Writing Better Press Releases

Overview

Course duration: 1 day.

The most basic tool of media relations in PR is the news release. But many PR people do not know how to put together and write a professional and effective release. This course puts that right. Extremely practical and effective.

Is it right for me?

Those with limited or no formal training in writing news releases, both in-house and in consultancy. This course is recommended as a first training session for newcomers needing to write releases for the media.

What will I learn?

By the end of this practical course you will be able to:

• Learn what makes copy good or bad.
• Understand how audiences respond to promotional copy.
• Use copy that gets the attention of the reader.
• Write persuasively, attractively and effectively.
• Structure copy for the greatest impact.
• Write for different formats, media and audiences.
• Improve your own writing through trying out new techniques in practical exercises.

Pre-course Activity

Please bring along a press release that you have been involved in.It DOES NOT have to be a press release that you, personally, have written.

What will it cover?

What is News?

How Journalists Find Stories

The Role that the News Release Plays

Principles of Release Writing

• Two approaches to better releases
• Critique of press release styles
• Who, what, when, where, why and how
• Structuring your release
• Tips to improve writing
• Punctuation, spelling and grammar
• Things to avoid in your release
• How to lay out your release

News Analysis and News Writing

• Examples from today's national newspapers

Practical Exercises

• Drafting a release from a brief

Evaluation

• Peer group review of draft releases

Trainer Profile

Maud Davis

Some learners have never written a press release before, so have no idea how to get started, so they find the guidance on structure and style invaluable. Others want to improve their writing so that it flows easily and strikes a balance between being a ‘PR plug’ and true editorial.

I give learners lots of practical and inspirational ideas by sharing my own experiences in writing PR releases targeted at the national news media. Plus the exercises and one-to-one feedback given provide a safe haven for putting the learning into practice.

The Faculty

Maud Davis ispart of the dedicated faculty team who will deliver this course. The initials next to each date below indicate which trainer is scheduled to deliver which event.