The press release has been a mainstay of public relations since its inception decades ago.
And while it may seem a bit old-school to some, there’s a reason press releases have stood the test of time — they’re effective and produce results.
From generating media coverage to positioning yourself as a thought leaders in your industry, and ultimately help your business succeed and grow — there are a number of reasons why business owners need to learn how to write and distribute a press release.
Today, I’ll focus on part one of that process: how to write a press release.
If you’re trying to decide whether or not something warrants a press release, all you need to do is answer one question: Is it newsworthy?
For something to be newsworthy, it must be something that audiences outside of your internal organisation will care about; something that has significance to a reporter and their readers, viewers, or listeners, or to other external stakeholders (potential investors, etc).
Here are a few factors to consider when determining if something is newsworthy:
Impact: Who will this information affect? The broader and larger the impact, the more people will be interested.
Timeliness: Why does this information matter now? Does your news relate to or tie back to a significant “moment in time” or event of some sort?
Proximity: As a small business, this one should be easy to understand — proximity matters. For many small businesses or nonprofits, your news will likely matter more to local publications than to national ones, or publications that focus on other regions.
Name recognition: Clout that comes with big recognisable names (well know people, organisations, companies, etc) will likely increase the interest in your news. If you’re partnering with, or involved with a big name that might generate this type of attention, consider issuing a press release.
Now that you know when to write a press release, let’s take a look at how you actually do it.
Here, I’ve outline the four major components of an effective press release:
1. The headline
The headline should be attention grabbing and encourage the reader to want to know more, while also being explanatory. This isn’t the time to use vague language.
Formatting tip: Make sure the headline is written in bold and the subhead is italicised.
2. The body
The body of your press release should stay as concise as possible, while making sure to get all of the important information across in an engaging manner. Reporters that read your release aren’t likely going to have the time to read page after page trying to understand the news.
There aren’t really a prescriptive number of pages or word count. It can vary depending upon the information the release is covering. The key is to keep it concise and not overly verbose, but at the same time make sure that you have all the relevant info included. So, the length can really vary depending upon the announcement.
Here are other things to keep in mind when pulling together the body of any press release:
The dateline: Begin with a dateline of the city in which the press release originated and the date it was issued. This is especially important for small businesses that are distributing their press release to the local media.
Keep it factual: Your press release should focus on answering the five W’s: who, what, when, where, and why.
Factual doesn’t have to mean dry: While your press release should be as concise as possible and stick to the facts, it doesn’t have to be as dry as say, a research paper. Keep the language engaging.
Avoid lazy mistakes: Typos and poor grammar in press releases make your business look unprofessional, and will likely turn off reporters.
The quote: Most press release include a quote by the most relevant spokesperson for the topic of the release. The quote provides space to add some color commentary (going a bit beyond the factual basis of the rest of the release) and can also be pulled directly from the release by journalists to use in articles.
3. The boilerplate
This is the about us section where you provide background on your organisation. It should be included following the body of every press release. The language used here can be the same in every release. Don’t forget to link to your company homepage to drive readers back and provide more information.
4. Contact Info
A reporter reads your press release and is interested in getting more information — great! But how will they know where to go?
Be sure to include relevant contact info for any inquiries that may arise from your press release.
This information should be listed at the very end of the release.
It doesn’t begin and end with creating the press release.
Keep in mind that while a well crafted press release is the foundation of a great public relations campaign, your efforts should not begin and end with the creation of the release.
Press releases work when you get their information in the right hands (reporters, other stakeholders) that will further extend the reach of your news, ultimately resulting in measurable business success.
Stay tuned for part two, where I’ll explain how to distribute and get results from your press release.
Funds specialist Sophie Reguengo promoted to partner at Ogier
/1 Comment/in Member News /by News DeskFunds specialist Sophie Reguengo has been promoted to partner in Ogier’s leading Jersey investment fund team.
Sophie joins Niamh Lalor and Emily Haithwaite as partners leading the Jersey investment funds team, making Ogier’s the first all-women led investment funds legal team in the Island.
