# How do you write a Press Release?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-a-press-release/226931>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 31, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-a-press-release/226931 "2004-01-31T17:36:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-a-press-release/226931/21 "2004-12-09T18:03:46Z")

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> [@Rodd Hill](#):
>
> Is the old newspaper standard of putting " - 30 - " at the end of the copy dead?

I’ve seen “###” used at the end of e-mail press releases.

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**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-a-press-release/226931/22 "2004-12-09T18:52:49Z")

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When i used to see them regularly (5-6 years ago), the convention was ###

–Cliffy

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**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-a-press-release/226931/23 "2004-12-09T19:17:34Z")

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I get hundreds of press releases a week by mail, email and fax. There’s always a few missing date, time, location and/or contact information for the event.

People, people, people, no matter how interesting or newsworthy you make the event sound, we’re not going to mention it or show up, if you don’t provide a date, time, and location.

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-a-press-release/226931/24 "2004-12-10T09:27:04Z")

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> [@Duderdude2](#):
>
> Sorry to bump this.
> 
> Anyways, Jjimm, I didn’t see a headline in your sample press release. By “headline,” did you mean the “subject” of the e-mail? If not, where does the headline go?

:smack: I forgot it.

If I’m sending one out as an email I’d enter the subject as:

**Press release: This is the headline that Jim forgot**

Note not in title case - newspapers don’t use it for headlines!

Press contacts would receive it with the words ‘press release’; my company’s voluntary mailing list would not. Then repeat just the headline within the body of the email, as if the email were a sheet of paper.

It’s not a great idea to lead with your company/organization name all the time. If you have to publish a list of headlines you might find very repetitive:

**Acme Co. launches new ‘roadrunner series’ 1 ton weights**  
**Acme Co. unveils round bombs, fake tunnel entrances**  
**Acme Co. congratulated by coyote catapult consumer committee**

Try and inject some variety into subsequent headlines, and if you’re dealing with a company bigger or more famous than yours, lead with its name.

Personally I put my contact details at the end, and the ### or - 30 - convention seems to have evaporated, in Europe at least.

I highly recommend signing up for the newsletter at [The Writing Machine](http://www.writingmachine.com/). You get really helpful weekly tips and tricks, and it’s written in a very entertaining style.

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