You've done it. Gotten that press release written. Now you're 
ready to send it out to your carefully chosen list of media 
contacts.

But before you hit that "send" button, take a moment and run your 
press release through this checklist. Remember, you only have a 
few seconds to catch the attention of busy journalists and 
editors -- don't blow it over an easily corrected mistake.

Some of these may seem painfully obvious. Alas, even the obvious 
gets overlooked from time to time (even from professionals - I 
know, I've made my share of mistakes) so it's always a wise idea 
to take a few moments to double check that your release is up to 
snuff before sending it out into the world. 

1. Is your release newsworthy? In other words, does it answer the 
question "Will this interest my readers?" Remember, media people 
are interested in one thing - keeping their readers happy. Make 
sure your idea is something that will do just that.

2. Is the headline compelling? Will it encourage media people to 
actually read the story? If the headline doesn't interest them, 
chances are they aren't going to take the time to read the rest 
of the release. And you've just missed your opportunity.

3. Is the first sentence (the lead) compelling? Like the 
headline, if the first sentence doesn't grab their attention and 
persuade them to keep reading, chances are your release will be 
headed to that famous circular file. (Otherwise known as the 
trash can.)

4. Is it written in third person? In other words, use 
"he/she/they." No "you" or "we." 

5. Is it less than a page? Media people don't have time to read 
long press releases. Unless you have a darn good reason, keep it 
less than a page. For that matter, even if you do have a darn 
good reason, still keep it less than a page.

6. Are there grammatical or spelling errors in your release? 
Trust me, these are professionals. They'll catch your errors. And 
those errors won't leave a very good impression. At the very 
least use your word processing's spell checker, but hiring a 
proofreader is an even better solution. Or you could simply have 
someone you trust read it. But definitely do something.

7. Do you have your contact information on the release? Media 
people are on deadline. They don't have time to search for your 
contact info if they need clarification or a quote from you. Make 
it easy for them - put your contact info in a prominent place.

8. Do you have any sales copy in there? Reminder: Press releases 
don't go to the advertising department - they're for editorial. 
And editorial doesn't look very kindly on sales pitches. Nix the 
promotional copy and just focus on content - if they use your 
story, they'll put your contact info in there. 

While there are no guarantees with publicity, making sure your 
release follows this checklist will go a long way to garnering 
you publicity. 

Michele Pariza Wacek owns Creative Concepts and Copywriting, a 
writing, marketing and creativity agency. She offers two free 
e-newsletters that help subscribers combine their creativity 
with hard-hitting marketing and copywriting principles to become 
more successful at attracting new clients, selling products 
and services and boosting business. She can be reached 
at http://www.writingusa.com. Copyright 2005 Michele Pariza Wacek