This article is the third in our series on Press Releases. 

Previous:
Getting Free Media Coverage with Well-Written Press Releases
Creating a Header for Your Press Release

Your headline should serve two purposes:  (a) to get the reporter / reader's interest, and (b) to target your press release to the audience you are trying to attract.  Let's consider a hypothetical newsworthy event to show how you can use a press release headline to reach a specific audience.

Joe, a 150-pound man, filled the bathtub in his apartment ¾-of the way full, then walked out of the bathroom to get his razor.  His roommate, Bob, who weighs 300-pounds, walked into the bathroom and found a nice warm tub waiting for him, so he got in.  With his much larger girth, he displaced most of the water in the tub, causing it to overflow onto the floor, which had previously begun to rot.  The weakened floor gave way, sending Bob and the tub plunging down to the apartment below, crushing a woman who was bathing her dog in her own tub.

Some possible headlines:
• Flying Bathtub Smashes Dog Lady
• Overweight Man Falls through Floor, Kills Woman and Dog
• Water Displacement as a Practical Consideration
• Stolen Bath Lands Roommate in Hot Water
• Slum Lord Targeted When Bathtub Falls through Rotten Floor

As you can see, each one would attract a very different audience.  Your job is to pick a headline that will get your message read by the audience you want to serve. If you are a general contractor, your headline might read something like "Have You Checked Your Floorboards Lately?"  If you are a disaster recovery specialist, you might say "Our Specialists Can Clean Up Any Mess You Can Make".

You want to make it as easy as possible for the reporter to identify whether your press release will hold any interest for him, and make his article easy to write.  It's just possible that your headline will become his headline, so make sure it's a good one!

Your headline can be written before you write the body of the press release or after.  If you write it before, it may help you keep your message on point, as every sentence you write should be checked to see if it relates to the topic stated in the headline.  If you write it after, you can use the text of the press release to guide you in writing the headline, as was done with the bathtub story.

As a matter of style, the headline is usually bolded and centered on the page, just below your contact information.

Next in the series:  Writing the Body of Your Press Release

For more help with press releases or marketing ideas, contact me:  bphilley@probizassoc.com.