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February 15, 2022
So you have a small business and want to start getting press coverage? The first step toward that goal is learning how to actually write a press release.
The good news: it’s not as complicated as you may think. And you don’t need a whole team to do it! But first...
A press release is a written statement that provides information to the press about a particular topic. But that’s a bit of a dry definition. Think of a press release as a digital megaphone for sharing all the exciting things happening at your company.
Say you’re a small coffee shop that’s known for your excellent lattes and pastries. But now you’re expanding your kitchen and providing a full menu of food to your customers. You need a way to announce that to the public — that’s a great opportunity for a press release.
Or maybe you’re a startup tech company and you’ve raised your seed round of funding. You want to share that exciting news and get your customers pumped for what’s to come — that’s a great opportunity for a press release, too.
You may be thinking, “that sounds great, I’d love to tell the press about my business, but how do I do that? I can’t write a press release.”
That’s where you’re wrong — anyone can write a press release. It’s actually a really simple formula (more on that in a sec).
Even if you’re a one-person band, you can do your own public relations. Nobody knows your business better than you, so who better to talk to the press? Then, once you have the budget, you can bring in a great PR partner to take you to the next level.
One of the most important things to consider when writing a press release is determining whether or not one is really needed. Reporters only care about things that they consider newsworthy, so writing a press release just for the sake of writing one isn't the most efficient use of your time.
Here’s a quick list of some newsworthy topics you can write a press release about:
You wouldn’t want to write a press release about a positive customer review you received. Because that’s not necessarily newsworthy. Was it a positive customer review from Beyoncé, though? From the news perspective, that would probably count.
Let’s go back to the coffee shop example from earlier. You wouldn’t write a press release about how you have the most delicious coffee on the block. But you'll want to write one about your decision to donate a pair of shoes to a charitable organization for every cup of coffee sold.
The idea is to think about what sets you apart from competitors or what makes you stand out from all of the noise that reporters are already hearing every single day.
There are a few action items to complete before sitting down to write your release. Check each of these off and you’ll be ready to go.
The first thing to do is gather the facts. Sit down with a blank document and list out the who, what, when, where, and why. All of these details are going to go into your press release. And it makes the writing process much easier once it’s time to dig into it.
Who is this story about? What happened or what is the information you’re presenting? When is it happening or has it already happened? Where is it happening or where are you based out of? And why is it important? AKA what does this news mean for you as a business and business owner?
Nail each of those down, and you’re well on your way to becoming a PR pro.
The most important thing to figure out is your angle. You don’t want to write a press release without a really compelling hook.
What’s going to be interesting from the reporter and readers' perspectives? What are they going to care about? Why should they care? How do you want your story to be told? Those are all questions to consider.
A good hook would be sharing that you’ve been recognized for a well-known local award or that you’ve hired your very first executive. It could even be a general hook introducing who you are as a brand and what sets you ahead of your competition.
A bad hook? Announcing that you started working remotely this year — just like everyone else. Or that you decided to offer a new benefit to your employees. Yes, those are great things for your team to know, but journalists aren't looking for that kind of internal information.
The next step you'll want to focus on is gathering quotes from important sources. Typically, this is a quote from the business owner (likely you).
Here’s a quick example. We wrote a press release on being named one of Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces for 2021 and we included a quote from our CEO, Chris Ronzio:
“I’ve always felt like fast-growing companies with poor cultures should have an asterisk next to their numbers. From the beginning, we’ve wanted to build a place where people love being,” said Chris Ronzio, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Trainual. “For me, the Best Workplaces list is really just the best companies list, and it’s one we’re incredibly proud to be a part of.”
Depending on the story, you can include a second quote from a reputable source. This could be a customer who’s raving about your product, a donation recipient, a member of your board, an employee — anyone that you think is relevant to the story that you’re trying to tell.
