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When planning and organizing an event, a well-written event press release is a cost-effective marketing element that is crucial for your event marketing strategy.
An effective press release will attract more media to publish them, and in turn, can let more of the public know about the existence of your event and hopefully register as attendees.
For a press release to be effective, however, it’s crucial that it is written well, and in this article, we will share :
- The best way to format your press release so it’s attractive with optimal readability
- How to write an attractive and engaging press release journalists and the public would care about
- How to make sure your press release gets read and published
Without further ado, let us begin.
The Best Format for Your Event Press Release
While you can use various formats for your event press release, we’d recommend sticking with this format:
- The headline of the press release
- Opening section: “For immediate release”
- Contact information:
- Date of publication of the press release
- Name of contact
- Phone number
- Email (optional)
- Summary of the press release in a bullet point format
- Body of the press release
- The first paragraph should be an introduction of what the press release is about
- The second paragraph should contain more details about the event, and if possible you can include a relevant, attractive quote from a team member or key speaker/exhibitor of the event. This should be the most information-rich paragraph of the press release
- The third paragraph should mention any more relevant information about the event
- About us, or the “boilerplate” section.
We’ll discuss more of these sections below.
Essential Sections of an Effective Event Press Release
Again, while you can use other structures and formats when writing your event press release, all press releases should include these important sections:
1. The Headline
This one is fairly obvious. The event press release’s headline should be attractive and engaging right away. The first impression does matter in a press release, and if you are planning to publish the press release online, you should include your SEO target keywords in the headline.
You should include the brand name of the event and the location of the event if possible. If you have an interesting theme, you can also mention it in the headline.
It’s important, however, not to include too many details upfront, but instead aim to pique the reader’s curiosity so they’ll read the rest of the press release.
2. Press Release Summary
An effective press release summary is very important. Journalists might skim the summary first and might skip the rest of the article if the summary isn’t interesting enough, so optimize this section as much as possible.
Present the summary in a bullet point format, not more than four or five bullet points if possible.
It’s usually best to write this section last after you’ve written the rest of the press release. Summarize the most interesting and important points of your press release.
3. Dateline
The format of the dateline section should be: City of the event, State (the publisher of the press release), Month, Day, Year.
Keep this section under 30 words, and make sure it’s accurate.
4. Body
The most important part of the press release. You can typically provide the essential information in just three paragraphs, but it’s okay to use more (or less), the important thing is to keep this section interesting and informative.
The first paragraph should introduce the event while elaborating the important details: your target audience, any key speakers/exhibitors, and you should also communicate the value/benefit of attending the event.
For the second paragraph, elaborate more details: who are the speakers/exhibitors, when and where will the event be, and whether you can elaborate unique information about the venue and date of the event.
Use the third paragraph to communicate any other important information for the event if necessary.
5. Boilerplate/About Us
Also pretty self-explanatory, this section is where you list the details about your company as the event organizer. This section will be the public persona of your company, so make sure to optimize it well.
Talk about noteworthy details about your company: the services you provide, and if necessary name the key executives. Mention your previous events, especially successful ones (if any).
6. Contact Information
You should include contact information for your company/the key person that will be contacted by the press. You may also want to include your website address and email address here, but keep in mind that if the press release is going to be published online, this email address might be targeted by spam.
Event Press Release Best Practices
You should:
- Make a strong first impression. Aim to grab the reader’s attention (the journalists) within the first few words
- Make sure the information is easy to find. Be straight to the point and tell your readers directly what the purpose of the press release is.
- Identify a key contact person where readers can ask questions and direct their inquiries easily
- Send the press release with the correct timing. This is very important for an event press release. If you send it too early, your target attendees will not remember your event, and vice versa if you sent it too late, they may already book other events. Send the press release two weeks to a month before event registration opens.
Avoid:
- Hard selling your event. You don’t really need to say that your event is “the best of the best”. Aim to provide accurate information.
- Using informal language, ALL CAPS, or multiple exclamation points. Stay professional.
- Overstuffing your press release with information. You can direct readers to your website or social media profiles, which may help with conversion.
End Words
A well-written and effective press release should be a core part of your event marketing strategy.
However, for the press release to be effective, you’ll still need a well-planned and comprehensive event marketing strategy to support the press release. A virtual event platform like Eventtia can help you keep track of your marketing activities, including which publication and website have published your press release and which require further follow-up.
