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That’s a pretty nasty headline, isn’t it. You might even find it offensive. But I’ll bet it got you to read at least this far.

So why do I make this controversial and confrontational assumption?

The answer is simple. Before becoming a publicist, I worked as both an editor and a staff reporter. Part of my duties included wading through the countless press releases sludged out by people who didn’t know what they were doing.  Many of these writers were in-house publicists for one company or another.  Others were the owners of small businesses that knew they needed publicity, but didn’t know how to go about writing an effective release.  I’m not alone in this observation.

My fellow journalists also have this complaint.  It is the number one gripe I found when interviewing journalists for my book, You Can Be Famous! Insider Secrets to Getting Free Publicity.”

With journalist-aggrivation in mind,  I’d like to share a few tips that can help  you to write powerful, attention-grabbing releases that will get read and help you to get the publicity you deserve.

Let’s start with the headline.  It is the most important part of the release. It must get the attention of the editor or reporter who reads it.  If not, it will be thrown in the garbage without a second thought.

Think carefully before writing it. It must convey the essence of the idea, story, product or event that you are trying to promote.

Once you’ve decided on the main idea for your release, consider how to make the headline say, “Hey, look at me.  Read me.” There are several proven headline templates, many of which come from the world of advertising.

You can:

Make a controversial statement

Ask a question

Offer a benefit

Arouse curiosity

State a surprising fact

There are many more, but these samples will give you some idea of what I mean.

Compare the following headlines:

XYZ Company Announces New Tax Software

New Tax Software Helps Businesses Slash Tax Bill by 30%

Which headline would make you want to learn at least a little more?

Now, the headline has to be true, and you have to back it up in your release. Which leads me to the second most critical part of the release — the lead. The lead is the first one to three sentences of the body of the release.  It’s purpose is to convey in a little more detail, the essence of the story.  The lead should be short and punchy and get to the point immediately.

Don’t drown your lead, like way to many people do, in a swamp of company background as if its some kind of warm-up to the real deal.

For example, don’t write something like: XYZ, a leader in business software with a history of blah, blah blah, has announced the release of it’s new tax software that …

Instead, write something closer to: New tax software published by XYZ guarantees that business owners who use it will dramatically reduce their tax bill by as much as 30 percent.  Tax Monster, as it is called, searches the tax return and does a cross check of all recent legal deductions ….

See the difference?

You can also power up a press release by fueling it with a few relevant quotes from the company spokesperson.  If you’re a small business owner, that’s probably you.

And try to make those quotes distinctive and memorable. Use images and metaphors, if you can. Something like:

“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for  your country.”

“Speak softly and carry a big stick.”

President John F. Kennedy uttered the first one about 50 years ago. President Theodore Roosevelt said the latter about a century ago. Both those phrases are still with us today.

So, there are a few ideas to keep your press release on the journalist’s good pile and out of the recycling bin, or the nether-world of deleted emails. Start using these principles and you’ll soon start getting the all-imortant media coverage that can propel your business to greater and greater success.

Thanks for reading.

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