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Press releases are a powerful way to get your brand out in front of the media and help you reach new customers. With an AP-style press release template, it’s easy to create professional-looking documents that will land on the desks of journalists across the country.
To write yours, first, educate yourself with the criteria, then come up with a newsworthy viewpoint and target audience. Include your contact information and release instructions. Then, create an attention-getting title, the content of your press release, and a boilerplate part (a brief “about you” section).
The following are the specific stages for creating a news release in AP Style:
1. Become acquainted with the American Psychological Association’s (AP) style guidelines.
The Associated Press is one of the world’s major news organizations. Every year, it issues a style guide that regulates how journalists should structure information so that everything is consistent, regardless of who is writing the article. Everything from formatting guidelines to punctuation restrictions is covered in this style guide, which also applies to press releases.
The following are the major AP Style standards for press releases:
- After a period, leave one space (not two)
- A comma should not be used before the final item in a series.
- Title case, headers, and subheadings (aka capitalized)
- Third-person viewpoint is used in AP Style (never first or second)
- Numbers: Spell out the numbers one through nine, then use numerals after that.
- Dates should be written in numbers, and months with more than five letters should be abbreviated.
- Use standard typefaces like Times New Roman or Arial.
- Standard font sizes should be used (i.e., header: 14-pt.; subheader: 13-pt.; body: 12-pt.)
Send2Press, which not only sends your press release to thousands of journalists and newspapers but also provides AP Style verification, is one approach to verify that your press release meets AP Style requirements and formatting. Of all, if your press release isn’t covering a fascinating and newsworthy topic, it won’t matter how well-formatted it is.
Another option is to utilize our AP Style Press Release Template, which adheres to the standard press release format. This will make it easier for journalists, media outlets, and search engines to access vital information fast.
2. Discover a compelling angle for your target audience.
Choosing the right perspective for your topic is the first step in creating a press release. To do this, you must first choose the optimum audience for your press release. Remember that your audience includes not just journalists, but also their readers, listeners, or followers. Your story must be written in such a manner that it catches their interest, which necessitates the following considerations:
- Interests: What do you think your ideal audience’s interests are? What are their favorite pastimes? What do they read and what do they watch?
- What are their most significant values? Do they wish to support a certain cause or local businesses?
- Who do your prospective consumers have faith in? What firms do they see as trustworthy?
- Do they have any particular routines, such as performing their financial planning once a year or going grocery shopping every Friday?
- Where are they situated (e.g., in a certain city, state, region, nation, or the whole world)?
You’re now ready to start putting together material and fleshing out the details of your AP Style press release.
3. Include the release instructions.
To begin, choose the time and date you want your AP Style news release to go live. This is written in all capitals at the upper right-hand corner of your press release. Include the words “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” at the top of your press release if it is ready to be disseminated.
An “embargoed” release is one in which you wish the media to keep your press release for a certain amount of time. “EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL [DATE AND TIME]” should be written in this scenario.
4. Include your contact information.
The name, phone number, and email address of the person who can answer inquiries regarding the press release material should be included in the contact information. In the upper left-hand corner of the press release, provide your contact information.
In this format, provide the following information:
- Contact Name: The main contact’s full name, in case the media has any queries.
- Contact Phone Number: A phone number with an area code that allows the principal contact to be reached quickly.
- Contact Email Address: This should be the principal contact’s email address or a business-specific media-specific email address.
5. Create a Captivating Headline
The headline should be at the top and center of your press release as a title for an AP Style news release. Because the title is frequently the most appealing element of your press release, you should utilize it to get people to read it. The length of an AP headline should be between 65 and 80 characters, with a font size of 14 points.
Here are three excellent headline writing strategies:
- Make your title relevant to a current occurrence or hot topic: This is also known as “newsjacking,” and it is the act of anchoring your press release to a subject that is already in the news. A recent natural catastrophe, for example, might serve as a fantastic catalyst for a news release promoting a nonprofit’s objective to gather funds for environmental activities.
- Use the present tense in your writing to elicit emotion or motivate action by describing what your organization is now doing. Ideally, your title should be dramatic, intriguing, and a call to action (for example, This Kindergartener Raised $54K for Disaster Relief and How You Can Help).
