The best rule to follow in writing a release is to put yourself in the shoes of an editor who is thinking about picking up your release. First, it does have to be “news.” Second, there must be something the editor thinks would be of interest to his or her readers.

Here's an example. I recently wrote a release on the launch of a new web site. I wanted the opening paragraph to immediately explain what the site was about and what differentiated it from other, similar sites devoted to digital radio. So I wrote this: “ The site, hd-radio-home.com, can be objective because it is not affiliated with any radio stations, industry group or radio manufacturer.” I then went on to describe the information that would be available on this site.

Another way to think about writing a release is who, what, why, when and how. Begin by explaining the “who” (Douglas Hanna, webmaster of ...), the “what” (a new web site devoted to HD Radio), and the “why” (presenting an objective look at HD Radio). The when” is now. So far as the “what” is concerned, it's whatever you want to say about your site that you believe would be newsworthy.

How do get that release distributed free

There are two, easy-to-use web sites that will distribute your releases free, and one that requires membership. The two free sites are PR Web (prweb.com) and P.R. Free (prfree.com). Both require you to register and both have easy-to-follow instructions for submitting a release. The third site, PR Newswire, is probably the “Cadillac” of PR services but to use it, you must submit an application for membership and be accepted before you can upload any releases.

It's important to make sure your releases are clean and free of typos, misspellings and grammatical errors.

My final piece of advice – and this may sound redundant - but you must not think in terms of what you want to say but in terms of what editors want to see.

Here's something else that's new and free. It's a new technology called HD Radio that enables AM and FM radio stations to broadcast their programs digitally. These digital broadcasts provide listeners with radically improved audio quality, more radio channels through multicasting, and new data services. To learn more about this amazing new technology, just go my Web site, http://www.hd-radio-home.com, to get all the buzz.

Douglas Hanna is a retired marketing executive and the author of numerous articles on HD radio, Internet marketing and family finances.

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