‘SHAPING’ THE RELEASE

How you tell your stories – in terms of how the information is arranged into paragraphs – is very important indeed. Story ‘shapes’ will vary in detail with the type of story you are telling (see below), but the fundamental order of things is almost always the same.

The heading says what the release is about (and what slot it’s aimed at).

Paragraph One summarises the main essential point(s) of the story.

Paragraph Two expands it with more detail.

Paragraph Three continues the expansion, and includes any quotes.

Paragraphs Four, Five and so on can be used for more low-level routine information such as product specifications, delivery times etc.

The last paragraph (called the ‘boilerplate’) gives a brief summary of your organisation, what you do, etc.

Why shape is important

We have already discussed the criteria that an editor uses to choose one story rather than another. Assuming he chooses yours, he then applies one more yardstick to it: the available space in its slot, which may be restricted. If he has plenty of good stories, he may decide to use, say, 50 or so words from each one. He therefore has to prune, and he does this by reading downwards from Paragraph One and working through the following paragraphs until he’s reached his desired wordage. Then he puts his pen through the rest of it.

Hence it is vital that the really important messages that you want to get across are contained in the first, and possibly the second, paragraphs.

Looking at some common magazine slots, press release shapes would look like this:

New product stories

Para. 1: What the product does that’s new or unique, and for whom it does it.

Para. 2: How it does it – the clever technology.

Para. 3: How it fits into the market, its prospects – and maybe a positive quotation by your MD or marketing manager.

Para. 4: Specifications/sizes/colours available, delivery times, etc.

Para. 5: Boilerplate.

Appointment stories

Para. 1: Who has been appointed, job title, what he/she will do.

Para. 2: The appointee’s previous relevant career (starting with the most recent job).

Para. 3: Quotation from MD linking appointment to corporate expansion plans, etc.

Para. 4: Boilerplate.

Order or installation stories

Para. 1: Who has ordered/installed what, the main benefits they will gain.

Para. 2: More information about the products/systems and how they will be used.

Para. 3: (If relevant) how the customer managed previously, plus a quote from the customer saying why they bought from you.

Para. 4: Boilerplate.

You’ll find some examples of press releases written for different slots at the end of this chapter.