Things to remember in writing a press release

Before going to the actual press release format, you should first remember the following guidelines in press release writing:

• Write your copy in the third person perspective.

• Make sure your copy is less than 500 words or about a page only.

• And finally, make sure your press release is as accurate, concise, and reasonably detailed or informative as possible.

The elements of a correct press release format

There is no black-and-white rule on how your press release format should look like. But there is one that is used mostly by media practitioners. It will be to your advantage if you make sure that this format is consistently followed. Below is a list of elements that should be included in your press release:

1. “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” or “HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL [date]…” This should always be placed on the top left corner of the copy.

2. Headline. As in any kind of copy, your headline should contain or describe what your press release is all about. Be creative but do not sacrifice necessary content. You should limit your headline to one sentence only.

3. Origin/location and date. The reporter should always orient the reader as to where and when the copy was released.

4. Body. This is where your story goes. It should consist of multiple paragraphs.

a. Paragraph 1. This should act as the summary of the press release. This is where you should find the five Ws: what, when, where, who, and why. Ask yourself: “If the reader got to read only this part of the release, will he or she get the overall picture of what I am trying to convey?” The answer to this question tells you whether you should develop your first paragraph further.

b. Succeeding paragraphs. Pick up from the information you have already presented in paragraph 1. This should elaborate on the provided facts. You may include quotations from customers, users, and other authorities in the field.

c. “-more-” Writing more than one page is discouraged. But if necessary, the word “-more-” should always be included at the bottom of the page.

5. Company/organization information. It is a must that you include background information not just of your company or business but also of all other organizations mentioned in your press release. This should also contain the contact information of the respective entities.

6. END or ###. This indicates the end of the press release.

The next time you intend to write a news event or product release, make sure that you follow the correct press release format.

This is a extraordinary product that covers all abut paid advertising.

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Nothing less then remarkable is the fact that they also tell you the most profitable sites to get your ads from and exactly the right to do it, so that you dont waste your money trying to figure out why on god’s name you can’t make any money from certain networks.

Beleive me you will want to tresure those resources.

If by any chance you are a PPC rainmaker and that’s where most of your business lyes on, you need to open your horizon to all of this potential traffic that is wondering around. No kidding this can get you 1000’s of visitors a day for 10 – 50 bucks.

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Point is, you really need this, specially if you’re into the whole CPA game, because as you know, those conversions way are easier to get than typical sales, and that’s where more traffic = more conversions no matter how bad the traffic is.

I pretty much tested all the traffic sources out there, and even some traffic exchanges can get you a few conversions, and since it’s dirt cheap traffic, I manage to make a profit even out of traffic that nobody wants. But this really is a eye opener for you… Specially Pay-Per-View, where most people loose their shirts on…

In Banner Ad Blueprint it’s explained in detail how to setup a profitable PPV campaign. I mean there’s unlimited traffic potential out there, and I genuinely believe this course will help you big time. Check out my Banner Ad Blueprint Review by clicking on the link.

By definition, a short sale means that the home is being sold for less than is owed on the mortgage. In evaluating the pros and cons of a short sale, some of the cons include: having to pay taxes, insurance, and mortgage payments on the property until the house is sold; competing with other bargain basement-priced homes in the area; getting a negative mark on your credit report; losing all of your investment in the property; and the possibility of still owing money towards the mortgage of a home that you no longer own or live in. After dealing with all of these problems associated with a short sale of your house, you still have to find a place for you and your family to live. While a short sale may be one of the options you have, we believe that there are better options out there for you.

If you are facing a similar problem, you should consider a home loan modification. Many California companies offer loan modifications, but not all companies have the benefit of experienced, licensed attorneys. The Feldman Law Center specializes in California loan modifications, which can help you avoid a foreclosure, bankruptcy, or short sale on your home. An attorney can help secure the most advantageous deal for you, your family, and your property.

Loan modifications are one of the best options to choose when facing the loss of your home. When comparing a home loan modification to a short sale, you could potentially avoid all of the cons of a short sale. You would stay in your home, keep the investment you’ve made in the home, and avoid the hassle and expense of completing a short sale and finding new accommodations.

Most California loan modifications include lowering or fixing the interest rate of your mortgage, which means that monthly payments would be stabilized to an amount that is more attainable for you. It can also include reducing the principle balance that you owe or forgiving some of your mortgage payment defaults or missed payments on fees. A modification completed by one of our loan modification attorneys can include any or all of the above features. The main advantage of having an attorney complete the negotiations with a lender is that our attorneys can achieve better results than you can achieve alone, and can achieve them more quickly.