Sophie is a highly experienced investment funds and regulatory lawyer with over 15 years’ industry experience. She is recognised as a “Rising Star” by IFLR1000 and a “Next Generation Lawyer” by Legal 500.
She acts for a wide range of real estate and private equity managers and is an active member of Ogier’s fund finance team. As partner, Sophie will play a central role in Ogier’s funds and regulatory offering.
Sophie is a founding member of Lean In Jersey, and is an advocate for women and equality in the workplace.
Niamh Lalor said: “We are delighted to welcome Sophie to the partnership. Sophie has built an excellent reputation in the industry, renowned for her technical ability and outstanding client services.
Advisory Excellence is fundraising for Get Kids Going!
/2 Comments/in Charity /by News DeskGet Kids Going! is a national charity which gives disabled children and young people – up to the age of 26 yrs – the wonderful opportunity of participating in sport. We provide them with specially built sports’ wheelchairs so they can do: athletics, marathons, tennis, skiing, rugby, sailing, boccia, basketball, sledge hockey, table tennis, fencing, shooting, archery, powerlifting and many more sports. Get Kids Going! inspires British disabled youngsters to compete in sporting events, from start to paralympic level, by also giving them sports grants to help with their; training, physiotherapy, travel, competition fees, design and development of sports’ equipment etc. With your help many can become world record holders and paralympic champions!
Our aim is to give support to all our budding paralympians in the build up to the 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics, the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics and many more such events. Like any aspiring athletes all our youngsters need long-term support, often over many years, to achieve their sporting dreams. Sadly, we are aware of cuts in funding for such youngsters from the government and other sources, and so many of our youngsters are forced to rely on friends and family for financial help. As you can imagine, this causes enormous burdens on many, already cash strapped, families and a constant worry as the cost of participating in their favourite sport is forever increasing.
There are hundreds of talented, disabled, youngsters who have the potential to participate in events throughout the UK and all over the world but receive either none or very little funding and are desperate to achieve their life-long sporting dreams. With your help, together we can turn their dreams into reality and help make them into sporting heroes!
Not only does Get Kids Going! focus on helping disabled young athletes but it also provides manual wheelchairs for children to use every day; at home, at school, and to enable them to play with their friends. These are our wonderful athletes of the future! We believe that all disabled children and young people should receive the right equipment to get them going!
We support children with all disabilities and from all backgrounds. We take pride in ensuring that any equipment which is out grown is recycled to other children, so our supporters’ valuable donations are never wasted. Many people who support Get Kids Going! feel a marvellous sense of achievement and satisfaction. They see that even the smallest donation makes an amazing difference! Get Kids Going! gives disabled children and young people the chance of a life time, freedom, and many wonderful opportunities that you and I take for granted. Opportunities they may never have without you and the support of Get Kids Going! No other charity in the UK focuses on helping disabled children and young people with sport in the same way.
The cost of a bespoke sports wheelchair is about £4,000. A lightweight manual wheelchair is around £3,000. All are designed individually, and perform just like a Formula 1 Racing Car!
The cost of a sports grant can be anything from £500 to £15,000 per year for each youngster.
In general there are over 200,000 disabled children and young people in Britain who need the help of Get Kids Going!
Help us turn their dreams into reality!
Oil spill on Northeast Brazil beaches reach 9 States
/1 Comment/in Member News /by News DeskFor over one month now (44 days), an unprecedented extensive area along the shoreline of Brazil’s Northeast Region has been hit by an oily substance in the form of lumps of black tar, which origin remains unknown.
Substantial oil slicks were first spotted since at least 30 August 2019, but it was only weeks later they realised that the pollution was widespread and gradually reached the entire shoreline along the northeastern coast of the South Atlantic Ocean, heading south.
According to the federal environmental agency IBAMA, more than 70 municipalities in the nine Northeastern states – Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Paraiba, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe – have been reached by the oil spill in the course of recent weeks. The affected area spans over 1,370 nautical miles across sandy beaches, mangroves, reefs, and rocky coasts and varied fauna and flora, extending from Cururupu in the state of Maranhão to Arempebe in Bahia soon to reach the metropolitan area of Salvador, Northeast’s largest city, and beyond.
