Public Relations Writing: Write Better Press Release Headlines
With More Impact in Less Time
By Thomas Murrell
Public relations writing when writing press releases
can be a real challenge.
When writing press releases the most important
part is the headline or title. This is the information the media
reads first so it has to grab their attention.
How can you write better press releases that get
used instead of deleted? Well the headline is essential when writing
press releases.
Take this real life example of public relations
writing.
"Triple Bottom-line Community Net
Benefit Decision Time for Sustainable Economic Development Decisions
Needed Says Economist"
This is an actual headline on a media release
from MacroPlan Australia published in The Australian newspaper’s
Media Section on Nov 13, 2003.
Would you want to read more if you got this on
your fax machine or email inbox? How can you write better headlines
and improve the likelihood of your media release making the cut?
Writing a good title for a media release is essential
for effective public relations writing. Here are my Top 9 Tips
for Writing Better Headlines:
1. KEEP IT TO ONE LINE.
More than one line and you are likely to lose
a busy journalist who would receive hundreds of media releases
a day.
2. EDIT FOR BREVITY.
You probably won't achieve point one on the first
go. Rewrite and edit every time. Remember with headlines that
‘less is more’; so keep it to five words or less.
3. DON'T TRY AND BE TOO SMART.
Writing headlines for the print medium is a real
art form. Leave it to the professionals, namely, newspaper sub-editors.
Remember that newspaper headlines have to sell papers, your headline
has to engage one reader - a cynical journalist or editor with
a 'so what, who cares' attitude.
4. WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF THE STORY?
The headline should summarise the story and answer
the who, what, why, when and where.
5. USE A BIGGER FONT SIZE THAN THE REST OF THE RELEASE.
Don't go smaller than size 12 for the main body
of the text and use size 14 or 16 font or bigger for your headline
or title.
6. USE THE SAME FONT STYLE AS YOUR TEXT.
Never change font styles in a release. Times New
Roman is the most accepted and professional.
7. USE BOLD TO MAKE IT STAND OUT.
8. CENTRE IT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE.
9. ALWAYS SPELL CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK FOR TYPOS.
Nothing harms your credibility more than a typo
in the headline!
Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business
speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators
is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15
different countries. You can subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com
Thomas can be contacted directly at +6189388 6888 and is available to
speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom’s blog at
http://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com
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