How to Write a Press Release

How to Write a Press Release

Guidelines

by Susannah Greenberg,CEO,
Susannah Greenberg Public Relations

These are guidelines for how to write a press release. They are guidelines only, not rules.

The length of a press release should be approximately 600 words excluding headline, contact information, and bibliographic detail.

The text should answer the five basic questions of journalism: who, what, when, where and why?

The press release should have a newsworthy headline and sub-headline.

It should have a dateline. For example:

September 19,2019

NEW YORK (BOOKBUZZ) —

It should have contact information of contacts whom the media can reach out to for further information - name, phone number, and email. At the bottom or top, the address of the organization, its website address, and its logo should appear.

It should contain 3-4 bullet points highlighting features.

It should contain, on average, no more than 3-4 links and 1-2 images.

Images should be captioned and carry credit lines naming the photographer or source of photo if needed.

Copy should appeal to the broadest possible audience and assume no background knowledge on the part of the reader.

Remember, all emails need to be mobile friendly, which means consider that most or many will read the email on a cell phone or other mobile device.  So, type size should be 13.5 pt at a minimum and use white space liberally.

Also, there should be white space around all hyperlinks as well in order to make it easy to click on them on the small screen of a cell phone.

Finally, consider sending a VERY brief pitch letter INSTEAD of a press release, and in the pitch letter include a link to your press release which you can make available either online or via a service like Dropbox or Box.

Here are more tips on writing press releases from a journalism and public relations site called Muck Rack:

Come up with a creative, attention-grabbing headline and sub-headline. Make sure the headline you choose both engages readers and accurately explains the context of the press release.

[Very important! My emphasis]  Get right to the point in the intro using an inverted pyramid writing style. Make sure the first paragraph of your press release addresses all the important points to follow.

Include one or two key quotes when possible. Incorporating quotes from expert sources is a great way to get key elements across in your press release while humanizing the content.

Keep your press release relatively short. Journalists typically don’t have a lot of time to closely read lengthy releases. Stick to the most important information.

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Some news wire services which will help you write and distribute your press release are:

ereleases.com

newswire.com

businesswire.com

CONTACT: Susannah Greenberg Public Relations, (646) 801-7477, publicity@bookbuzz.com

A Look Back at 2019 at Susannah Greenberg Public Relations - A Book Publicity Firm

Highlights of 2019 

Dear Book Friends,

As 2019 and the decade come to a close, I look back on and share with you the highlights of my year as CEO of Susannah Greenberg Public Relations.  I thank all of my colleagues, clients, and friends for all they have done to help me succeed. 

BookExpo 2019: I organized and moderated a panel on women and books ‘Year of the Woman in Books,’  with noted authors, critics and booksellers. Panelists: Hillary Kelly, Michele Filgate, Glory Edim, Hannah Oliver Depp, and Erika Swyler.

Joyce Carol Oates, Photo by Dustin Cohen

Jerusalem International Book Forum: I served as the U.S. Press Contact for the JIBF and public relations for the Jerusalem Prize to author Joyce Carol Oates; the keynote speaker Stephen Rubin (Henry Holt); and The Zev Birger Editorial Fellowship program.

Grupo Books, an Imprint of Penguin Random House: Public Relations for You Shall Not Kill, a novel, translated from Spanish, by internationally best selling author Julia Navarro.

Civility: George Washington’s 110 Rules for Today by Steven Michael Selzer (Andrews McMeel): Public Relations campaign for this gentle and wise book, inspired by our Founding Father, George Washington, including an author website: https://www.stevenselzerbooks.com/

The Demon Door Series: A successful campaign for this wildly entertaining epic fantasy series, including social media marketing, replete with a cover reveal on Instagram, for author and former Sirius XM book talk show host Kim Alexander, with interviews on Hour of the Wolf and Sci Fi Talk with Tony Tellado.

KidLit.TV: I'm part of the KidLit TV team. KidLit TV is a winner of the Parents’ Choice Gold Award, the Norton Juster Award for Devotion to Literacy, and one of the American Library Association’s Great Websites For Kids.

Women’s Media Group, Communications Chair. It was my honor to serve on the board of this group of women in book publishing which was founded in 1973.

Book Buzz with Susannah Greenberg, Podcast: I continued to produce and record my podcast, a showcase for authors, on blogtalkradio.

Introducing Author Website Services: In 2019, I introduced author website services launching with https://www.stevenselzerbooks.com/

And as 2019 turns into 2020, I’m at work on a public relations campaign for a new inspiring book called Dreams Never Dreamed: A Mother’s Promise that Transformed Life’s Challenges into a Beacon of Hope by Kalman Samuels, Founder and Chairman of Shalva, in Jerusalem, one of the world’s largest centers for disability care and inclusion, to be published in the spring of 2020 by the Toby Press, an imprint of Koren.  

I’m also working on another exciting book publishing panel for BookExpo 2020! More to come.

I wish all of you happy holidays and a happy new year! A new year brings new books!

Sincerely,

Susannah Greenberg

President & CEO, Susannah Greenberg Public Relations

publicity@bookbuzz.com

(646) 801-7477