Step Two: Create Your Press Release

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Create Your Press Release

Click here to see a sample release that you can customize.

The basic format of a news release is simple. Using your letterhead, start at the top right and provide your contact information (not to confuse you, but some news release writers put this at the end of the release). You might set this off with a subheading: "CONTACT" (do not include the quotation marks, here or elsewhere as it relates to this discussion of headings and subbheadings). Include a reliable (and permanent) phone number where you can be reached directly. An email address and your Website URL should appear at least somewhere in the document. In the event that you do not have a Website, you really should consider creating one for your business. (You may even want to create a blog; click here for a free ebook on blogging.)

We also provide graphics and linking information from your site, back to your story on Bootstrapping Stories.com (you should have received details in your notification email, following your acceptance on the site by our editors). Your contact information should be followed by the headline: "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE".

The next item to include is the title of your release. If you feel confident as a writer, you can try to create a "catchy title," or you may be just as successful by taking a straightforward approach, using "announcement style" wording, such as:

YOUR BUSINESS NAME, an entrepreneurial start-up, has recently been recognized by BootstrappingStories.com.

Unless you are a real professional at writing news releases and have a good reason, your entire release should probably fit on one page. Beneath the title of your news release, you should include a only a few well written paragraphs. The first paragraph should start out strong, by approaching the media person with an interesting story told from a unique point of view. Use the famous formula: "Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How."

The final paragraph should close with a "standard passage" (this can be used in all releases), either about the nature of your business and its products and services, when it was founded, or perhaps your biographical information (or a combination of both). DO NOT use this as a "sales pitch" -- provide only accurate and "matter of fact" information.

Click here to go to Step Three: Distribute Your Press Release.