For example, when we wrote a press release on raising our $27M series B funding round, we included a quote from one of our round investors, Daymond John:
“I wish Trainual was around when I was starting and scaling my company. It’s a game-changer that is going to save growing businesses a ton of time, allowing them to focus on the most crucial aspects of building their companies,” said Daymond John, CEO of The Shark Group. “The team at Trainual gets what it takes to scale a small business. For me, their shared passion for empowering entrepreneurs makes this partnership a natural fit.”
The idea is to provide a reporter with a legitimate quote they can actually use if they choose to cover your news for their outlet. Using a quote from a well-known source also provides credibility to the information that you’re sharing.
Are there any industry specific numbers or statistics you can pull that are relevant to the news or update you’re sharing? Journalists love this type of information because it reduces the work on their end. Plus, it provides for a stronger and more credible story if they decide to write about it.
Any number that’s going to set you apart should be shared here. And be sure to pull it from a reputable source and provide credit.
For example, we wrote a press release on BreakBot, our Google workspace add-on that automatically adds breaks to your calendar. We pulled this stat and included it in the release:
“In fact, remote employees are 47% more productive than their in-person counterparts, per Prodoscore. But while productivity might be up, burnout is at an all-time high, says the Harvard Business Review.”
Just be sure to link your source so the journalist is able to easily fact check.
A boilerplate is a paragraph about your company that you’ll include at the very end of the press release. As an example, here's ours:
Trainual is modernizing the way businesses onboard and train teams. Its affordable and simple-to-use SaaS platform automates and expedites the tedious task of documenting and replicating the processes, policies, and procedures essential for driving exceptional organizations forward. Trainual is on a mission to empower and inspire business leaders to find the time to do more of what they love.
For more information, please visit www.trainual.com and download the app on the App Store or Google Play. Jump into the conversation on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
A boilerplate should reveal the who, what, when, where, and why of your company. You’ll use the same boilerplate on every single press release, so there's no need to update it every time. We usually give ours a refresh 1-2 times per year to make sure it has the most up-to-date information.
Be sure to include links to all of the places you can find your company. This makes it easy for the journalist to jump around and further explore your brand.
Now for the easy part! Writing a press release is pretty formulaic. So, if you did all of your prep work, it’s just about plugging those items into the formula and making it sound great.
Below, we’ve included an example template that you can use to write your own press release. Some of the wording will slightly differ depending on what your release is covering.
And that’s it! Once you plug all of the information into the template, you’ve officially written your press release. The next step will be sharing it on a newswire service like PR Newswire or eReleases. You can also directly email it to your media contact list if you have one. If you don’t have one, sending your release through the newswire will be your best option.
You might even get your news featured in Times Square! We know, because we did it.
We asked our friends over at PR and social media agency Kel & Partners to share their top tips for anyone starting out with public relations. Here's what they said:
Promote your expertise. Focus on building credibility for yourself and your business by promoting your expertise and the expertise of your top team members. Whether it’s providing the media with comments around breaking or trending news stories in your industry or seeking out opportunities to speak on panels, sharing your “bread and butter” (AKA your knowledge) over time will help you become a thought leader in your respective field and assist your business with brand recognition.
Create a dedicated press page on your website. You’ve secured PR coverage! Now, what do you do with it? Having a dedicated press page on your website will not only make your business look organized, but it’s a great place to include company facts, brand history, and news announcements. Just remember to keep this section of your website up-to-date for external audiences!
Trust the process. You know the saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day?” The same could be said for PR. Public Relations is vital to helping your business achieve its goals, but even the strongest long-term PR strategies take time. Trust the process, stay consistent, and make sure you’re adhering to the plan you’ve set in motion while maintaining consistent messaging across all of your channels.
Ready to put your news out there? Pick a catchy angle, follow the template, and you'll be golden. And remember, if your release doesn't get picked up the first time, keep trying. Persistence (and practice) pays off.
Join 50,839 readers getting the The Manual in their inbox every Wednesday.
