Press release structure and other pet peeves

I was browsing LinkedIn today and came across a very interesting link about press releases. Thanks to the Journalistics blog post that inspired this entry.

The author says press releases will be better if PR professionals write them utilizing the inverted pyramid article style.

YES!!!!!! (I wish the internet had a megaphone option for text, but the exclamations, bold and caps lock abuse is all I can do)

PR people, can this be universally adopted? There is nothing worse than a poorly structured release. If your lead and fact graf (nut graf) aren't compelling, your release will go unread.
While I may be in marketing and PR right now, my background is in journalism. I interned at WBBM Newsradio 780 in Chicago and my news producer threw away press releases like it was his sole job. The station got so many release it's not even funny.

When I write press releases, I make sure the lead and fact graf are compelling and succinct. I also make sure it's short and to the point. A press release looking like a wall of text, even with a compelling lead and fact graf, has a high chance of getting tossed.

I've got other complaints about press releases as well. Here is my list of press release pet peeves:

1) Wall of Text

You've seen these before. The press release is one page but only has four grafs. The four grafs contain about eight lines of text. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to read a wall of text. Journalists are short on time. If they can't skim it, they just ignore it. Structuring a release like an article, with shorter grafs, will help immensely.

2) Lack of a Lead

The release's first sentence should be the lead. Period. This is the most important part because the first sentence determines whether or not journalists read the second. If journalists can't understand what your release is about after the lead, they won't read the rest. If a lead can't be written, the PR person should question if the release has any merit.

3) Stacked Lead

Don't stack the lead.

Example: "Widget Company X, the leading maker of all digital widget technology in the hospitality and service industry, introduced today the next-generation, ground-breaking widget for handling all hotel bookings which will change the way hotel bookins occur."

See how bad that reads? If a PR person has to say how their company is so awesome, journalists automatically doubt your claim. If the company is so awesome, why can't the product speak for itself?

4) Lack of a Fact Graf (Nut Graf)

A fact graf tells a reader why the release is important and why he/she should care. This needs to be in EVERY release. If the PR person can't tell journalists why they should care, the journalists won't care. It's that simple.

5) More than One Page

Yes, PR people send releases with multiple pages. I really wish I was joking but I've seen it with my own eyes. If a company has a major breakthrough (like the cure to cancer), a multiple page release with valuable information is great. But the people who send multiple page releases are usually talking about some insigifcant product. Your new chocolate bar might be delicious, but you can tell journalists that in under ten sentences.

Also, make sure the '###' is at the end of your release. Journalists don't want to wonder if they received your entire release or if more pages are coming.

6) The About Section is Longer than the Release

If the company's description is longer than the actual release, why is it even being written?

7) Bad/Stupid Quotes

Quotes add more depth and make a release stand out. Make sure the quote is relevant and appropriate. Let's continue with the candy bar example:

"This new candy bar is fantastic, it really adds depth to our product offerings" - Bad
"It took a lot of testing to make sure the new candy bar added something different to the table, we really wanted to go outside the box and make something different" - Good

See the difference? The second quote is more compelling. You might have to prod people for better quotes, but it will make a huge difference. I'm seeing more news organizations simply copy and pasting press releases onto their web site with changes. If your release reads like an article with good quotes, it will be much easier to put on a web site.

8) It's Pointless

If the release isn't newsworthy, why is there a release? No one cares if a company just installed a new air conditioner at corporate headquarters. If a journalist constantly sees pointless releases, he/she won't read the others sent by the same company.

The release also has to be truthful. At my internship, I went with a reporter to cover a story we got via a press release. Basically, an organization against junk mail went to picket outside a store that sent a lot of mailers out. The release stated people would be dressed up as junk mail and have oversized pieces of mail. The story seemed interesting and had great visuals. I was there to record video.

The people who organized the event were late, the costumes were pieces of newspaper and the oversized junk mail was much smaller than we were led to believe. Seriously, it looked like a high school craft project. The station still covered the story, since a reporter was sent out, but the it got little play. I'm pretty sure the station hasn't covered anything from that organization since then.

Agree or disagree? I'd love to hear what others think!