Editor's note: The following feature first appeared in one of our companion publications, The Shooting Wire, some weeks back, but despite its few reference to firearms, the advice offered by editor Paul Erhardt is equally pertinent to those submitting press releases and announcements to The Archery Wire. And as Paul writes here, if you're ever unsure about how to write a press release or just want some advice, please feel free to ask questions. Contact me any time at archerywire@gmail.com. JRA



As you can imagine, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network gets a few press releases now and then. Actually it's more in a range of 75 to 100 daily - and that's just counting the ones I am copied on.

Some are good. Some are very good. And some - more like many - are atrocious.

There is an event release we get each year that is so bad due to its overwhelming lack of punctuation that it has become our favorite, and we look forward to the day it pops up in our inboxes.

Not unlike Steve Martin in "The Jerk," we email each other messages with the kind of glee usually reserved for the arrival of the new phonebooks.

Other releases, however, leave us groaning.

So, since we are sort of 'experts' on press releases, and in this column some know-it-all has harped on the need to send them out, here are some tips.


Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Something... If you don't know what to write a press release about, you've got problems. If you don't know how to write it, there is an easy way to figure that out. When I run up against a release topic I'm not sure how to handle I usually go to the archives section of The Archery Wire (hint: look up and to the right under the main banner) and search for a release that's on topic, like, for instance, sponsorships. I then read releases from various companies to see how they worded their announcement.

Another hint it to do a google news search with terms a company might use in a release similar to yours. This helps you find how people outside the industry might approach a major announcement. Other sporting events have sponsors so look at how they promote that news.

http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/image_archive/2120794.jpg> An important message from Uncle Sam. Now do as he says..and share it on Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr and whatnot.

Don't Bury The Lede... When you figure out how to write your release, please dear God don't bury the lede. For some of you the problem is that you buried the lede but that you put it into the witness protection program to never be heard from nor seen again. For instance, say your sponsored shooter won a match. Don't start off telling readers the shooter competed in the match and then tell us they won. We will accept it as an immutable fact that they indeed participated if you simply start by telling us they won.

And if they did win, perhaps there's more to it than just that. Maybe this is the fourth time they won a particular championship and in the process made history as the first shooter to ever win it four times. Lead off with that bit of important news.

Headlines Should Not Be War And Peace... While some event titles are indeed quite long, whenever possible try and shorten your headlines. Headlines are not meant to be paragraphs so try and keep them to one line. But please not down to something so short that it's just the two word name of the product you're announcing. Don't be afraid to add an "Announces" or "Introduces" along with the maybe the name of the company "announcing" or "introducing" the product when you're stuck with a two word headline.

All Caps? Just Say NO... Yes, we realize your news is the absolute most important announcement being made in the industry, which explains why you put the headline in ALL CAPS. And trust me, we drop EVERYTHING to immediately read it. It is that exciting. However, the cold hard reality is, it's not that thrilling. Putting your headline in all caps makes it harder to read and your spellcheck overlooks the typos (and boy, do I know typos). We get releases with huge typos in the headline because it's in all caps and harder to read, which is why you didn't notice the misplaced letter.

Speaking Of ALL CAPS... It is not necessary to put the name of every product and every feature in ALL CAPS. Eventually you will end up with an opening paragraph of a release where more words are in all caps than not. You may think this is a bit of an exaggeration but trust me, it is not. Being a good marketer is not measured by how many times you can use all caps in promoting your trademarked name.

Your Webpage Is Not A Release... If you are thinking that cutting and pasting the text from your product's webpage is writing a release, it's not. Don't do that. Really, you know who you are. Besides, you end up with a two word headline that isn't an actual headline.

Look To TV News... If you are having trouble getting into your release, imagine your story being reported by the TV news anchor. How would he or she start off the story? For instance, "When it comes to women sharpshooters, Montana has its own Annie Oakley and her name is Julie Golob. The Glasgow resident and mother of two was recently named a Distinguished Action Pistol shooter by the National Rifle Association, making her just one of 114 shooters to have ever received that coveted title. Blah, blah, blah..." You get the gist.

Read The Sports Section... If you are writing about the shooting sports then pick up a big city newspaper sports section and read some of the stories. One day while sitting in a post house in Philadelphia, I started reading the sports section of the Inquirer. Those guys know how to write, as do all the sports reporters with big papers. Seeing how they turn a phrase to capture the action will help you when it's your turn. (Yes, you can read it online but when you get ink on your fingers with the hard copy you're learning through osmosis as well. It's a fact.)

Include A Photo... I've gone over this before but it really does help to tell the story, even if it's just a "stock" photo of your subject. Plus it helps with that social media engagement hocus pocus all the cool kids are talking about.

And Finally, Include Links... Once your release is complete be sure to add in your website address, Facebook, Twitter and such. Do not assume that the readers are so familiar with your brand that they know off the top of heads how to find you online. What's the point of having all that social media hocus pocus if you don't include it in somewhere in your release?

Obviously there are other aspects to writing a press release but this will get your off on the right track. Plus, Publisher Jim put me a strict 1,200 words or less rant restriction and I'm pretty sure I exceeded that limit.

Since for some of you this may have been a bit brutal, and at the grave risk of creating more work for myself, I am usually happy to talk to you about your release and what needs to be changed and why. I'll even throw out some ideas on releases you could put out but haven't. Everything above is something that I have already brought up in private conversations with marketing contacts, so it's not like you'd be the first to ask for help.

I'll even talk to those of you using an agency for your PR work...or perhaps not. Jim says I made enough enemies for one day.

- Paul Erhardt, Editor, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network



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