My master’s degree is in journalism, and when I was in grad school, I was adamant about teaching students how to create a news focus for press releases. Many companies want to write press releases just to say that they are doing well or that they released a new product or that they promoted someone. These press releases do have their place (for example, an alumni magazine might like the info about the promotion of a graduate), but they’re really not going to get any play in regular media outlets.

As a freelance copywriter, when writing a press release I have to think about why someone would care about an announcement. So, your company is doing well. That’s great for your company, but why would the San Diego area care? Perhaps your company is doing so great that they donate 1 percent of their profits to help San Diego wildfire victims. Or maybe your company is THE fastest growing company in San Diego. Maybe the technology product you just released will allow seniors to connect electronically with their families without having to understand the world of email. Perhaps the person you just promoted to CEO used to be a local football hero.

I just wrote a press release that promoted an organization’s featured speakers for their 40th anniversary conference. I couldn’t start with, “The annual conference will feature three really good speakers.” I started with the personal story of their most famous speaker and included quotes from his wife about the difficulties they had together that led to his crusading for his cause. That’s the news here. The fact that this organization is having a 40th conference and really good speakers is not.

Here’s a nice resource I found for writing effective press releases from Netpreneur Exchange. And here’s their sample.