Start with a story, not a sales pitch

The single biggest reason local press releases get deleted is that they read like advertising. A journalist at a regional daily or a specialist trade title receives dozens of emails a day, and their first question is always the same: is this actually news, or is someone trying to get free advertising? If your release answers the second question, it goes in the bin.

Before you write a word, ask yourself what has genuinely changed. A new product is rarely news on its own. A new product that solves a problem local customers have been complaining about, created because of something specific you noticed, and launching on a date that matters — that is news. The difference is the story around the announcement.

Think in terms of these reliable angles:

• First, biggest or only: the first business in the county to offer a particular service, or the only independent shop doing something unusual.
• Local jobs and investment: new hires, apprenticeships, expansion into bigger premises, money spent with local suppliers.
• Human interest: a founder who retrained at 50, a family firm marking 25 years, staff fundraising for a cause close to home.
• Expert comment: your reaction to a new regulation, a change in consumer habits or a local development that affects your sector.
• Data you own: what you are seeing in your own order book or footfall that others cannot see.

Nail the structure before you polish the words

Journalists are trained to read from the top down and stop as soon as they have enough. Write so that the most important information appears in the first two sentences, and the piece still makes sense if they cut everything after paragraph three.

The shape that works almost every time:

• Headline: plain and factual, under about twelve words. "Bristol bakery opens second site, creating eight jobs" beats "Rising to the occasion!"
• First paragraph: who, what, where, when and why, in roughly 40 words.
• Second paragraph: the detail — numbers, dates, names, context.
• Quote: one from you, and where relevant one from a customer, partner or local figure.
• Boilerplate: a short "about us" paragraph, three or four sentences, identical in every release.
• Contact details: a real name, mobile number and email, plus a note about photos.

Keep the whole thing under 500 words. You are supplying raw material, not the finished article — the journalist will rewrite it anyway.

Write quotes that sound like a person

Quotes are where most small business releases fall apart. "We are delighted to announce this exciting new chapter" says nothing and no editor will print it. A usable quote adds opinion, emotion or explanation that the facts alone cannot carry.

Try this test: could your competitor's name be swapped into the quote without changing anything? If yes, start again. Instead, say what actually drove the decision, what customers told you, what went wrong along the way, or what it means for the people involved.

• Weak: "We are thrilled to be expanding our offering to the local community."
• Stronger: "We had 300 people on a waiting list for evening classes, so turning them away stopped making sense. Most of them are parents who can only come after bedtime."

Attribute the quote to a named person with a job title, and give their full name on first mention. Never attribute a quote to "a spokesperson" if a real human is available.

Timing, format and the follow-up

Send your release at least a week before anything happens, and give an embargo date at the top if the information is sensitive. Local weeklies often work several days ahead, and monthly trade magazines can plan six to eight weeks out. A launch that happened yesterday is no longer news.

A few practical habits make the difference between being read and being ignored:

• Put the story in the subject line, not "Press release" or "News from our company".
• Paste the text into the body of the email. Attachments are opened last, if at all.
• Offer a photo or filming opportunity, and say who is available for interview and when.
• Avoid jargon only your sector understands. Spell out acronyms on first use.
• Send it to the right person. Find the business or news reporter by name rather than using a generic enquiries address.

Then follow up once, by phone or email, two or three days later. Journalists are not being rude if they do not reply immediately; they are simply busy. A polite, brief nudge often does more good than a perfectly crafted release.

Build the relationship, not just the release

The businesses that earn steady coverage are not the ones with the best-written releases. They are the ones journalists trust. That means being available at short notice when a reporter needs a comment on something in your industry, replying quickly even when the answer is no, and never exaggerating a story to make it bigger than it is.

Keep a simple list of the local reporters and trade editors who matter to you, note what they cover, and stay in touch when you have nothing to promote. Congratulate them on a good piece. Pass on a genuine tip that is not about you. Over a year, that quiet groundwork will earn you far more coverage than any single polished email ever will.