I’ve been maintaining the Inland Theatre League Web site now for almost three years - 18 months in its current form.  During this time, I have come up with a short list of “tips” for publicity people to consider when they submit material for the site.  I have to admit, the list is pretty self-centered as it makes my job easier.  However, I share it because I think it is helpful for people who are just getting started writing releases for their organization.

• Give me time.  Because of my schedule, I ask for at least two weeks notice for publishing announcements.  Sending the announcement early is not a problem as I can schedule items to appear in the future.
• Use plain text.  Releases that come in the body of an e-mail are preferred to Word documents.  PDFs are bad because I can’t copy and paste easily.  Images of flyers are worse because there is no text to copy and are usually missing important information.
• Don’t use ALL CAPS.  It is difficult to read and requires me to re-type your release.  This increases the chances for error and will delay its publication.
• Images.  I don’t publish photos often because of time.  Your photos will be more likely to make it on the site if they are small (no wider than 400 pixels) and few in number.
• Make your news “newsworthy.”  This means including an action to take after reading.  This is not a problem when announcing shows and auditions, but I often get e-mails about random activities.  They don’t get published because, as the reader, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with the information.

I look forward to continuing to receive your announcements, comments, and corrections.  E-mail them to Happenings@InlandTheatre.org.

Looking for more information about creating a press release?  Check out How to Write a Press Release at wikiHow.