If you’re wondering how to write a press release for an upcoming event, this article is for you.
A little more than a century ago, in the United States, the very first press release ever written was distributed to the media. Even though news publications are increasingly being replaced by social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, press coverage significantly impacts a business, and press releases for events continue to be the most effective way of communicating messages to the media and reaching a large audience. However, despite the simplicity of the message communicated, not many understand how to write a press release for an event.
Before Learning How to Write a Press Release, it’s Important to Understand What IS a Press Release for an Event?
The purpose of a press release is to provide journalists with a concise and understandable explanation of the importance of their attendance at the event. The response to the inquiry: “Why should I come here?” The press release also includes details about the event, including the time, location, travel arrangements, and the contact information for a PR expert or other responsible person.
All press releases should focus on being novel, relevant, and informative first and foremost to succeed.
The Most Important Parts of the Event Press Release
From learning how to write an event press release to writing the actual press release, you’ll tack on some additional information here and there or emphasize certain aspects of the discussion. We strongly suggest that you write using an active voice and adhere to a standard press release template format:
- The title is the first thing anyone who reads your press release will see. It needs to be visually appealing to get more people to pay attention to it and make it easy to understand what will be discussed. In addition to the name of the event that will be covered in the text, it should also include an informative reason for including it.
- The information that the lead provides serves as the text’s foundation. You need to summarize the essential takeaways from an event covered in this section in a few simple sentences. The material should be revealed in one or two sentences, addressing the question, “What does this press release cover?”
- The information guide can be detailed within the body of the text, which makes up the bulk of the press release. There may already be figures, facts, statistics, and other details that pique your interest. Keep in mind that the information that is considered to be the most vital should be communicated in the very first paragraph.
- Quote. You can enhance your text by including an expert’s comment or opinion, which is also helpful for making the material more engaging and exciting. In addition, when necessary, the quote makes it possible to draw attention to the important figure associated with the event and highlight the newsmaker.
- Info Help. Information describing the event that is concise and unambiguous. You have the option of including the history of the brand, the primary accomplishments of the brand, as well as elements of the brand’s identity, such as the logo.
- Visual images and links. You should add media that relates to the event. It could be a photo report, a poster for the event, infographics, banners, promotional photos, or other visual items.
- Press contact person. You must fill out the contact information for the event representative or organizer to obtain additional information or materials for publication from them. You have the option to add links to the company’s various online resources, such as its website, landing page, and social networks, in this section.
How to Write a Press Release for an Event with Examples
In the case of how to write a press release for an event, keep in mind that you are required to create a document that provides information. Representatives from the media must acquire the following information as quickly as possible: what occurred, why it occurred, where it occurred, and what the event’s outcomes were. The exact moment when something will take place.
Rules for Writing an Event Press Release
There are some basic guidelines to follow when writing a good press release, and if you follow them, there is a much better chance that your letter will not be routed to the spam folder right away.
The first paragraph is concise in length and contains the most information that has been filled in. It provides the answers to questions and the essential information:
What will the event be called, in what setting will it take place, and what will it consist of; information regarding the event’s date, location, and time; names or facts that are certain to grab people’s attention.
You only have a few seconds for the editor to read the first few lines of your release before deciding whether to continue reading it. Instead of talking about how unique, unprecedented, or cult something is, simply stick to the facts.
Believe me when I say that it is equally as important for the people who receive your announcements to post engaging, relevant, and helpful ideas. However, do not bury the most critical information beneath a mountain of distracting information and irrelevant particulars because there are a lot of points to include and communicate. In the first paragraph, you should do what you can to make the reader see why your event is significant enough to warrant a target audience.
You already reveal the event’s content in greater detail in the second paragraph, as well as how many people you anticipate attending, who those attendees are, and what makes this particular event special. In addition, you describe the event’s distinguishing characteristics. What will the program be, and which specifics do you find most interesting?
You may devote one paragraph to the opinion leader’s feedback regarding the event’s organizers or the event itself. It goes without saying that this review cannot be faked. It is preferable to condense the press release’s content rather than pad it out with irrelevant or false information.
The address of the event website, the contact details of the person involved in PR and interaction with the media outlet in the project, as well as the phone number, email address, and links to social networks of the event, are all included in the final paragraph of the press release.
As a consequence of this, you should end up with a text that is no longer than one page long, in which the information is not repeated but rather organized in a way that is logical and consistent, in which there is not a single error, and in which the particulars are not overlooked or distorted.
The primary nuances are as follows:
A textual format is required for a good press release to be written out. You do not need to create it in PDF format, as this prevents people from opening it, loading it, or copying anything from it. Make the process of going from reading to publishing as easy and quick as possible for the person you are talking to;
It is recommended that the subject line of the letter not be referred to as the “forehead” but rather as “Press release of the conference on writing press releases.” Each editor of these nearly identical letters deals with hundreds daily. Do not compose a clerical press release headline; rather, compose a living, human headline that will grab your attention;
When you send a letter to the editor, after the greeting, you copy the first paragraph into the body of the letter, which contains a concentration of information about your event. Then, you write that you can familiarize yourself with the details by clicking on the link (and giving a link to the GoogleDocs where you prudently copied text) or in the attached file. When you send a letter after the greeting, you copy the first paragraph into the body of the letter, which contains a concentrate of (attached Word document). Your complete contact information needs to be included in the signature;
The attachment to the press release should, in addition to the text of the release itself, include two to four photos from previous or similar events held by you, pictures from the internet that appear to be the most appropriate for you or a poster of the events. If no pictures accompany your announcement, the editors may choose to attach something to it anyway, even if it does not reflect your expectations.
I hope the question “how to write a press release for an event” has been answered to your satisfaction. These days, press releases are still quite pertinent. However, anyone—not just a trained journalist—is capable of writing an effective press release. This can be done by anybody who has a sufficient level of literacy and is familiar with the framework and subtleties of this type of writing.
Featured Image: Megapixl © Alexmillos
