Writing a Press Release for your Home Based Business

Writing a Press Release for your Home Based Business

It's time to write your first press release. If yours gets picked up by a local paper or magazine, it's a great way for potential customers to learn about you - and it won't cost you anything.

Most newspaper and online editors are a surly, cynical sort, so you really have to make an effort to convince them that your home business opportunity is worthy of space in their paper or on their Web site. They won't print something that looks like someone is trying to make a sale - your release will either be ignored or you'll receive a phone call from a newspaper rep asking you to take out an ad.

Before you get started, take a day or two to read the papers or magazines you'd like your release to appear in. Get a feel for the kinds of stories they print. Are there human interest pieces, do they have a section for business news, do you have an event coming up that may be a good fit for their events calendar? Decide where you'd like to see a story about your business and begin thinking about a way to write a press release that sounds like something they may be interested in. In a way, you're making a sale. Plan out your pitch.

When you sit down to get started, first answer the five w's - who, what, when, where and why - about your business. Try to keep it simple and only a few sentences.

Next decide what the hook, or the most interesting thing, about your business is. This is the part of your release that's really going to grab the editor's attention. Explain how your business helps people or offers one of a kind service. Use a unique, real-life example of how your company overcame a hurdle or offers a beneficial service. Include quotes from you or another partner explaining the things you think your business does best. You may also want to add facts about your business, such as projected sales growth. That kind of information can help add legitimacy to your release.

Once you've got what you want to say down on paper, dot your i's and cross your t's. A poorly written press release laden with errors makes a great newsroom joke.

To keep your release off the 'Wall of Shame,' format it using this template as a guide. Next check for errors. Do you use superfluous exclamation points? Have you used all caps somewhere? Most importantly, check for grammatical and spelling errors.

Read your press release aloud to yourself and to a friend to help find places where a sentence is too long or you've confused your thoughts.

Finish your press release off with a brief paragraph about that describes your home-based business's products, services and gives a brief history.

Editors will often run a release without modification if it's in good enough shape. That means if you do a good job, your release could be printed just the way you wrote it - talk about great exposure!