The attorneys of The Feldman Law Center are experienced negotiators of home loan modifications. Our founder, Steven C. Feldman has been licensed by the State Bar of California for over 25 years. Free quotes and consultations are available for you to help you make the most of your current situation. Contact us today and let us help you with your home loan modification.

Electronic press kits (EPK) have the news article or press release. It also has necessary background information of the company. They can be quite extensive, as you can include all relevant data in the kit for the editors to explore. A good option for marketers and everyone who wants to get his/her news across to a maximum number of people. Companies, non-profit organizations, political parties, etc all now use EPK for possible inclusion in newspapers, magazines and websites.

Drafting electronic press release kits require some skills and understanding of what the editors need. No editor will like to make his editorial space another advertising billboard. They need news – what is in it for the readers type news stories. Your success with EPK depends on your ability to convey in clear language that there is something for the readers. Newsworthy events, development of new technologies, curious uses of different products, etc all make for news. If the release has no news value, it won’t get published.

Video News Releases

They are also like EPK. The difference is they are aimed at television channels. A news video, which can be included in the local channel as news, companies can get some exposure through VNR. Just like in case of EPK, you need to have a newsworthy or interesting story weaved into the video. You can very few seconds to sell the story, you need to make sure the video passes like a bullet. There are techniques that you can use to make your VNR irresistible by TV news editors.

Apart from the local TV channels, you can also target the websites catering specific geographic locations or target demographic groups. There are several websites now available online, streaming videos. The visitors of such websites use high speed broadband connection and they watch the videos just as TV programs. When planning VNR production, make sure you target this group too.

There are different strategies of gaining attention of the editors. They include releasing a funny or entertainment video, a compelling news story that editors can’t overlook, and videos featuring celebrities are always in demand. They go to both TV channels and websites delivering online videos.

Entertaining or informing news releases also go to newspapers – both local and national papers. Some editors pick shorter news items – less than 200 words, while others have 700 word releases OK. Also think about the newspapers and magazines that give snippets of less than 20 words.

When it comes to electronic press release kits, your primary requirement is to get your release printed or published in websites. We can help you reach hundreds of editors in a matter of minutes.

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Keywords: Electronic press kits, video news release, epk, vnr,

Category: Communications, mass media, news, or similar

Paid media includes all the display ad networks, tier 2 search engines, contextual ad providers, CPV/Pop-Up ad services, email and ezine list rental companies, social media channels, and various other networks that sell online ads.

Why are business owners using Paid Media to drive sales?

The answer here is very simple. When marketing online, you really only have 2 choices. You can either do it all yourself, using article directories, free video sites, classified sites, and other ‘high time-investment/low cost’ methods. Or, you can hire a professional internet marketing consulting firm to do either search engine optimization, pay-per-click (PPC), or paid media.

We all know that the first set of choices above can result in a few sales, but will be very slow going in terms of actually driving massive amounts of traffic to your site. Articles are inexpensive, but you’ll literally need hundreds of them to be published to get the same amount of traffic that a well managed pay-per-click campaign can provide you in even a few days.

We all also should be aware that search engine optimization in and of itself WILL NOT guarantee website visitors. Yes, SEO can help your site rank higher in the search engines for certain keywords related to your industry, but nothing says that people will actually click on your listing one it ranks on the first page of Google, Bing, or Yahoo.

So now we’re left with pay-per-click (PPC) and paid media. PPC is a very effective way to drive targeted traffic to your website, but does have a few downsides. First, it is extremely competitive. Second, although Google is a monster, and controls 70% or so of the search traffic today, (Bing and Yahoo make up about 25% of the rest) search traffic is only about 20% of the overall ad inventory one can get online.

In other words, if all you are relying on is PPC to drive traffic to your site, you’re missing out on 80% of the available exposure out there online.

Paid Media – the answer to your traffic needs!

So what are some paid media platforms?

advertise.com | adready.com | clicksor.com | ampkeywords.com | adsonar.com | pulse360.com

are just a few. There are literally hundreds out there. What they will provide you is a professional advertising platform that will make your ads accessible to the 80% of ad space that IS NOT Google. Remember the last time you were on a huge, Tier 1 website and saw some ads contained in a rectangular box somewhere on the page? These advertisers are using paid media, and are getting their marketing message out to hundreds of millions of hungry potential customers every single day.

