I've done a quick search in Google about press release and how to write them (never looked into them before) and I have found dozens of guides claiming to be able to help you write a professional PR. Can anyone vouch for a decent guide or does anyone have a guide on their blog etc that is worth reading to help me get started with them? I understand that it will take time to get good at them but no time like the present to start eh? Thanks in advance for any information or guidance given.
jenn (jhmattern) has a great article on this. you could probably try her website nakedpr.com or her professional site jhmattern.com hope this helps!
What I suggest is to look up a few free guides and read through them to get a basic idea of press release. Then, of course, you can take any specialized course or buy a detailed book on the subject. But, most of all, practice makes perfect. If you have some free time on your hands, my advice is to write releases for fictional companies first and have them critiqued by an experienced business writer. You can improve the ones at hand or write new ones from scratch and then start offering your own PR services at a low price. As you get better and better, you can gradually increase your rates till you arrive at the market standard. Cheers
That is my plan of action Just got to find the time to get started but I will definately fit it in as it will be worthwhile financially once/if I can do them.
Hi - The advice to work with Jenn, is good advice. We just published one of her articles on writing releases, and it comes with a template you can copy and use. Also, in my experience, most of the "free" press release distribution services are worth exactly what you pay for them. You want to use a service that distributes to real journalists in the major media. Regards - Scott
I actually have a whole site devoted to it. - www.FreePressReleaseWriting.com - articles, templates, etc. to help point you in the right direction. Press release writing isn't for everyone, but if you want to give it a shot, the site should give you a good start. And there's a section with press release writer profiles if you do decide to hire a professional (and btw, anyone here writing press releases can feel free to add theirs).
Great website and resource Jenn. When do you sleep, by the way? I bookmarked it as I get that question a lot. I write them occasionally but with PR, they usually want you to "work" the story, too. That adds a valuable aspect to your service if you can learn to do that, too. So you have to build those contacts both locally and nationally. Or you can specialize. And when writing one for a website, you have to incorporate the key words. I'm sure Jenn's page or one of those books covers that. It was one of the first things they had us write in Journalism school.
If you asked me that question a year ago, I'd have to say never. lol I just wish I had more time to add to this one and promote it. It's pretty much a static site on a blog platform, so it's easy enough to do... it just never seems to be a priority in my schedule.