Hints & Tips
Press Release Help
The following page is designed to help you write your press release, give you tips and story ideas to capture the attention of local journalists and make your story stand out.
While we cannot always guarantee your press release will be published or used for an article, these are things you can do to improve your chances.
The biggest obstacle to most press releases is lack of straight facts:
Does the press release’s lead (opening) address or answer the basic tenets of journalism?
- Who are you
- What are you all about
- When did the event take place
- Where did it take place
- Why is it news
We suggest to always include your contact details for reporters who prefer to have materials mailed to them. Include press contact information below the text of the news release. 
A reporter reading your release should be able to make a decision about your story in the first screen of the message. remeber some reporters have limited online access. on’t waste that space with contact information. They will scroll down to find out who to contact if they want to follow-up with you.
When you write your press release, remember your audience. Your audience consists of journalists. Journalists are in the fact business. Their goal is to provide their readers with a complete portrait of whatever they’re writing about your company.
Give straight facts about your product or service, hard data that shows why your product or service is good and newsworthy.
Don’t trust your word processing program to catch errors in grammar and spelling. Check and recheck before submitting it.
Do not use HTML tags.
Successful submission hints
The information must be newsworthy. Report interesting developments, let the audience feel that the information is intended for them and why they should continue to read it.
Don’t waffle, start with a brief description of the news, and then who announced it, and not the other way round. Keep it short. Brevity is the basis for good online communication. Think, “How are people going to relate to this and will they be able to get the point?” Make sure the first 10 words of your release are effective, and that they are factual.
Avoid excessive use of ‘big’ grammar. Keep it simple.
Include URLs and email addresses for your company.
Provide links to more information.
5 SIMPLE STEPS TO PODCASTING
- Create audio or video that you want to share (usually MP3 or MP4)
- Upload the file to a server ( ours or yours)
- Link to the file to your post
- Oil and Gas Press will automatically include a link to the file in your RSS/Atom feed
- Listeners “subscribe” with podcast client application to your RSS/Atom feed and download new files automatically.
‘I think it’s fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we’ve ever created. They’re tools of communication, they’re tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user’ - Bill Gates