The total of the backlog is estimated at one million borrowers, sits on top of the one million foreclosure actions that had been taken this year through May. It presents a major obstacle for any kind of rebound or stability in the country’s hard hit real estate markets. It’s also an obstacle than can drive the market lower and then keep it there indefinitely. Banks are currently doing the best they can not to flood the market with foreclosures but each sale, when one occurs, is counted as a “comp” for appraisal purposes. Everything similar gets indexed to the comp until the next sells at a lower price. For evidence of properties being kept off of the market one need only look at one of highest foreclosure states in the country. California had 111,000 foreclosed properties which could have gone to auction in May. Of that number, only 17,000 went to auction and only 2,000 sold. If those kinds of numbers repeat for just a few months, the state will have a backlog that will take years to unwind. Properties that aren’t sold on the way down would most likely be sold as prices stabilize or start to bounce back, which would mute any recovery.

“Lenders are having an immensely difficult time handling the capacity. They are torn between loan modification, short sales, foreclosures, and they are finding they can’t do all these things at once, and do them well, so we’re seeing a lot of things falling through the cracks,” said Howard Glaser, a housing industry consultant and a housing official during the Clinton administration.
Mortgage lenders and investors in that scenario would be looking at more losses as a result of the mortgage crisis. “It just means foreclosure rates are going to keep rising,” said Patrick Newport, an economist for IHS Global Insight. Without an end to the downward spiral in prices any kind of meaningful recovery in the economy will be impossible.

Another issue is the growing conflict of interest between mortgage investors and the companies that service the loans for them. In many cases, what is good for the servicers is bad for the investors and vice versa. For instance, in a home loan modification versus foreclosure situation, the servicer will favor the modification because it keeps payments and fees they can charge on them alive. The mortgage investors, seeing the potential for a decrease in cash flow as a result of the modification, will favor foreclosure as a means of getting their money out of the deal. The resulting stalemate can cause a house to sit in limbo while the servicers and lenders decide a course of action. For the homeowners in the situation, the stalemate can be beneficial as it allows them to stay in the house but the stress of knowing that an eviction can come at any time is tough to deal with.

While some of the backlog reflects the inability of lenders to keep up with the sheer volume of delinquent properties, another reason is an intentional slowdown in the pace of foreclosures as government and industry try to work with borrowers who want to stay in their homes. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-run mortgage financing companies, put a temporary moratorium on foreclosures late last year, some states imposed moratoriums, and many of the country’s largest lenders voluntarily participated as well. The extra time gave lenders time to see how the guidelines of the Obama Administration’s “Making Home Affordable” would work and which borrowers could be helped by modifying their current mortgages under the plan. Many of those moratoriums started expiring at the end of the first quarter of this year, and foreclosures have been setting records on a monthly basis since then.
With potentially millions of foreclosed homes on the market and more coming every day, Prices have been hit across the country. The prices for existing homes fell another 16% in May versus the prices one year prior.  The growing backlog of homes in limbo indicates that foreclosure rates are likely to increase dramatically during the second half of this year and into 2010. Some estimates are calling for foreclosures to reach 2.4 million by year end. Bob Bellack, chairman of Zetabid, which auctions foreclosed properties, said “Prices will fall to the point where you have equilibrium, and it won’t reach that until there is no longer this foreclosure overhang.”  
Financial firms that carry mortgages or mortgage-backed securities on their books are scrambling to stem past and anticipated losses with any means possible. Whether a sign of desperation or not, mortgage investors have thrown their support behind  the Hope for Homeowners plan, a leftover from the Bush Administration which was considered an absolute flop the first time around. Intended to help over 400,000 homeowners at its outset, the plan originated only one loan. If the economy doesn’t turn, and without some sort of government assistance, continued foreclosures will result in continuing rounds of losses for investors.

Being in limbo has allowed some homeowners the time to save money while not making mortgage payments and take action through the home loan modification process to save their homes from foreclosure. In general, however, statistics don’t bode well for homeowners once they start missing payments. According to a March report from NeighborWorks America, a large housing counseling group, 60 percent of homeowners go into foreclosure after missing more than four payments.
Normal protocol is for the foreclosure process to start after the third payment has been missed but now it’s common for a foreclosure process to take nine months or more to get started, said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance. “No one is in a rush, lender-wise, to deal with the property,” he said. “If you have to sell at a loss, why rush?”
Another protocol has lenders writing down the value of the home six months after an owner stops making payments, but the total loss is not recorded until the property is sold in foreclosure, said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com. “Some may feel that the property is worth more than the market can bear at this time, and they are willing to wait until the market improves”, he said. “They don’t want to sell it into a completely depressed market.”