- Include keywords: Keywords are terms that individuals type into search engines to discover information. To guarantee that your news release receives the greatest internet exposure, use keywords and phrases in both the title and content. Put your keywords in the first one to three words of your headline, or the first 65 characters, for the greatest results.
You may use a subheading in addition to your headline to convey more information or facts. Subheadings are typically 120 characters long and show right under your headline. To conform with AP Style style, they should be presented in 12-point Times Roman font and title case.
6. Use a strong lead paragraph in your press release.
The opening paragraph of your AP Style news release (also known as the “lead”) should provide a summary of the most relevant information in the release, including the date. The opening paragraph should be no more than 60 words long. You’ll have a higher chance of being picked up by the media if you keep it brief.
As you compose the first paragraph, keep the following points in mind:
Include the date and location.
Your press release should start with the day you want it to go online, as well as the location where it was written. When selecting when to pick up your press release, many media sources will search for this. For example, in the opening paragraph of a press release, you’ll often find notations like this:
Santa Monica is a city in the state of California (September 26, 2018) —
Make these items stand out by bolding them and abbreviating states according to AP Style rather than postal codes.
Respond to the ‘Who, What, When, Where, and Why questions.
Many people will only read the first paragraph, so provide the most important information here. You might begin this paragraph by briefly responding to the queries that your reader will have. Make sure it’s not too long. The opening paragraph should include a summary of the full press release.
The following are the questions that your first paragraph should respond to:
- Who is releasing this information: Who is releasing this information? (A company or organization)
- What is the latest news that the reader should be aware of?
- When: When is this announcement, change, or hiring going to happen?
- Where: Where is this happening, or where can the audience find out more?
- Why is this news significant?
Use the following paragraphs to give supporting facts after producing a great opening that gets the reader’s attention.
To give additional credibility to your press release, include a supporting quotation in the body. This quotation should be no more than two lines long, and it should be directly related to the news you’re announcing. Someone with a good reputation in your sector or locality should provide the quotation.
7. Come up with a boilerplate
The boilerplate is the portion at the bottom of your press release that says “about.” This is where you describe your company’s history, achievements, number of years in operation, and anything else relevant to your firm. It’s best if your boilerplate isn’t more than 100 words long.
An example of boilerplate in AP Style
8. Send out your press release in AP style.
Now that you’ve produced your AP Style press release, it’s time to disseminate it. This is an important aspect of the landing press. It’s where your press release ends up in the hands of journalists who can offer your press release and your company publicity in the news.
Direct contact with known connections, your website, social media, and press release distribution services are all options for getting your press release into the hands of journalists.
Here are some options for distributing your press release:
- Distribute your press release straight to your media contact list if you have developed relationships with journalists.
- Utilize a distribution service: Many firms use a press release distribution service to ensure maximum exposure to specific media outlets and journalists.
- To improve overall awareness, you should always put your press release on your organization’s website in addition to reaching out to the media. Creating a press page and adding all press releases and references to it is one approach to achieve this.
- Share it on social media: Once you’ve published a news release on your website, share a link to it on your social media accounts so that your friends and followers can view, like, and share it.
You can simply track the success of your press release if you utilize a press release distribution provider like eReleases since you will be provided a report documenting all of your press coverage.
Most Commonly Asked Questions (FAQs)
Are there any recommended practices for AP Style news releases?
Yes. There are a few recommended practices to follow when producing an AP Style press release to guarantee you receive the greatest results for your time and effort. These include delivering useful, relevant information, avoiding being excessively wordy, integrating visuals, and reducing text into bullet points when possible.
What are the best services for distributing press releases for free?
Even if you don’t have a list of media contacts or the financial means to pay for press release distribution, you still have choices. For example, for short-term press releases (up to 90 days), use OnlinePRNews, or for dissemination to search engines, utilize 1888PressRelease.
Is it necessary for firms to issue press releases to announce new hires?
Press releases announcing new hiring may help you obtain more visibility while also welcoming a new team member. They are, however, often confined to well-known companies—more especially, publicly listed companies—and high-level jobs.
Conclusion
An AP Style news release is a statement submitted to the press and intended to be disseminated by the Associated Press. It is utilized by organizations of all kinds that wish to improve their chances of getting their press release covered by the media. Journalists will find it simpler to pick up and publish your article if you use proper formatting.