February 15, 2022
So you have a small business and want to start getting press coverage? The first step toward that goal is learning how to actually write a press release.
The good news: it’s not as complicated as you may think. And you don’t need a whole team to do it! But first...
A press release is a written statement that provides information to the press about a particular topic. But that’s a bit of a dry definition. Think of a press release as a digital megaphone for sharing all the exciting things happening at your company.
Say you’re a small coffee shop that’s known for your excellent lattes and pastries. But now you’re expanding your kitchen and providing a full menu of food to your customers. You need a way to announce that to the public — that’s a great opportunity for a press release.
Or maybe you’re a startup tech company and you’ve raised your seed round of funding. You want to share that exciting news and get your customers pumped for what’s to come — that’s a great opportunity for a press release, too.
You may be thinking, “that sounds great, I’d love to tell the press about my business, but how do I do that? I can’t write a press release.”
That’s where you’re wrong — anyone can write a press release. It’s actually a really simple formula (more on that in a sec).
Even if you’re a one-person band, you can do your own public relations. Nobody knows your business better than you, so who better to talk to the press? Then, once you have the budget, you can bring in a great PR partner to take you to the next level.
One of the most important things to consider when writing a press release is determining whether or not one is really needed. Reporters only care about things that they consider newsworthy, so writing a press release just for the sake of writing one isn't the most efficient use of your time.
Here’s a quick list of some newsworthy topics you can write a press release about:
You wouldn’t want to write a press release about a positive customer review you received. Because that’s not necessarily newsworthy. Was it a positive customer review from Beyoncé, though? From the news perspective, that would probably count.
Let’s go back to the coffee shop example from earlier. You wouldn’t write a press release about how you have the most delicious coffee on the block. But you'll want to write one about your decision to donate a pair of shoes to a charitable organization for every cup of coffee sold.
The idea is to think about what sets you apart from competitors or what makes you stand out from all of the noise that reporters are already hearing every single day.
There are a few action items to complete before sitting down to write your release. Check each of these off and you’ll be ready to go.
The first thing to do is gather the facts. Sit down with a blank document and list out the who, what, when, where, and why. All of these details are going to go into your press release. And it makes the writing process much easier once it’s time to dig into it.
Who is this story about? What happened or what is the information you’re presenting? When is it happening or has it already happened? Where is it happening or where are you based out of? And why is it important? AKA what does this news mean for you as a business and business owner?
Nail each of those down, and you’re well on your way to becoming a PR pro.
The most important thing to figure out is your angle. You don’t want to write a press release without a really compelling hook.
What’s going to be interesting from the reporter and readers' perspectives? What are they going to care about? Why should they care? How do you want your story to be told? Those are all questions to consider.
A good hook would be sharing that you’ve been recognized for a well-known local award or that you’ve hired your very first executive. It could even be a general hook introducing who you are as a brand and what sets you ahead of your competition.
A bad hook? Announcing that you started working remotely this year — just like everyone else. Or that you decided to offer a new benefit to your employees. Yes, those are great things for your team to know, but journalists aren't looking for that kind of internal information.
The next step you'll want to focus on is gathering quotes from important sources. Typically, this is a quote from the business owner (likely you).
Here’s a quick example. We wrote a press release on being named one of Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces for 2021 and we included a quote from our CEO, Chris Ronzio:
“I’ve always felt like fast-growing companies with poor cultures should have an asterisk next to their numbers. From the beginning, we’ve wanted to build a place where people love being,” said Chris Ronzio, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Trainual. “For me, the Best Workplaces list is really just the best companies list, and it’s one we’re incredibly proud to be a part of.”
Depending on the story, you can include a second quote from a reputable source. This could be a customer who’s raving about your product, a donation recipient, a member of your board, an employee — anyone that you think is relevant to the story that you’re trying to tell.