To date, more than 130 tonnes of oil waste has been collected on the many affected beaches, while oil-soaked sea turtles are being washed on the shores of the north-eastern coast, many of them already dead. Fish contamination and mortality and even dolphin are also being reported.
Petrobras stated that representative samples of the substance were tested, and it was concluded that the product that currently pollutes the pristine north-eastern beaches is crude oil, neither produced nor imported by Brazil.
A study by the Institute of Geosciences of the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), in partnership with the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), points out that the oil is of Venezuelan origin.
According to the Brazilian environment minister Ricardo Salles, based on an alleged match between the samples tested and Venezuelan crude, it is likely that the product in question actually came from Venezuela, possibly carried on a vessel sailing near the Brazilian coast that accidentally or otherwise discharged it.
Official investigations Brazilian Navy’s Directorate of Ports and Coasts (DPC) has opened an administrative enquiry to determine the source of the oil spill. The procedure includes analysis of maritime traffic data, information collected by naval ships and aircrafts passing or patrolling the area.
Navy’s Integrated Maritime Safety Centre (CISMAR) is investigating maritime traffic in the region, comprising an area of about 36,000 square nautical miles in Brazil’s exclusive economic zone, with an emphasis on oil tankers. In just one month, CISMAR identified 140 tankers, some of which are being notified by the maritime authority to provide information.
The maritime authority – DPC – is also assisting the environmental agencies in the pollution response and conducting sea and air patrols; however, so far, no trace of oil has been found in the open sea, only in the coastal area near the beaches.
In accordance with the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (CLC/1969) and the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC/1990), both signed by Brazil, the fines for oil pollution can reach R$ 50 million, without prejudice to other administrative and criminal sanctions and the polluter’s strict responsibility to fully repair environmental damage.
Year by year the shipping industry has been adopting good practices which consequently results in a substantial reduction of oil spill incidents. The industry is adopting measures aimed at the reduction of the environmental impact, such as IMO 2020.
The truth is that maritime transport is a matrix with less environmental impact than road transport that is so largely used in Brazil. Obviously it is necessary to investigate and identify the polluting source.
Newsletter September 2019 Nina Boteva Law Office
/1 Comment/in Member News /by News DeskThe Electronic Communications Networks and Physical Infrastructure Act (ECNPI) was promulgated at the beginning of March 2018. This Law regulates public relations connected to the deployment, use, maintenance and development of electronic communications networks; providing access to and use of existing physical infrastructure; the rights and obligations of network operators, contractors, property owners, persons who manage or use real estate and tenants.
The ECNPI introduced the notion “Single Information Point (SIP)”, which is an electronic platform, integrating and systematizing information on the procedures and regulations governing the deployment and maintenance of infrastructure, including the authorities competent to issue acts in this field and their respective fees. There is guaranteed access to all available sample documents for obtaining permits and other infrastructure-related acts. This Act outlines the conditions for the completion and submission by electronic means of applications and documents necessary for the deployment and maintenance of electronic communications networks and physical infrastructure, as well as for receiving information on the progress of their review by the competent authorities.
The conditions for granting access to information contained in the SIP are governed by the Ordinance on data formats and the terms and conditions for submitting access to information in the Single Information Point (hereinafter Ordinance), which was published in the middle of September in the Bulgarian State Gazette. The purpose of the Ordinance is to regulate the order and manner of providing information from and to the SIP. The latter was created as a geographical information system, however it is necessary to establish specific technical rules that will make possible the effective implementation of Art. 4 of the ECNPI and will lead to the achievement of the objectives set out therein for efficient and easy access to information regarding physical infrastructure. This will create conditions for accelerated deployment of high-speed electronic communications networks, reduction of investment costs, provision of effective control, respectively, increasingly satisfying the needs of users of modern and diverse electronic communications services.
UAE Federal Tax Authority publishes new guide
/2 Comments/in Member News /by News DeskClarifications are used when there is a question about the VAT Law and how it will apply in a certain case. The main change with the new guide is the extension of the time limit required for receiving a Clarification upon submission of all relevant information and documents to the FTA, from 40 business days to 45 business days.
