I don’t care how technical or complicated your topic is. If you’re writing a press release about it, that’s no excuse to be boring.
NASA’s press release about moon dust, written by Dave Dooling, serves as a great example. I found eight things I love in this release:
1. A terrific, simple headline.
2. A lead that really pulled me into the story, including punchy verbs that illustrated a scene right out of Star Wars.
3. Great quotes. How many of us would have fallen back on the boring “We’re pleased and honored to announce blah-blah-blah…”
4. Technical information explained very clearly. Example: “Meteorites, many smaller than a pencil point….”
5. Using fun words in the release like “Earthlings” and “lunatics.”
6. Photos and graphics to help the read understand the topic.
7. Two places where I can sign up to receive more news from NASA.
8. The ability to play and download audio versions of the release and to email it to a friend.
If you struggle writing press releases, sign up for my free email course called “89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases.”
By the time you’re done with the course, you’ll be writing press releases just like the writers at NASA.
That’s a really useful analysis of exactly what makes that science press release work!
Joan, I noticed one other punchy line I just love.
“The moon is a harsh mistress”
Thanks Joan for finding this one.
You’re right, Garth. That’s a wonderful line.