For example, when we wrote a press release on raising our $27M series B funding round, we included a quote from one of our round investors, Daymond John:
“I wish Trainual was around when I was starting and scaling my company. It’s a game-changer that is going to save growing businesses a ton of time, allowing them to focus on the most crucial aspects of building their companies,” said Daymond John, CEO of The Shark Group. “The team at Trainual gets what it takes to scale a small business. For me, their shared passion for empowering entrepreneurs makes this partnership a natural fit.”
The idea is to provide a reporter with a legitimate quote they can actually use if they choose to cover your news for their outlet. Using a quote from a well-known source also provides credibility to the information that you’re sharing.
Are there any industry specific numbers or statistics you can pull that are relevant to the news or update you’re sharing? Journalists love this type of information because it reduces the work on their end. Plus, it provides for a stronger and more credible story if they decide to write about it.
Any number that’s going to set you apart should be shared here. And be sure to pull it from a reputable source and provide credit.
For example, we wrote a press release on BreakBot, our Google workspace add-on that automatically adds breaks to your calendar. We pulled this stat and included it in the release:
“In fact, remote employees are 47% more productive than their in-person counterparts, per Prodoscore. But while productivity might be up, burnout is at an all-time high, says the Harvard Business Review.”
Just be sure to link your source so the journalist is able to easily fact check.
A boilerplate is a paragraph about your company that you’ll include at the very end of the press release. As an example, here's ours:
Trainual is modernizing the way businesses onboard and train teams. Its affordable and simple-to-use SaaS platform automates and expedites the tedious task of documenting and replicating the processes, policies, and procedures essential for driving exceptional organizations forward. Trainual is on a mission to empower and inspire business leaders to find the time to do more of what they love.
For more information, please visit www.trainual.com and download the app on the App Store or Google Play. Jump into the conversation on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
A boilerplate should reveal the who, what, when, where, and why of your company. You’ll use the same boilerplate on every single press release, so there's no need to update it every time. We usually give ours a refresh 1-2 times per year to make sure it has the most up-to-date information.
Be sure to include links to all of the places you can find your company. This makes it easy for the journalist to jump around and further explore your brand.
Now for the easy part! Writing a press release is pretty formulaic. So, if you did all of your prep work, it’s just about plugging those items into the formula and making it sound great.
Below, we’ve included an example template that you can use to write your own press release. Some of the wording will slightly differ depending on what your release is covering.
And that’s it! Once you plug all of the information into the template, you’ve officially written your press release. The next step will be sharing it on a newswire service like PR Newswire or eReleases. You can also directly email it to your media contact list if you have one. If you don’t have one, sending your release through the newswire will be your best option.
You might even get your news featured in Times Square! We know, because we did it.
We asked our friends over at PR and social media agency Kel & Partners to share their top tips for anyone starting out with public relations. Here's what they said:
Promote your expertise. Focus on building credibility for yourself and your business by promoting your expertise and the expertise of your top team members. Whether it’s providing the media with comments around breaking or trending news stories in your industry or seeking out opportunities to speak on panels, sharing your “bread and butter” (AKA your knowledge) over time will help you become a thought leader in your respective field and assist your business with brand recognition.
Create a dedicated press page on your website. You’ve secured PR coverage! Now, what do you do with it? Having a dedicated press page on your website will not only make your business look organized, but it’s a great place to include company facts, brand history, and news announcements. Just remember to keep this section of your website up-to-date for external audiences!
Trust the process. You know the saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day?” The same could be said for PR. Public Relations is vital to helping your business achieve its goals, but even the strongest long-term PR strategies take time. Trust the process, stay consistent, and make sure you’re adhering to the plan you’ve set in motion while maintaining consistent messaging across all of your channels.
Ready to put your news out there? Pick a catchy angle, follow the template, and you'll be golden. And remember, if your release doesn't get picked up the first time, keep trying. Persistence (and practice) pays off.
February 15, 2022
•
So you have a small business and want to start getting press coverage? The first step toward that goal is learning how to actually write a press release.
