each of the indicated parts must be present, ensuring the form is concise and highlights key aspects. Avoid being verbose or providing excessive detail. The complete information of all its parts is not the objective of the press release, but of the page it links to on the website.
Often the headline and body are shown together. Avoid excessive repetition between the headline and the first three lines of the press release body. For important circuits or when giving the release directly to an interested party, a modified version for optimal form would be advisable.
Using bold text, choose a few words, focusing on those that are hypothesized to capture the attention of the correspondent.
In circuits that allow it, it is possible to insert links for further information on some phrases, avoiding, however, the “Christmas tree” effect. Too many links, bold text, and capitalized words end up distracting rather than attracting. Always remember the primary objective of the press release: to prompt a correspondent to respond with a variation.
The tail
The tail of the press release represents its conclusion and always includes at least:
• indication of the page on the website that represents the official and complete announcement;
• signature of the author.
Do not save the press release without first verifying that the link to the in-depth page is correct and that the email indicated in the signature is the right one. It is useful to directly copy and paste from the website pages.
In some cases, the tail is detached, even visually, from the body of the press release. On some circuits, however, there is no specific field, so the information must be placed at the end of the body.
It is important that the page on the site with detailed information is indicated, even if a link is already present in the body text. Those who read press releases often do not dwell too much on the body and instead expect a tail to be present.
The more information is present in the tail, the less need there will be to read the pages on the site. If the press release is intended for the final reader and is placed on high-traffic portals, limiting this information stimulates the reader to follow the in-depth link.
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Pubblicato in Business
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