Château le Bomb - #3
In this post we're going to look at how to write the dreaded press release. I really like this bit as it's about how you turn your blood, seat and tears into a compelling story. It's also about putting yourselves in the shoes of your audience and the journalists who will hopefully be getting the word out for you.
Press Release structure
- Header image. Features the CLB logo and strap line. Saved as a PNG file so it can be easily dropped into a Word document.
- Headline. The one line summary of your event and why anybody should give a hoot.
- Event copy. The meat and potatoes of the Press Release. Roughly split as:
- Summary of what the night is about, what can the audience expect.
- Further information about the specifics of the night, who is playing.
- A quote about the night, straight from the horses hole.
- Key details. Summary of the where, when, how much of the night.
- Contact. Who can they get in with touch with for a follow-up.
- Notes to editor. This is the section where you pull together any other additional points which will help sell the night. Your previous experience and special skills and coordinates to a buried bit of pie.
Below you'll find my first stab which I put together in Indesign and sent to my friend for checking. He works in a big fancy PR agency in America and over there they shoot people. His feedback was really useful and I've included the final version for you to compare.
Tips for writing your Press Release
Keep it in Microsoft Word to it's easy to copy and paste quickly.
Don'y add the attachments to the email and clog up their inbox with your shitting megabytes. Instead, set up a Dropbox link where they can download the files.
Make sure all the tenses match up, putting everything in the 3rd person.
Tone down the jokes. You're looking to be taken seriously even though we're peddling giggles. Nothing worse than spending 3 hours in a car with someone on the way to the gig who keeps doing 'bits'.
In other news
Committed to spending a little bundle of money with The Skinny to list CLB on their December activities. The jury is out on whether this will directly shift any tickets but it's an acceptable sum to part with and it's the right publication to appear in.
We've decided that for all future Delightful Sausage meetings it will be mandatory to have a delicious sausage platter to nibble on.
- Manchester is not like the Edinburgh festival and you cannot flyer on the street without a license which can cost you up to £2,500 if fined. That's good because if it doesn't come easy to you flyering is hard work. That said - how are we meant to get the word about CLB out to the masses?