The good news: it’s not as complicated as you may think. And you don’t need a whole team to do it! But first...
A press release is a written statement that provides information to the press about a particular topic. But that’s a bit of a dry definition. Think of a press release as a digital megaphone for sharing all the exciting things happening at your company.
Say you’re a small coffee shop that’s known for your excellent lattes and pastries. But now you’re expanding your kitchen and providing a full menu of food to your customers. You need a way to announce that to the public — that’s a great opportunity for a press release.
Or maybe you’re a startup tech company and you’ve raised your seed round of funding. You want to share that exciting news and get your customers pumped for what’s to come — that’s a great opportunity for a press release, too.
You may be thinking, “that sounds great, I’d love to tell the press about my business, but how do I do that? I can’t write a press release.”
That’s where you’re wrong — anyone can write a press release. It’s actually a really simple formula (more on that in a sec).
Even if you’re a one-person band, you can do your own public relations. Nobody knows your business better than you, so who better to talk to the press? Then, once you have the budget, you can bring in a great PR partner to take you to the next level.
One of the most important things to consider when writing a press release is determining whether or not one is really needed. Reporters only care about things that they consider newsworthy, so writing a press release just for the sake of writing one isn't the most efficient use of your time.
Here’s a quick list of some newsworthy topics you can write a press release about:
You wouldn’t want to write a press release about a positive customer review you received. Because that’s not necessarily newsworthy. Was it a positive customer review from Beyoncé, though? From the news perspective, that would probably count.
Let’s go back to the coffee shop example from earlier. You wouldn’t write a press release about how you have the most delicious coffee on the block. But you'll want to write one about your decision to donate a pair of shoes to a charitable organization for every cup of coffee sold.
The idea is to think about what sets you apart from competitors or what makes you stand out from all of the noise that reporters are already hearing every single day.
There are a few action items to complete before sitting down to write your release. Check each of these off and you’ll be ready to go.
The first thing to do is gather the facts. Sit down with a blank document and list out the who, what, when, where, and why. All of these details are going to go into your press release. And it makes the writing process much easier once it’s time to dig into it.
Who is this story about? What happened or what is the information you’re presenting? When is it happening or has it already happened? Where is it happening or where are you based out of? And why is it important? AKA what does this news mean for you as a business and business owner?
Nail each of those down, and you’re well on your way to becoming a PR pro.
The most important thing to figure out is your angle. You don’t want to write a press release without a really compelling hook.
What’s going to be interesting from the reporter and readers' perspectives? What are they going to care about? Why should they care? How do you want your story to be told? Those are all questions to consider.
A good hook would be sharing that you’ve been recognized for a well-known local award or that you’ve hired your very first executive. It could even be a general hook introducing who you are as a brand and what sets you ahead of your competition.
A bad hook? Announcing that you started working remotely this year — just like everyone else. Or that you decided to offer a new benefit to your employees. Yes, those are great things for your team to know, but journalists aren't looking for that kind of internal information.
The next step you'll want to focus on is gathering quotes from important sources. Typically, this is a quote from the business owner (likely you).
Here’s a quick example. We wrote a press release on being named one of Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces for 2021 and we included a quote from our CEO, Chris Ronzio:
“I’ve always felt like fast-growing companies with poor cultures should have an asterisk next to their numbers. From the beginning, we’ve wanted to build a place where people love being,” said Chris Ronzio, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Trainual. “For me, the Best Workplaces list is really just the best companies list, and it’s one we’re incredibly proud to be a part of.”
Depending on the story, you can include a second quote from a reputable source. This could be a customer who’s raving about your product, a donation recipient, a member of your board, an employee — anyone that you think is relevant to the story that you’re trying to tell.
