• At the top of the page include your name and contact information. Include both your phone number and an email address.
• Craft a headline that summarizes the news as well as answers the reader's unspoken question of "Why should I care?" For example, instead of "Public Relations Firm Launches New Website", use "Public Relations Firm Offers Free Advice on New Website"
• If appropriate, use a sub-headline to further explain. For example: "The Cooper Group Offers 'How-To's' of PR at www.mycoopergroup.com"
• Next comes the dateline which is the city from which the news is originating, all in caps, and the state abbreviation as found in the AP Stylebook (not the postal zip code abbreviation of 2 letters) plus the date, in parenthesis. For example: FORT MYERS, Fla. (July 12, 2009) -
• State your news succinctly, in 350 words or less.
• The first paragraph should contain the "5 w's and an h" - who, what, when, where, why and how.
• Text should be added in paragraphs in order of descending importance, this is known as the "inverted pyramid". That way, if an editor needs to shorten the copy, the vital information of the first paragraph will not be lost.
• Providing quotes from company officials, industry experts or others related to the news item will add interest.
• If your news is about an event, be sure all the necessary information is provided in the first paragraph, then restate it in the last paragraph.
• Conclude your release with one of the accepted forms of an "end mark". For example: ### centered in the line below the last line of text.
• Below the end mark you may provide one or two sentences describing your organization. This is known as "boilerplate". For instance: "The Cooper Group is a full service public relations, marketing and social media management firm located in Fort Myers, Florida."
• If you are providing a photograph, be sure the file is labeled so as to be easily associated with the story. For example: Ginny_Cooper_of_The_Cooper_Group.jpg
• You may add a photo caption below the boilerplate. For example: Ginny Cooper, principal of The Cooper Group
• It goes without saying, but begs to be said anyway: Make sure your facts are correct! Yes, spell check is great, but don't rely on it. Proof your copy by reading each word backwards.

That's the science of press release writing, and it's not rocket science. There is however, an art to it, and if you're having trouble finding the right words, the right angle...give us a call at 239-297-3638. We write it right!