BEST PRACTICES WRITIng An EFFECTIvE nEWS RElEASE

							BEST PRACTICES
WRITIng An EFFECTIvE nEWS RElEASE


  News releases remain the most common tool for organizations to
  make a public statement through the media and financial community.
                                                                                TIP:
                                                                                Having an interesting
  Consider including a social media release (SMR) version of your news          photo accompany your
  release for maximum impact and to reach audiences your traditional            news release increases
  news release might not ordinarily reach. Think of an SMR as an add-on to      your chances of pick-up.
  your traditional news release, providing the online audience with a place
  to go for multimedia content and conversation about your message.

  Newsrooms receive hundreds of story ideas each week. Here’s a simple
  checklist to make sure your news release stands out in the crowd.             For more inFormation,
                                                                                please contact your account
  Find a news hook                                                              executive or contact us by:
  Ask yourself, “is this news?” Create a human interest element, or
  relate the news release to an industry trend or current event.                t: 1.877.cnW.7890
                                                                                e: info@newswire.ca
  Create a great headline
  An effective headline includes the organization’s name, gives a sense
  of immediacy by using the present tense, and uses active verbs and
  plain conversational words.

  Answer the Eight W’s
  Who, what, why, when, where, who wins, who loses, and who cares?

  Always tell the real story, even if it’s bad news
  Be proactive and explain why the bad news is happening and what the
  organization is doing about it. The media will be less likely to trust your
  organization in the future if a news release tries to hide bad news.

  Provide sound contact information
  Contacts should be available and ready to respond. Include daytime
  and after-hours telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and the
  organization’s website.

  Broad dissemination is the key to editorial coverage
  CNW Group’s newswire sends your news release electronically into
  the editorial system in a newsroom. It’s an effective method of getting
  your information filed alongside editorial wires like Canada Press,
  Broadcast News and Associated Press.




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BEST PRACTICES WRITIng An EFFECTIvE nEWS RElEASE




    Use the telephone
    Once you’ve sent the news release, follow up with a call to the
    assignment desk, editor or beat reporter receiving the release.

    Use the ‘net
    CNW Group’s newswire automatically posts your release to
    www.newswire.ca; consider also posting the release to your own
    website.

    Use social media
    Enhance your news with streaming video, audio, graphics, comments,
    RSS feeds and buttons to share across social media sites by
    complimenting your release with a Social Media Release (SMR).

    Optimize your release for search engines
    Include keywords in the opening paragraph of your news release to
    make it easier to find by those who want to read it.

    Include links
    Provide your audience with links to additional information about your
    organization, product or message. Including links to other websites
    will help improve your search engine visibility.




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