For example, when we wrote a press release on raising our $27M series B funding round, we included a quote from one of our round investors, Daymond John:
“I wish Trainual was around when I was starting and scaling my company. It’s a game-changer that is going to save growing businesses a ton of time, allowing them to focus on the most crucial aspects of building their companies,” said Daymond John, CEO of The Shark Group. “The team at Trainual gets what it takes to scale a small business. For me, their shared passion for empowering entrepreneurs makes this partnership a natural fit.”
The idea is to provide a reporter with a legitimate quote they can actually use if they choose to cover your news for their outlet. Using a quote from a well-known source also provides credibility to the information that you’re sharing.
Are there any industry specific numbers or statistics you can pull that are relevant to the news or update you’re sharing? Journalists love this type of information because it reduces the work on their end. Plus, it provides for a stronger and more credible story if they decide to write about it.
Any number that’s going to set you apart should be shared here. And be sure to pull it from a reputable source and provide credit.
For example, we wrote a press release on BreakBot, our Google workspace add-on that automatically adds breaks to your calendar. We pulled this stat and included it in the release:
“In fact, remote employees are 47% more productive than their in-person counterparts, per Prodoscore. But while productivity might be up, burnout is at an all-time high, says the Harvard Business Review.”
Just be sure to link your source so the journalist is able to easily fact check.
A boilerplate is a paragraph about your company that you’ll include at the very end of the press release. As an example, here's ours:
Trainual is modernizing the way businesses onboard and train teams. Its affordable and simple-to-use SaaS platform automates and expedites the tedious task of documenting and replicating the processes, policies, and procedures essential for driving exceptional organizations forward. Trainual is on a mission to empower and inspire business leaders to find the time to do more of what they love.
For more information, please visit www.trainual.com and download the app on the App Store or Google Play. Jump into the conversation on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
A boilerplate should reveal the who, what, when, where, and why of your company. You’ll use the same boilerplate on every single press release, so there's no need to update it every time. We usually give ours a refresh 1-2 times per year to make sure it has the most up-to-date information.
Be sure to include links to all of the places you can find your company. This makes it easy for the journalist to jump around and further explore your brand.
Now for the easy part! Writing a press release is pretty formulaic. So, if you did all of your prep work, it’s just about plugging those items into the formula and making it sound great.
Below, we’ve included an example template that you can use to write your own press release. Some of the wording will slightly differ depending on what your release is covering.
And that’s it! Once you plug all of the information into the template, you’ve officially written your press release. The next step will be sharing it on a newswire service like PR Newswire or eReleases. You can also directly email it to your media contact list if you have one. If you don’t have one, sending your release through the newswire will be your best option.
You might even get your news featured in Times Square! We know, because we did it.
We asked our friends over at PR and social media agency Kel & Partners to share their top tips for anyone starting out with public relations. Here's what they said:
Promote your expertise. Focus on building credibility for yourself and your business by promoting your expertise and the expertise of your top team members. Whether it’s providing the media with comments around breaking or trending news stories in your industry or seeking out opportunities to speak on panels, sharing your “bread and butter” (AKA your knowledge) over time will help you become a thought leader in your respective field and assist your business with brand recognition.
Create a dedicated press page on your website. You’ve secured PR coverage! Now, what do you do with it? Having a dedicated press page on your website will not only make your business look organized, but it’s a great place to include company facts, brand history, and news announcements. Just remember to keep this section of your website up-to-date for external audiences!
Trust the process. You know the saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day?” The same could be said for PR. Public Relations is vital to helping your business achieve its goals, but even the strongest long-term PR strategies take time. Trust the process, stay consistent, and make sure you’re adhering to the plan you’ve set in motion while maintaining consistent messaging across all of your channels.
Ready to put your news out there? Pick a catchy angle, follow the template, and you'll be golden. And remember, if your release doesn't get picked up the first time, keep trying. Persistence (and practice) pays off.
Organize Chaos, published daily and hosted by Chris Ronzio, covers the playbooks, the people-powered strategies, and productivity hacks SMB leaders need to take their team to the next level.
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