I’m a person who loves doohickeys.
Peek in my garage or kitchen and you’ll find an array of tools and gadgets waiting for the right task.
I bought each with a project in mind (and some of those projects actually get done eventually).
But as anyone who has ever used a spatula for an ice scraper or a butter knife for a screwdriver will tell you, the functionality of any tool isn’t revealed by what you bought it for – it’s in how you use it.
In this sense, the press release is the ultimate public relations and media relations “doohickey.”
We assume it’s only good for one thing – earning media coverage – but in truth, a well-written press release can do so much more.
That’s because now more than ever, newsrooms are turning to news releases as a primary source of quick, easy-to-produce content that can help them make the most of their shrinking staff and the never-ending need for more material. Even the once-frowned-upon practice of running or reciting releases verbatim is now commonplace.
That makes the press release the perfect doohickey for all the goals I want to accomplish as a school communications professional.
I start every press release with at least these four goals in mind:
Earn media coverage … obviously. Besides getting good news into the public eye, it’s also good for school spirit to see our efforts recognized in the media.
Share our school system’s full story with the media … not just the story that is the main topic of my press release. This leads to more robust, better-informed coverage in the long term.
Control the public message. When well-written, a press release can dictate not only the broad themes of the message that get reported but even the exact wording by which reporters will do so.
Improve our digital footprint. Local news websites can extend the reach of a message, while also boosting a school’s SEO value and bringing in more external traffic. Check out some of the tricks and tactics I’ve used to turn my plain old press release into the perfect multitool for these tasks and more.
Gather Your Quotables
If a journalist bites on your press release, you need to be ready to connect them with the sources they’ll need to report on your story quickly. Figure out who in your school a reporter might need to talk to, then let those people know in advance that you may need their help. This is also a great time to assess their comfort speaking with the media and provide coaching. Finally, find out when is most convenient for them to speak with reporters and consider timing your press release accordingly.
Target the Right Reporters
Press releases aren’t for every reporter or every story. They are best for stories announcing breaking news, live coverage opportunities and other news journalists can report in a day or less. This makes them ideal for breaking news, weekend and general assignment reporters, as well as digital/social media producers. If your story opportunity involves something more in-depth, a more personal pitch is the better way to go.
Do Your Own Reporting First
A reporter can sense when a story will be easy or difficult to turn around. The easier you make things on the reporter, the more likely receptive they will be. Try to get your press release as close to publication-ready as possible by doing your reporting first. In addition to tracking down sources, gather any photos, B-Roll video, graphics or other resources a reporter might need to fully report your story.
Master Your Email Subject Line
Reporters get thousands of emails per day, so make sure your press release is direct and contains key phrases, such as your school’s name and the subject of your story. Bonus points if these key phrases also match common Google search terms for your school, as many reporters will use your subject line for the headline of their online story.
Send It When They Are Looking For Stories
Send your press release when most journalists are looking for daily story ideas. For most newsrooms, that’s between 5-6 a.m. when TV stations are looking for fresh material for the morning newscasts and print reporters are doing their first scan of overnight happenings. If something happens at your school outside of this window, consider waiting to send the press release until the next morning. For weekend events, send an initial release on Wednesday or Thursday to get it on the newsroom radar, then follow up with a reminder early the morning of the event.
Avoid Busy News Moments
No matter how important your story is, it can get bumped or missed completely if something bigger is happening. Pay attention to the news happening both in your community and around the country. Delay sending your press release if a major story is breaking.
Written With Web Publication In Mind
If a press release is well-written, many outlets will copy-paste it directly to their website even if they intend to do further reporting later. At a minimum, your text should be written in AP Style, in inverted pyramid format and free from spelling or grammatical errors. However, you can maximize your copy-paste returns by also stuffing it with SEO keywords and links that will draw more attention to the article on the news site and eventually lead visitors back to different sections of your site.
Call or Text
Nothing I’ve ever done has ever led to a greater increase in reporter response rate to my press releases than including explicit permission to text message me if reporters prefer. Journalists are busy people and communicating by text message allows them to multitask better by keeping the conversation going at the pace they prefer. (Note: Just as a reporter will presume any spoken or written message is on-the-record, they also will assume any info given in a text message is on-the-record. Use text messaging to coordinate coverage, give straightforward answers to basic questions or share previously prepared quotes.)
Write for the Ear, Not the Brain Behind It
A common mistake writers of all kinds make is trying too hard to sound smart. They want to impress their audience with big words, fancy phrases and sentences that run on for days. As a result, though, their writing becomes bloated and impossible to read. Simplify. Use short sentences and strong verbs. If you can read your text out loud without getting tongue-tied, there’s a good chance a TV reporter might do the same to save themselves from having to write something original.
Different Versions for Different Reporters
Most newsrooms no longer have education reporters, so your media outreach needs to target a variety of other potential beats. When possible, try sending multiple versions of your press releases to different reporters tailored to their beats, interests or geographic coverage areas. Usually, all it takes is a slight change to the subject line or first couple of sentences to make a story idea more applicable to a reporter’s unique beat.
Sí, Hablo Español
Much like your school’s Spanish-speaking families, your Spanish-language reporters don’t want to feel forgotten just because their primary reporting language may not be English. If possible, prepare and send a second version of your press release specifically for Spanish-language media. This shows that you recognize that they and their audience are important parts of your school community.
Add a ‘Widget’
Considering the frequency with which reporters come and go from newsrooms these days, constantly re-establishing your brand identity is critical for even the most well-known organizations. So, is there something important about your school that reporters don’t know, don’t understand, misreport or underreport? Try adding an infobox or other “widget” to your press release to help tell your school’s full story and slowly build higher-level knowledge of your brand within your local newsrooms. Even if your story doesn’t get covered, at least your local news reporter has learned something new about your school that could pay off further down the road.
Simplify Complex Topics with Chart or Graphic
If your press release is getting overwhelmed with numbers or other in-the-weeds details, consider including a chart or graphic to explain it all. Not only do charts help bring simplicity to otherwise confusing topics, but they also give newsrooms another visual option to include with their story.
Double ‘About Us’ Section
Chances are, the bottom of your press release is a section called something like “About Us.” Below is usually a treasure chest of search engine gold: key SEO phrases, backlinks to your website, biographical information, social media links, etc. Unfortunately, most newsrooms clip this part off when posting your press release to their website. A sneaky way to force it back in is to add a rewritten version of this paragraph right before your “About Us” section, masking it as part of the press release. Most likely, the web producer or reporter scanning your copy will assume the good stuff ends where “About Us” begins and leave in all that great SEO stuff right before it.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the Spring 2022 issue of TSPRA’s Communication Matters magazine.
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