OTHER STYLISTIC STUFF

Typefaces

Use a clean, easily readable typeface such as Arial or Times New Roman. Using fussy, decorative faces, joined-up scripts, etc. to make a press release look ‘different’ are generally not appreciated.

Brackets

Don’t use them, except for the first time you mention a product or service acronym, e.g. ‘Personal Identification Number (PIN)’. Use parenthetic commas instead, e.g., ‘John Smith, 34, has joined the marketing team...’ rather than ‘John Smith (34) has joined ...’.

Percentages

Write out in full, e.g. ‘20 per cent’, not ‘20%’.

Numbers

Numbers up to nine are written out in full, e.g. ‘We have added five new features...’ From 10 upwards, use numerals.

Names of people

If you’re a small and friendly outfit, it’s tempting to use first names in releases announcing appointments, e.g. ‘... and Caroline will be responsible for....’ In general, however, editors favour the more formal approach: ‘... and Caroline Jones will be...’. Solo surnames are more acceptable than first names, e.g. ‘... and Smith will head up a team...’. Local newspapers will tend to be more user-friendly, so they may be happier with just ‘Caroline’ after the first mention of her surname. Good idea to make a quick check of some of the news stories and features in your main local newspapers to see what they do.