The typical foreclosure process varies by state and has been slowed down by the constant incoming volume. The timeline of the process is also dependent on who actually owns the mortgage and whether a bankruptcy has been filed by the homeowner. One of the biggest issues in the process now is that the phase preceding eviction, sale at auction, isn’t happening. Lenders, considering their workload and the costs of each foreclosure, aren’t eager to start a process which isn’t likely to be seen through to completion so limbo is the next best option.  
“During that period, where the property is in limbo, until there has been a sale of the property, the homeowner is still the owner, technically,” said John Rao of the National Consumer Law Center. Despite being seriously delinquent, homeowners can apply for a home loan modification to stay in their homes, even if they were turned down previously. Success after being turned down can be achieved if the homeowner has been hired into a new job, is generating more income, and/or by hiring legal representation to renegotiate the terms of the existing mortgage. The odds of approval are also increasing due to lenders’ reluctance toward taking more properties into foreclosure. Whatever they may have thought about home loan modifications before, at this point they’re a better option than either foreclosure or sitting in limbo.

Press releases have been used over the past few years by quite a few smart business owners and marketers that have seen first hand how they can help their business get the recognition they need in marketing new products or services both offline and online.

But a lot of businesses have been reluctant in using press releases as they were unsure of how to properly construct a simple press release or how to distribute them for maximum effectiveness.

Using press releases can be a very effective marketing tool and seo strategy if constructed and implemented properly.

Learning to write a powerful optimized press release can often drive tons of targeted traffic to your web site while providing multiple back links that can lead to increased page rank and numerous top ten search engine rankings for your targeted keywords.

The real secret behind writing any effective press release and to gain maximum exposure for your new product or service is to plan your release out carefully even before publishing it.

A poorly constructed or planned press release is just a waste of your time and resources. You want to target the message of your press release for the purpose it was meant for.

So, the first thing you must do before writing is to figure out just what do you want to accomplish with your press release?

- Do you want to create some brand awareness for your web site or products?

- Do you want to add additional subscribers to your newsletter or ezine?

—Or are you trying to promote a new product or service you have developed or are marketing?

Once you’ve decided what the most compelling reason is for your press release, you can then get down to the business of writing it.

The first thing you may want to do is sketch out a rough draft of your press release to see how it flows. Does it provide the needed information to get the word out and has it been properly formatted?

Most press releases have a certain format that they follow. If you’re unsure of how to format your press release correctly you can view a sample press release template here at http://www.prweb.com/pressreleasetips.php#template .

The number one most important aspect of your press release is your headline.

Get it wrong and you will limit the effectiveness of your release.

Your headline is what the search engines are going to pick up on first. The headline is what normally gets listed first once indexed so make sure you use it advantageously. List any key points here, using your keywords or a catchy headline so that it will grab your reader’s attention.

Also try to keep your headline as short as possible as Google gives more weight to keywords if not surrounded by irrelevant words. Again planning is essential.

If promoting a new site include the URL in the headline. If promoting a product or service then include some keywords in the headline.

Some press release services use a summary box. I normally write a catchy one-paragraph recap of my press release using some of my targeted keywords.

Without being spammy, I will normally optimize my press release by using some of my targeted keywords in the first and last paragraph. I will also include some of them throughout the release for a keyword exposure of approximately 2-5% saturation.

Tip: if you’re promoting a web site, I will normally mention my URL around three times within the release for the maximum benefit.

One of the first questions I had when I first started writing press releases was what was considered a great release? What did it consist of and how was it constructed?

Being curious, I emailed my contact at http://www.prweb.com/ and asked them if they could show me a few press releases that they considered as excellent examples.

These releases have received their editorial scores of 5 on their scale of 1 to 5; with five being the highest.

They sent me three of them for review and you can see each one of them here:

http://prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb136748.htm

http://prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb149213.htm

http://prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb203448.htm

Study each one of these against the press release template to see what is required for an effective release.

Note: to get additional exposure for your press release via www.emediawire.com you have to have an editorial score of 4 or higher. So it is to your benefit to write the best release you can the first time around.

Once you have studied the examples and want to try submitting you own press release you need to know which ones are the most popular ones being used.

