FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Replace This Line With Your Headline Optional Subhead Goes Here HOUSTON, TX - July 1, 2001 (PRB) - This is your opening paragraph. It should be an attention grabber. Always start with the city and state in all caps, followed by the date. The press release distribution service (PRB) should be included in parenthesis, after the date. (PRB stands for Press Release Blaster) The media recognizes PRB so it is helpful to keep this in. If you don't include a distribution service then your press release may appear to be mailed directly by you, and it may not get the attention it deserves. Do not center the headline or subhead. The media expects this to be left justified for press releases sent as plain text email. Make sure you type no more than 65 characters per line. The following line is 65 characters long: ---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|----- The body of your press release should tell about your product, service, announcement or other newsworthy item. It will be very helpful if you review some actual press releases. You can see some now at newsbureau.com and xpresspress.com. Very important: Whenever you reference an URL in your press release, include the "http://" as part of the URL. That way it will display as a clickable hotlink when read by the majority of email software programs. The next part of your press release is optional, but has become a defacto standard. We recommend you include it. It is a company summary. Once you write one, you can include it in all of your future press releases. In the text below, replace "Acme Widgets" with your own company name. About Acme Widgets Acme widgets was founded in 1998 by two young college students who... yadda yadda yadda. This paragraph or paragraphs should tell about your company, including it's founders, achievements, product lines, and flagship products/services. It really helps to look at some actual press releases as mentioned above. In the contact section at the end of the press release, you can replace the header "CONTACT:" with "INTERVIEW CONTACT": if you are available for interviews. The contact info should always include a person's name and title, phone number with extension, and email address. The person listed as the contact person should be the one person who is knowledgeable about the news in this press release. This can be someone in the company, or someone in the PR firm hired by the company. Below the contact section you should include your complete company info. Finally, the press release should always end with three #'s (pound signs). Now it's time to end the press release. You can end it with a plug for your URL and a way to request a brochure, like the example below, and then the contact info and #'s as we discussed earlier. Ok, let's end it now... You can check them out at http://www.AcmeWidgetsInc.com or call for their free brochure 800-555-5555. CONTACT: John Doe, Vice President Telephone: 800-555-5555 ext. 105 John.Doe@AcmeWidgetsInc.com Acme Widgets 121 World Trade Drive, Suite 100 Chicago, IL 60625 USA Voice Telephone: 800-555-5555 Telephone: 800-555-5555 Facsimile: 312-555-5555 http://www.AcmeWidgetsInc.com # # # |