Writing the Editorial: Advice and Tips

 

If writing the editorial yourself, there are many things that you need to consider to make it look professional.  Although your editorial may be further edited, it is important to give it an appearance that is appealing to the journalist.

The set out of the editorial:

At the very top-left of the page, you should include a letter head ('Press Release' would be ok).  Directly underneath, after a line-space, state in capital letters your favoured release date of the editorial if it is now (IMMEDIATE RELEASE) or in the future (say, BEFORE 19th JANUARY 200X).

Insert another line-space and state all the necessary 'contact details' of your business spokesperson (name, address: work and home, telephone no: work, home and mobile, fax no., and e-mail address). 

Followed by a double line-space, give your editorial a bold head-line and use capital letters at the beginning of every word.  Add an underline to the head-line.

Now comes the opening paragraph which is very important.  Although your editorial may have more than one paragraph, it is essential that you summarize your whole editorial in the opening paragraph in case it is cut down due to space availability.  It should also gain the readers interest so that they will continue to read the full article.

The following paragraphs should offer more depth on the issue without going into great detail.  Provide the reader with a contact (your location, website address, telephone number, etc) so they can follow up if they develop interest.