Friday, August 25, 2017

CALL THE PRESS: "How to" write press releases + examples!


This summer I took AC 221 Publicity Workshop 
at the Fashion Institute of Technology with Professor Simone 
{the same professor I had & really enjoyed 
for my AC 111 Advertising and Publicity class last spring} 

I learned SO MUCH! 
I really enjoyed writing and discussing press releases and other publicity approaches.

I wanted to share the press releases that I wrote and workshopped this summer 
and a little "how to" guide passing on some of what I learned! 

Keep in mind I am not an expert (by any means) 
but I think this is a good guide of the basics! 

 The most important bits are the headline (also subject line for emails) 
& the 5W lead: Who What Where When Why

The information goes in an "inverted pyramid", 
descending in importance from most important to least important. 
You want to catch the attention of the the journalist / editor 
to get the important information as soon as possible. 

Press releases are mainly just informational, 
not sensationalized or written as an editorial piece.
They are sent to various media outlets who share a targeted audience 
that would find your press release newsworthy, interesting 
and worth sharing with their audience! 

Here are a few that I wrote this summer for various prompts:



 Feature Releases are written more like a story and editorial piece:
 We also practiced writing a PSA for the radio.
PSA's require a word count so it can be timed perfectly. 
They are written in a more conversational tone and in ALL CAPS:

 Our final project was a media kit for a company or product of our choosing.
I chose to focus on Faniel Eyewear and created a massive media kit that included:
· News Release
· Fact Sheet
· Backgrounder
· Profile
· Two Visuals with Photo Captions
· Detailed Description of a Planned Media Event
· Sample Blog Post and Social Media Posts
· 1 Page Pitch Letter attached to the front of the folder

This was an incredible amount of work,
 but I was extremely satisfied with the final product

& my teacher left me a note that said "you have a talent for PR"
💪😏

I am so thankful that I took the leap to go to FIT and actually pursue my dreams!
I hope this post helps some PR peeps!

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{I mean... Fashion School @FIT NYC doesn't pay for itself!} 
:)

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FTC Disclosure: 
This post contains affiliate links and I may be compensated 
if you click on my links or make a purchase using my links.
Some products may be gifted to me for promotion, 
they will always be noted with "c/o" 

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