Here are some of the press release services I have used and found to be effective:

http://prweb.com/

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/index.html

http://www.webwire.com/default.asp

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/

With most of press release services you can submit your press release for free or via paid inclusion. Paying for inclusion gives you the benefit of faster indexing into the search engine news services and natural search engine result pages.

Normally your release will be picked up by Google news within a few hours after its release. From there it will normally show up in the natural search results within a few days or a week.

I have used both of these services in the past but have found that paying them at least the minimum amount for their distribution services will allow you to view your stats online. It will also allow you to choose different categories for my press release to be displayed in, giving your release a chance for wider coverage.

So using press releases can and is a very effective marketing tool that you can use for promoting your web site or affiliate products if done correctly.

By using press releases, I have been able to create a steady flow of targeted visitors to my web site and affiliate programs while generating dozens of back links to my web site.

Even though the effects of each individual press release may be short lived, they still have provided me with both free and inexpensive ways for getting hundreds of new visitors to my site and quite a few top ten positions in Google for my targeted keywords.

So isn’t worth while to at least check out the benefits of using press releases in your marketing methods? A little work now could reap amazing results.

A press release is one of the primary ways you can communicate news about your company to the media. Reporters, editors, and producers are hungry for news, and they often depend on releases to tip them off to new and unusual products, company trends, tips and hints, and other developments. In fact, much of what you read in newspapers, magazines, or trade publications, hear on the radio or see on television originated in press release. To be noticed, read and talked about, you need to stand out from the crowd. The challenge is to create a press release that makes the journalist want to know more and discover that your story is one they must tell.

When journalists use your press release to write about your products, they provide an independent review that creates credibility. When consumers read press releases on your Website, it strengthens their perceptions of your brand. Included as part of a company’s integrated marketing program, the press release reinforces branding, boosts loyalty and contributes to sales results. Press releases announcing timely news about your company, products or services can spread the word about your organization and increase sales opportunities by exposing your company to a wide audience.

There are key facts to keep in mind while doing a press release- a press release should be “news” and not an “ad” for your company. Coming up with the idea of press releases is the most challenging part. Has your company or an individual recently earned an accolade? Does your company predict a future business trend that could help promote the business or one of your products? How about a company restructuring during tough economic times that will result in your business being meaner and leaner? Press releases not only give exposure to your business but if worded correctly, could position your company as a subject matter expert.

Who should you hire to write and distribute press release for your company to get the message across and help build a strong brand by creating company recognition? With numerous companies and freelancers offering press release services, it is like walking through a minefield. We help you to get connected with some of the best professional press release writing companies who help to do what a press release is supposed to do. We have an established network of press release companies who have been serving clients in “Building Brands, Building Values” by effectively using the power of press release.

Looking for a Quote on Press Release services? At WebdesignsQuote we help you evaluate multiple press release companies and get the best rates. We’ll match your needs with 5 reputable press release companies that will provide you with competitive quotes for all your press release needs .Let multiple companies compete for your press release needs.

Recently, the federal government has been paying far more attention to the loan modification process than they have in the past.  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Housing Administration have rolled out plans over the last year to combat the rising foreclosure proceedings.  The FDIC loan modification program and the FHA loan modification program have received some heavy criticism from large financial institutions such as Moody’s Investor Services.  In a recent Moody’s report, the FDIC loan modification program may eventually reduce cumulative losses for mortgage loans involved in the subprime mortgage crisis.  The FDIC loan modification program is designed to help more people get quality loan modifications by creating a streamlined framework with key incentives, including:  a loss-sharing arrangement for existing investors; and a thousand dollar stipend for every successful loan modification.

Ultimately however, Moody’s feels that the participation in the FDIC loan modification program might be limited, which weakens the effectiveness of the program.  The FDIC loan modification program will have a lesser cumulative impact on the losses suffered by banks, lenders and homeowners.

A California loan modification can be had by utilizing the skills of a California loan modification attorney.  At the Feldman Law Center, our loan modification law firm can provide the kind of unique experience and highly sought after knowledge necessary to procure a loan modification.  Working with any lender or federal agency involves lots of red tape and bureaucratic road blocks; but with a skilled loan modification attorney, you could overcome those challenges.

Many people are interested in how a loan modification can help them change their financial situation and keep them in their house for the long haul.  Throughout California, foreclosure signs are popping up in neighborhoods all over the state, and even in some areas that never thought it would happen to them.  Even such neighborhoods as Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Walnut Creek are suffering from the subprime crisis, and everyone in the state is suffering as a result.  California unemployment has reached double digits, and it could get much worse.

