The Internet is the medium of instant communication, constant change, and rocket
speed. So why hasnít the message changed with the medium? Why is the format
for electronic press releases the same as that of print?
Whatís next for online publicity?
A new format for a new medium.
This article pre-supposes that those writing press releases understand what
constitutes news...that the content of releases are worthy of news coverage. In
question here is how to transmit a message to fit the new medium.
Online, Time Is Everything
While a release on an 8 ‡ by 11 inch page can be scanned with a glance, the
electronic form of the same release requires scrolling. Says BusinessWeek
marketing reporter Ellen Neuborne, "I hate having to scroll past contact
information and the obligatory company description just to get to the subject of
the release. Who has time to do that all day?"
Companies spend anywhere from $150 to $1,000 to have news distribution
services send out each electronic press release. The results? Their one-line
headlines are listed by time of transmission along with hundreds of others sent
that day on Business Wire, PR News Wire,
and other distribution services.
Clicking on a random sampling of Business Wire headlines shows releases with
lead paragraphs containing 156, 94, 83, and 97 words. These are far too long for
reading off a computer screen. Complete releases on Business Wire and PR
Newswire average about 350 words on three 8 ‡ inch wide, single-spaced
screens. That is about 200 words too many!
The Major Online Release Distributors Are Fossils
The Internet needs a new method of company information dissemination that fits
the medium. But first a new form of Internet news release needs to be adopted.
One of the major problems with the formats allowed on BusinessWire and PR
Newswire is that they were created for print releases. Both companies have
simply moved their traditional print business to the Internet. However, one online
press release distribution service -- XpressPress News Service
-- currently will let you use a non-traditional,
Internet-ready format.
Back in the pre-Web days, smart publicists knew that they had to format releases
for radio stations differently than those for print. They were taught to format radio
releases like 30-second scripts. Whether for print or broadcast, releases were
double-spaced for easy reading on a maximum of 2 pages.
Any experienced publicist pitching a story by phone knows there is only a 30-
second window of opportunity. Thatís how long you get to grab a journalistís
attention. If your pitch interests the reporter, s/he will ask you to continue with
your story. The same thing will happen after a reporter reads an Internet-ready
press release.
Why shouldnít information-overloaded editors trying to wade through releases on
their computer monitors be given the same consideration?
What new format will work?
What format would work better? Writing made-for-print press releases ignores
the two chief constraints of reporters and editors - lack of time and the fact that
they must read your information from a computer screen.
Whatís needed is a made-for-the-Internet press release format. Think of the
electronic news release as a teaser to get a reporter or editor to your web site for
additional information. Hereís how the Internet-ready news release should work:
The lead paragraph of a release should state itís point in 40 words or
less. Of those 40 words, no more than six words should be used to
describe what the company does.
Additional material about the company that is not directly related to the
point of the story can be compiled in a separate paragraph below the lead
or at the bottom of the page.
Writing style? Think of how youíd describe the story to a friend on a 30-
second elevator ride. Pay attention to the way the stories on the nightly
news are described during a 10-second commercial break on an earlier
show. Listen carefully to the way radio news broadcasts relate the top
stories of the day.
The lead should stand on its own as a description of the story. To learn
how, study the home page of the online New York Times
; page one of the interactive Journal
or Yahoo! News Alerts.
They all manage to tell what each story is about in a sentence or two. So can you.
Make your entire release a maximum of 200 words or less, in 5 short
paragraphs.
Use the bulleted points "Who? What? Where? When? Why?" as
paragraph headings.
Write only two to three short sentences in each of the five paragraphs.
Above the headline or at the bottom of the release, be sure to provide a
contact name, phone number, email address and URL for additional
information.
If you have compiled your own media list, consider not using a press
release at all, but rather a three-paragraph, short-sentence, e-mail pitch
letter or memo. The only news release distribution service that will allow
you to use a pitch letter or memo format at this time is
http://www.XpressPress.com/.
Itís not easy to write tight. Mark Twain summed it up best when he said "If I had
more time I would have written less." Writing is about re-writing. And re-writing.
Writing well takes time.
Respect todayís reality: take the time to write less and make it mean more.
Want to win coverage? Start by throwing out the tattered old print press release.
Write like you have 10 seconds to make a point. Because online, you do.
