What Satisfies Press Releases Readers? If YOU Want to Impress The Editor & Reader, Read On...

If there's one thing an editor hates to read, its a dull press release that rambles on about unimportant information. Your primary function as a direct extension of the news staff is to relay significant news to the editor so that he or she can pass it along to their readers.

However, the content you send should not only be worthy of valuable space in the publication, but should also include an irresistible factor as well. Making your news alluring can be done in two different ways. Either the information alone is something the audience cant live without knowing, or you make it seem that way.

News that stands on its own two feet is of paramount concern to the entire community. This includes national coverage of worldwide issues, and major tragedies and triumphs. A lawsuit involving Sams Software might be interesting to the local consumers, but a lawsuit against Microsoft will be of great interest.

Why? Because Microsoft produces a product that is internationally utilized in almost every business in the world. Sams Software doesn't have the recognition that Microsoft does.

If your clients news isn't exactly a top-of-the-hour headline, you'll need to draw your audience into your world, where the news you're presenting is of utmost importance. How can you do this?

By tempting your readers into learning more. You don't do this by giving them a shotgun lead, as its known throughout the Journalism field. A shotgun lead is a method of introduction for a story where the writer immediately tries to cram as much information as he can into the very first sentence.

In this instance, the reader might as well stop reading after that first sentence, since you've already placed your cards on the table. While you want to tempt your reader, you also want to avoid delaying relevant information by asking them a question. Unless the publication is a light-hearted, human-interest outlet, then its best to avoid question leads in a news publication.

To offer your audience a more thrilling read, try using a suspenseful lead to lure them into the rest of the text. But to do this, you must maintain an honest approach and a high degree of integrity.

For example:

Sheriff Patterson realized Monday morning, that something was amiss, when he answered a call from a two-year old Labrador Retriever.

This lead hints at the events that took place, and makes the reader want to continue to find out how a dog called the police station, why it called, and what happened after Sheriff Patterson answered the phone.

If you were writing it as a shotgun lead, it might read like this:

Sheriff Patterson received a call Monday morning from a Labrador Retriever, who was trained to push the automatic 911 button on its owners phone.

A lead like this tells us that the dog was trained prior to the event, on how to dial the emergency number, so chances are, the owner had an on-going ailment of some sort. A reader might continue on to find out what happened, but its pretty much all summed up in the first sentence. Its just a matter of whether or not you want to read a story about a canine hero.

The Less-Is-More theory doesn't necessarily mean fewer words just less information. Of course, its always good to keep your verbiage down to a minimum for the editors sake, and to increase your chances of publication. But less information means teasing your audience with good things to come.

Another method of luring the reader into devouring your story is by shock value. This doesn't mean offensive, just shocking. There's a difference between the two that is as important as any other factor in developing your press release.

Offensive would be anything your audience would possibly be angry with you for printing, such as explicit language or graphic details or pictures. You'll notice in your local paper, if a story is written about a crime or particularly gruesome accident, a warning will precede the article.

This warns readers of vivid details, so that if they prefer to skip that information, they can. Its better to forewarn your audience, rather than sneaking the text in, and then hearing about it later.

Some publications and news shows, unintentionally offend their viewers by reporting on a communities dislike for a certain establishment, for instance, while showing graphic scenes directly into the homes of the viewer.

Shocking, on the other hand, heightens the readers initial reaction, but explains the information throughout the rest of the story. A shocking example might be the following:

Ten high school students were pulled from the wreckage of an overturned truck Tuesday morning, as fire-fighters scrambled to bring them to safety.

I loved it, said Jessica Smith, her head encased in a thick bed of bandages.

The reader is thinking She loved it? But the next sentence goes on to say

The Mothers Against Drunk Drivers Association sponsored the event, which demonstrates how drinking and driving affects al of those around us.

Ah. Now the reader knows the event was a hoax. No children were really injured, and we can see how Jessica would be enthusiastic about participating in such an impacting display.

You do have to be careful when working with teaser leads, however. Sometimes they can backfire. If your reader is in a hurry, he or she might be irritated that they wasted even a few valuable seconds on a false setup.

Others will be grateful for the deviation from the standard news format, and will appreciate the relief that comes from knowing it wasn't a bad accident after all. Look to your intended media target to find out what lead style the editorial staff prefers, or adheres to.

If you don't see any leeway from the basic factual lead intro, then stay with what works for that particular publication. In the example above, you would rephrase it to read:

Mothers Against Drunk Drivers sponsored a lifelike wreckage scene at Cross County High School Tuesday morning to demonstrate the ill effects of drinking and driving.

Whatever method you use to entice your audience into reading the rest of your story, do it fairly and honestly. Don trick a reader into thinking a story is about one subject, only to have them discover its really about something totally different. continued