There is further an additional paragraph which explains that if a case is very complex, for e.g. the FTA may have to consider other legislation or contractual or factual information, then a further 45 business days may be required.
In essence, for complex cases, the FTA may require 90 business days from the date of the initial submission to determine a case.
Download the guide here
How to write a press release for your small business
/1 Comment/in Business /by News DeskThe press release has been a mainstay of public relations since its inception decades ago.
And while it may seem a bit old-school to some, there’s a reason press releases have stood the test of time — they’re effective and produce results.
From generating media coverage to positioning yourself as a thought leaders in your industry, and ultimately help your business succeed and grow — there are a number of reasons why business owners need to learn how to write and distribute a press release.
Today, I’ll focus on part one of that process: how to write a press release.
If you’re trying to decide whether or not something warrants a press release, all you need to do is answer one question: Is it newsworthy?
For something to be newsworthy, it must be something that audiences outside of your internal organisation will care about; something that has significance to a reporter and their readers, viewers, or listeners, or to other external stakeholders (potential investors, etc).
Here are a few factors to consider when determining if something is newsworthy:
Impact: Who will this information affect? The broader and larger the impact, the more people will be interested.
Timeliness: Why does this information matter now? Does your news relate to or tie back to a significant “moment in time” or event of some sort?
Proximity: As a small business, this one should be easy to understand — proximity matters. For many small businesses or nonprofits, your news will likely matter more to local publications than to national ones, or publications that focus on other regions.
Name recognition: Clout that comes with big recognisable names (well know people, organisations, companies, etc) will likely increase the interest in your news. If you’re partnering with, or involved with a big name that might generate this type of attention, consider issuing a press release.
Now that you know when to write a press release, let’s take a look at how you actually do it.
Here, I’ve outline the four major components of an effective press release:
1. The headline
The headline should be attention grabbing and encourage the reader to want to know more, while also being explanatory. This isn’t the time to use vague language.
Formatting tip: Make sure the headline is written in bold and the subhead is italicised.
2. The body
The body of your press release should stay as concise as possible, while making sure to get all of the important information across in an engaging manner. Reporters that read your release aren’t likely going to have the time to read page after page trying to understand the news.
There aren’t really a prescriptive number of pages or word count. It can vary depending upon the information the release is covering. The key is to keep it concise and not overly verbose, but at the same time make sure that you have all the relevant info included. So, the length can really vary depending upon the announcement.
Here are other things to keep in mind when pulling together the body of any press release:
The dateline: Begin with a dateline of the city in which the press release originated and the date it was issued. This is especially important for small businesses that are distributing their press release to the local media.
Keep it factual: Your press release should focus on answering the five W’s: who, what, when, where, and why.
Factual doesn’t have to mean dry: While your press release should be as concise as possible and stick to the facts, it doesn’t have to be as dry as say, a research paper. Keep the language engaging.
Avoid lazy mistakes: Typos and poor grammar in press releases make your business look unprofessional, and will likely turn off reporters.
The quote: Most press release include a quote by the most relevant spokesperson for the topic of the release. The quote provides space to add some color commentary (going a bit beyond the factual basis of the rest of the release) and can also be pulled directly from the release by journalists to use in articles.
3. The boilerplate
This is the about us section where you provide background on your organisation. It should be included following the body of every press release. The language used here can be the same in every release. Don’t forget to link to your company homepage to drive readers back and provide more information.
4. Contact Info
A reporter reads your press release and is interested in getting more information — great! But how will they know where to go?
Be sure to include relevant contact info for any inquiries that may arise from your press release.
This information should be listed at the very end of the release.
It doesn’t begin and end with creating the press release.
Keep in mind that while a well crafted press release is the foundation of a great public relations campaign, your efforts should not begin and end with the creation of the release.
Press releases work when you get their information in the right hands (reporters, other stakeholders) that will further extend the reach of your news, ultimately resulting in measurable business success.
Stay tuned for part two, where I’ll explain how to distribute and get results from your press release.