Please Release Me!

I was just musing about how some press-release writers - either not wanting to waste a reporter’s/editor’s busy time, or too busy to spend more time in the creation process - can blow a golden opportunity to get their book/event/group/company/etc. more attention.

Some press releases, for sure, tell us far more than we want/need to hear (getting to a third page is a big clue). But far more often, there’s simply too little information to invite us into the subject - a terse recitation of what’s happening where, when and a contact for more info (if one has time to make the call).

One local organization that usually sets a great balance between too little info and too much is the Deschutes Public Library System . Their event heads-up releases are almost always just one page, and yet they add 2-3 grafs (paragraphs) about the speaker’s background, and even a comment or two from the speaker on the topic. Add an inviting lead (first sentence), and you have more than an event/calendar item, you have a brief that can stand alone in any local newspaper or publication, and actually INVITES the reader to show up and participate.

Nifty!