Writing a Press Release Editorial
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.
How to format the editorial:
Use A4 sized paper (11″x8.5″). The margins should be no less than 1″ on all sides of the paper. Be sure that you only print on one side of the paper: never use both.
When typing, use double or 1.5 spacing so that the editorial is readable and can easily be edited by the journalist if necessary.
Complete paragraphs on the same page: don’t split them so that it is continued on another page. If you use more than one page for the whole editorial, indicate this by using the following text at the bottom-centre of your page: – more – (don’t leave out the dashes).
To show the end of your editorial, use the following symbols after the last paragraph at the centre of the page: # # #.
Making it more readable/informative:
An ideal inclusion in your content is a quotation from someone (maybe yourself) in your business to state something about the issue. This could be your opinion or further information.
Article Index
- Related Articles
