How to Write a Media Release to Promote a Center Event

A media release is a practical strategy to promote your senior center. Unlike other marketing methods, it is cost-effective and can reach more older adults in your local area. If well-written, a media release can get you coverage for your events, build your community’s reputation, attract more members, and improve your SEO.

But how do you write a media release that attracts more event attendees? First, you need to define your target audience. Determine the type of people most likely to attend the event so you can create a media release that directly appeals to them.

We’ve rounded up some writing tips to help you craft a media release that gets seniors to look forward to your events.

How to Write a Media Release That Attracts Attendees?

1. Start with a catchy headline.
First impressions matter, so your headline needs to pique the media’s interest and get people to keep reading your announcement. It’s important to make the headline catchy, but not overly dramatic. You’ll also need to make sure it accurately depicts what the information ahead will be. No clickbait headlines!

To make your event searchable online, limit the headline to 70 characters. Make it brief but meaningful. You can include your community’s name, the event name or theme, and the event location in the headline. Also, maximize Google search results by adding keywords.

2. Follow with an informative summary.
The summary or lead answers the 5 W ’s (who, what, when, where, and why) about your senior center event. Write one to four sentences about the event, its date and location, who it is for, why people should attend, and what they can gain from it. Keep the summary brief but meaningful.

3. Drop details in the body.
This is where you supply the complete information about your event. This includes the date and time, the target attendees, and the names of distinguished guests or speakers.

If you’re organizing an annual event, you can include some highlights from previous years. Embed high-resolution images or videos to make your media release engaging. Simply put, the body is where you expand on the 5 W ’s and present facts, quotes, and visuals to make the event more compelling to the media and the readers.

4. Condense the boilerplate to 100 words.
The boilerplate describes your community. When writing this section, talk about your organization’s objectives, mission and vision, and services. You can use the About Us page of your website as a guide to share what you do. Don’t go beyond 100 words since readers tend to see the boilerplate as an advertisement and lose interest. Also include the link to your website and your community’s contact information.

More Tips for a Successful Media Release

• Be straightforward with your writing.
  Remove fluffy words and unnecessary punctuation and aim for about 300 to 800 words. More importantly, be informative rather than promotional when writing a media release.
• Know the right time to send the media release.
  If you send your media release too early, people’s interests will quickly die down. If sent too late, you probably won’t hit the desired number of attendees. The sweet spot is to send your media release to publications two to three weeks before the event.
•  Pick a publication that has your target attendees.
  Send your media release to the right publication to ensure it gets distributed to the right audience. You may use press release distribution services to streamline your media release distribution.
• Provide the right point of contact.
  Help your readers by sharing the correct contact information of the person to whom they can direct their questions.

Key Benefit of a Media Release

Using a media release is the quickest way to secure media exposure. Whether you’re promoting in-person activities, virtual fundraising, or other social events, you need a well-written media release to convince people to join your events.

Following these tips can help make your event a success and increase your memberships.

Updated on 03-21-2024