Content written by Rodney Alsup and published by The MBA News Digest.

Last week, in Part 1 of this series I developed an expanded view of the news release by identifying four purposes or reasons for writing them: share information, invite media coverage, promote, and recognize. This week I want to discuss the logistics of writing a news release. Next week I will write about the options you have for sharing news releases.

News Release Template

There are multiple online sources for learning how to write a news release. Most give a basic template to start. I find the following three sources most useful:

  1. Media College.com – This reference provides a standard format and example.
  2. HubSpot, How to Write a Press Release – This article provides more instruction on how to write a press release than most other sites. Also, other guides are available for free download.
  3. com – Press Release Format Instructions & Easy to Use Template – This site is more prescriptive in its approach.

These three sources can help you develop your own template and guidelines for writing a news release.

Writing the Release

Now, to your burning question, “Who will write these things?” Anyone in your office with excess capacity is a candidate. However, since this option is a rarity, how about a student worker or graduate assistant. Prime candidates include journalism or English majors, juniors, seniors or graduate students. Most will have good writing skills. Often, student worker funding comes from the college or university.

Training and Supervision

Once hired, it is a matter of training and supervision. Something along the following lines could work:

  1. Have them read the above references.
  2. Have them prepare a template.
  3. Assign them a news release topic (new course added to MBA program, new faculty member teaching in MBA program, etc.).
  4. Have these guidelines followed:
    • They should limit the length of the news release to no more than 500 words.
    • Headlines should have no more than 60-70 characters.
    • The meta description should include 156 characters or less.
    • Write all content so it follows Search Engine Optimization (SEO) principles.
  5. Review their work, providing them feedback until the release is complete.

Obviously, I oversimplified the process and ignored the fact that some B-Schools have their own PR group. Even so, the above is a good starting point for programs without such resources.

Join the Conversation

Question: How do your news releases get written? Do you have any tips that you want to share? Click here to share your response or email me at RGAlsup@MBANewsDigest.com if you prefer to respond without sharing.

Next week, I will offer suggestions on how to share your news release.

Rodney