A loan modification is an agreement between the debtor and the mortgage company to renegotiate the terms of the mortgage loan.  This is done so that the borrower can have an affordable, reasonable monthly payment, allowing them to keep making payments over the long haul.  A California home loan modification attorney can help the borrower negotiate with the lender, arrange the loan modification application and communicate with the bank or lender.  With a loan modification attorney at your side, you can get the best loan modification possible and keep yourself and your family in your home.

1. Is your news “newsworthy”? The purpose of a press release is to inform the world of your news item. Do not use your press release to try and make a sale. A good press release answers all of the “W” questions (who, what, where, when and why), providing the media with useful information about your organization, product, service or event. If your press release reads like an advertisement, rewrite it.

2. Start strong. Your headline and first paragraph should tell the story. The rest of your press release should provide the detail. You have a matter of seconds to grab your readers’ attention. Do not blow it with a weak opening.

3. Write for the media. On occasion, media outlets, especially online media, will pick up your press release and run it in their publications with little or no modification. More commonly, journalists will use your press release as a springboard for a larger feature story. In either case, try to develop a story as you would like to have it told. Even if your news is not reprinted verbatim, it may provide an acceptable amount of exposure.

4. Not everything is news. Your excitement about something does not necessarily mean that you have a newsworthy story. Think about your audience. Will someone else find your story interesting? Let’s assume that you have just spent a lot of effort to launch a new online store. Announcing your company’s opening is always an exciting time for any business, but the last thing the media wants to write about is another online store.

This is old news and uninteresting. Instead, focus on the features of your online shopping experience, unique products and services. Answer the question, “Why should anyone care?” and make sure your announcement has some news values such as timeliness, uniqueness or something truly unusual. Avoid clichés such as “customers save money” or “great customer service.” Focus on the aspects of your news item that truly set you apart from everyone else.

5. Does your press release illustrate? Use real life examples about how your company or organization solved a problem. Identify the problem and identify why your solution is the right solution. Give examples of how your service or product fulfills needs or satisfies desires. What benefits can be expected? Use real life examples to powerfully communicate the benefits of using your product or service.

If you are reporting on a corporate milestone, make sure that you attribute your success or failures to one or more events. If your company has experienced significant growth, tell the world what you did right. Show the cause and effect.

6. Stick to the facts. Tell the truth. Avoid fluff, embellishments and exaggerations. If you feel that your press release contains embellishments, perhaps it would be a good idea to set your press release aside until you have more exciting news to share. Journalists are naturally skeptical. If your story sounds too good to be true, you are probably hurting your own credibility. Even if it is true, you may want to tone it down a bit.

7. Pick an angle. Try to make your press release timely. Tie your news to current events or social issues if possible. Make sure that your story has a good news hook.

8. Use active, not passive, voice. Verbs in the active voice bring your press release to life. Rather than writing “entered into a partnership” use “partnered” instead. Do not be afraid to use strong verbs as well. For example, “The committee exhibited severe hostility over the incident.” reads better if changed to “The committee was enraged over the incident.” Writing in this manner, helps guarantee that your press release will be read.

9. Economy of words. Use only enough words to tell your story. Avoid using unnecessary adjectives, flowery language, or redundant expressions such as “added bonus” or “first time ever”. If you can tell your story with fewer words, do it. Wordiness distracts from your story. Keep it concise. Make each word count.

10. Beware of jargon. While a limited amount of jargon will be required if your goal is to optimize your news release for online search engines, the best way to communicate your news is to speak plainly, using ordinary language. Jargon is language specific to certain professions or groups and is not appropriate for general readership. Avoid such terms as “capacity planning techniques” “extrapolate” and “prioritized evaluative procedures.”

11. Avoid the hype. The exclamation point (!) is your enemy. There is no better way to destroy your credibility than to include a bunch of hype. If you must use an exclamation point, use one. Never do this!!!!!!!!!!!!

12. Get permission. Companies are very protective about their reputation. Be sure that you have written permission before including information or quotes from employees or affiliates of other companies or organizations. Any dispute resolution will favor the other company, meaning that your press release may get pulled.

13. Write about your company. Your press release should end with a short paragraph (company boilerplate) that describes your company, products, service and a short company history. If you are filing a joint press release, include a boilerplate for both companies.