How to write a media release

Like the idea of seeing your brand online or in print without paying for advertising space? 

Course you do. Everyone likes a bit of free promo! And even better if it helps to position your brand as an industry leader in the process.

Editorial content is valued 3x higher than advertising content (i.e. if you paid for a half page magazine advertisement for $2000, the same space – but as part of a feature article – is worth $6000 in value) because third party endorsement is huge… but it’s not easy to secure. 

Journalists are bombarded with press releases and pitch emails every single day – most of which get deleted or ignored because they suck. And by suck, I mean they’re not newsworthy, they don’t have a good angle, or they haven’t been presented in a way that makes life easy for media to use them. 

So, if you reckon you’ve got some business news worth sharing, you’d better make sure your media release is worthy of being opened.

Here’s how to do it - in 4 simple steps.

But first, coffee agency or DIY?

The advantage of writing & sending a release yourself (rather than engaging a PR agency) is the likelihood of being heard out. Media peeps get hounded by PR peeps all day, so when the news is sent directly from the business owner, it can be seen as a little more genuine.

The upside of an agency, of course, is the media contacts. That’s what you’re paying for.

It takes time and energy to build media relationships, and if PR isn’t your full-time job, it’s likely you’re starting from scratch – which means your cold email (AKA your pitch, which the media release is attached to) had better be a good one. But this is a story for another day!

Pitch aside, it’s possible to secure good results if you know how to make journalists’ lives easier by presenting the release in a way that’s compelling and ready to cut + paste.

4 step process for creating a killer media release 

It’s been a hot minute since my days in PR, but luckily the core elements involved in any great press release are here to stay! 

💫1: Find your angle

If your media release isn’t newsworthy, you can bet your sweet ass it’s on its way to the virtual trash can.

So, what’s the story here? What’s the news? What’s your hook (what’s going to make the reader think it’s worth publishing)?

Are you:

• Announcing a product launch? If so, think about who it’s for and how it’s going to help the user – also need key info like when it will be available and where 

• Promoting an event? Have you got all the key info sorted like date, location, sponsors?  

• Releasing some interesting stats or survey results? Try linking them to a trend  

• Business wins – have you hired a big name? Won an award? Celebrating your 20th birthday? 

Regardless of what the story is, try to flesh out the ‘so what?’ message. Put yourself in the shoes of the readers of the publication you're pitching to, and try to figure out what would make them care about your news.

Remember: novel, interesting, unexpected facts go a LONG way!

💫 2: Find your targets

You’ll need to make 2x lists.

• The first is a list of people you want to hear about your news – the ideal end readers.

  • Are they dog owners? New mums? Couples looking to go on holiday? People who’ve beaten addiction? Be specific.

• Now you know who they are, it’s time to think about where they hang out. The type of media they consume will dictate what publications you pitch your media release to.

  • Do they read lifestyle magazines? Online news? Local print papers? Or do they only watch TV?

List the names of all the outlets you’re targeting then get your stalk on. If you can’t find an email address for editorial submissions online, give the generic reception number a quick call and ask for the contact details of someone you can pitch a story to. 

💫 3: Set it up

There are loads of ways to format your media release, but here’s a basic version highlighting some of the key ingredients…

[Your logo]

MEDIA RELEASE

[Date]

For immediate release

Title of release  

[Your location] – Body of release  

-ENDS-

For more information (or interview/imagery requests) please contact:

[your contact details]

About [name of company]:

[your bio]

If you want to send the news but don’t want it printed until a certain date, pop the words ‘Embargoed until [DATE]’ up the top. When a journo sees this note, they’ll understand they can’t publish immediately.

Putting your release under embargo can be helpful for promoting things like award wins, if you know your biz has won something but the announcement won’t be made public until later. 

💫4: Get writing

Use the above format to guide your writing, and keep these tips in mind:

Title
Your title should be catchy and summarise the key points of the release. Avoid click bait style headlines that intrigue the reader but offer no real value (don’t hype things up that aren’t true!).

Intro
Make your intro as succinct as possible while explaining the main point of your story (who, what, when, where and why). 

Body

This is where PR writing is a little different to copywriting, because I’m giving you permission to write in third person (that means instead of staying ‘we’re launching xxx’ it’s ‘[business name] is launching xxx’.

You also need quotes, ideally from one or two spokespeople. Make sure you attribute them to the right person, using their full name & position.

The inverted pyramid is best practice for release writing and for good reason – it presents info in a way that makes life easier for journalists. The concept is simple: keep your most important information (i.e. your news hook) at the top of your media release, and least important information towards the bottom. Imagine your press release being published word for word in a magazine… if the editor suddenly has to cut space before print, they might cut your story in half. That way, your key info is still likely to be included.  

End

The end of the release = nice extras you’d like to see included, but no stress if not. 

After your last para, remember to add:

• The word -ends- at the bottom (kinda self explanatory, but just roll with it)

• Where people can go for more information & who they can contact to arrange interviews/imagery

• A short bio. Having your bio at the bottom saves you valuable space at the top of the release to crack straight into your news without having to add your life story.

Once you’re happy with how it looks & sounds, save your release as a PDF and attach it to your pitch email. Personalise each email as much as possible, then go ahead and pitch your little heart out (ideally mid-week, avoid Mondays & Fridays).

And be prepared to follow up a few times!

If you want some tips for writing a strong pitch email, hit me up.

There you have it - the basics of writing a media release. Now open up a Google Doc and GET BUSY 🤙