A press release that earns prominent coverage is not just well written — it is built around a genuine news angle, structured for how journalists actually read, and distributed to the right people at the right time. This one-day course covers the full process: identifying news value, crafting headlines and leads that command attention, writing with the economy and colour that journalists respect, and getting your release to the people who will use it.
Press release essentials and audience understanding, structure and headline craft, news value and language, distribution and media pitching strategy.
Every session runs in a small, boardroom-format group — typically six to eight senior professionals. Your trainer tailors content to the specific industries, organisations and challenges each participant brings, so you work on real situations, not generic examples. The learning combines evidence-based best practice briefings with structured discussions, practical workshops and peer learning. This is training with a coaching and consulting flavour — focused on building skills and producing outputs you can apply in your work immediately.
- Write press releases that secure prominent media coverage
- Identify and develop news angles that command journalist attention
- Structure and format releases to professional media standards
- Write headlines and leads that make journalists read on
- Apply powerful language and quotation technique for impact and colour
- Distribute releases through the right channels to the right journalists
- Adapt releases for digital and social media distribution
- Evaluate and improve your own press releases before distribution
- Understanding the audience: media and online readership
- A media perspective: hear direct from journalists what they want from press releases and how they use them
- Avoiding press release spam: when to use and when not to use
- Press release elements (datelines, notes to editors, boilerplate etc.)
- Best practice in format, layout and presentation
- Headline writing: how to write headlines that grab attention
- Lead-writing: how to write introductions that inspire readers to read on
- Organising information for effective structure and natural flow
- Crafting news angles for press releases
- Workshop: re-angling and targeting news releases
- Powerful language for press releases: meaning, context and colour
- Quotations: personality, emphasis and colour
- Press release distribution and follow-up
- Press release distribution and follow-up
- Using social media to generate publicity for a press release
- Integrating multi-media content
- Pitching a press release to the media
Anyone who writes press releases as part of their communications or PR role and wants to produce releases that consistently earn media coverage. Also valuable for those new to media relations who need to learn the format from first principles.
The following are some of the ISOC trainers who regularly lead this course, depending whether you join us in London, Dubai or live online.
A great deal. The small-group format and intensive, practical approach mean every participant leaves with specific, applicable skills and techniques.
Nothing specific is required. If you have a current project or challenge relevant to the course topic, bring it along — the practical exercises can incorporate real-world contexts.
Yes. The course covers both traditional media distribution and digital amplification — including how to optimise releases for social media, integrate multimedia content and use online channels to extend reach.
Copy-writing covers the full range of PR writing formats: editorials, case studies, speeches, profiles. This course focuses entirely on the press release — in depth, from news angles to distribution strategy.