Need guidance on drafting a press release
I have published some work which is highly impactful in my field. I would like to spread the word about it by publishing a press release. Please provide some guidance on drafting an ideal press release
Congratulations on your latest publication! A press release is an excellent way to promote your research. It is a document that is usually published by a media house or by a University on its website. In either case there are certain guidelines that you need to follow while drafting an impactful press release.
- A press release should be a brief overview of your work and not a detailed description of it. It should only mention the main highlights and the key findings of the work that you have published.
- It should not be longer than 500-600 words.
- It should include a quote from one of the key authors, either the first author or the corresponding author. It could also include a quote from a colleague or respected researcher from your field, if the agree to it.
- You should also keep in mind that press releases should ideally be used for publication only if it is news worthy i.e. it should either be a novel discovery in your field of study or it should be of public interest or it should give a different perspective/ contradict some other research that had received coverage in the past.
- The title for the press release should be short and catchy. Always use the active voice for the title and avoid using scientific jargon in it. Active voice and no scientific jargon should be maintained throughout your document. Even readers who are not from the same scientific background as you should understand what you are trying to say.
- Start the press release by giving details about the publication such as the name of the researchers involved in the study, when and where it was published (journal name and date of publication), and state the significance of this work.
- Next, you could provide some additional information about the findings in terms of its contribution to scientific knowledge, why is it of interest, if it was an unexpected finding- why was it unexpected? However, avoid over exaggeration.
- Do not forget to mention contact details of the corresponding author, as people would be definitely interested in getting in touch or collaborating with you.
In addition to these tips, if you need professional help with writing your press release you could consider using Enago’s Citation Booster Service. In addition to drafting scientific news reports (press release), we also provide help in drafting simplified abstracts and tweetable abstracts.
