Get the Word Out

Positive publicity helps your program on many levels, it educates the
public on smart nutrition choices, fights old-fashioned cafeteria images and increases participation in your breakfast program. But how do you get the word out? A popular and successful method is a press release. Follow these tips.

1. Use standard 8.5” x 11” paper typed on one side only. Leave 1.5” margins on each side for editors to write notes in.

2. Double-space the release and type it on school letterhead.

3. Always date the press release. This gives the release a sense of timeliness and urgency.

4. Start by writing “For Immediate Release” or if written in advance, give the release date.

5. Next, type the name, phone number and email address of the contact person.

6. You will need a punchy title of about ten words or less that reads like a newspaper headline.

7. Keep the press release short and informative. Restrict it to 400 words, one or two pages maximum.

8. Your first paragraph is critical. It must explain the “who, what, why, when, where and how.”
9. Never break a paragraph across two pages.

10. If the press release continues on a second page, write “more” on the lower right- hand corner of the first page.

11. Close the press release with one of these two signs centered at the bottom of the page: ### or -30-.

12. Mail the press release to your local papers and be prepared for a positive response from the press.