The Crowd-sourceress: Get Smart, Get Funded, and Kickstart Your Next Big Idea

by Alex Daly

In my experience, these are the characteristics of a great press release: • Your pitch should be in the title. • In the beginning, explain your project within two strong lines, and stress the urgency and relevance of the project. • Tell a story through your press release. Imagine that you’re walking the journalist through your project’s journey. • Include quotes from the creators and/or partners. • Try to keep the press release to one page in length, except for, say, bios and images. (I’m sure not every publicist stresses this, but we do.) • Make it visual. A second page can even be used for just images. (And then also attach a hi-res media kit of the images separately.) • Get it designed! We typically have a designer create a polished PDF. • Include your launch dates, campaign period, campaign goal, the best rewards you are offering (as well as their prices), and contact information for your team’s press contacts. (Refer to the five essential elements of a strong press release listed above.) • For a product, include its specifications.