It doesn’t matter which kind of event you’re hosting – a sports event^[2], a literature festival^[3] or even a comedy event^[4] for example – you’re going to need a promotion plan to spread the word and encourage attendance to make it a success.

Creating a press release is a useful way of raising awareness about your event – and if your press release is written well, you could acquire some great coverage and exposure for free.So how do you write a press release that attracts attention and sells your event? TicketSource have compiled our top tips for you to follow.

How to write a press release (a basic guide)

1. Pick an attention grabbing headline 

The headline is the first thing a reader will see – and if it doesn’t grab their attention, then you may risk losing them before you’ve even started to talk about your fantastic event. It’s important to use clear and concise language that explains exactly what your event is, what makes it different and why people should attend, particularly if your press release is going to be published online.Consider including the name of the event and either the theme or the location, while trying to keep it as short as possible. Use “Title Case”, which means that you capitalize every principal word in your title, leaving prepositions like ‘of’ and ‘a’ in lowercase. Consider which types of search terms you’ll need to include for your press release to grab attention.

Examples of Title Case Headlines

• TicketSource Reveals How to Write a Great Press Release
• Local Cardiff Business Launches Community Music Festival
• TicketSource Unveils Innovative New Online Ticketing Platform

2. Summarize your event

Use a few sentences to fully summarize your event so that the readers know exactly what your press release is promoting, why your event is of interest and when it’s being held. It can be useful to write your summary last to ensure it is succinct and covers all the points you wish to promote in your release.

3. Add a lead paragraph

Your lead paragraph should contain all of the essential information, including the 5 W’s – who, what, when, where and why. Keep this section as short and simple as possible and relay all of the details in a way that’s easy to read and quick to scan, a list of bullet points perhaps?

4. Body text 

The body text is where you get to add a little embellishment into your press release, selling the story of your event and explaining why it’s worth attending. This section of your press release can take up to 2 – 3 paragraphs and should be used to elaborate on your points and paint a picture of the event for any readers.If your event is notable, unique or perhaps raising funds for a charity^[5] – the body text is the perfect place to mention this. You can be a little more descriptive with your language in this part of the press release.

5. What about you?

Next comes the section where you explain a little bit about your business. Who are you? What do you do? What services do you provide?You can also contain your company’s values, mission statement and the vision for your company too. This is where you can put all the information you’d like your audience to know about your company.

6. Contact details

Your press release must end with relevant contact information so that readers and journalists both can quickly and simply get in touch with you to find out more. Include your company name, telephone number, the company’s website, the key contact and the email address to provide plenty of opportunities to get in touch.If you’re using TicketSource to sell your event tickets, you can include your own custom TicketSource event page^[6] and/or buy tickets links^[7].

Top tips to make your press release stand out from the crowd:

Your press release needs to say something impactful in order for people to take notice. Why is your event important? Are you taking a stand against something? Are you raising money for an important cause? Is it a totally unique concept?Your press release needs to engage the reader and entice them to find out more about your event – so make sure you’re making a statement that’s clear and concise.

A great way to get coverage for your event is to think outside the box when you’re planning it – and to communicate this in your press release. Can you think of an unusual venue to hold your event in? Can you adopt a quirky theme for your attendees to enjoy? The more creative you are with your event planning, the more interesting your press release will be and the more shareable it will become.

• Tap into your local community

Local community events do well with local press – and not only that but if you can invite a dignitary along, your event instantly becomes newsworthy. If your event is an asset for the local community – a fair or a festival, for example, consider inviting the Mayor, a Member of Parliament, Councilor or a community leader, and then, of course, mentioning this in your press release.

• Get influencer endorsement

If possible, getting an influencer on board to endorse your event is a great way to attract attention to the occasion and it will certainly help your press release stand out.Whether a celebrity has pledged their support, will be attending your event or can simply offer you a share on social media – this is a great angle for you to include in your press release that could attain a little more attention.

• Tie in with awareness days

There are plenty of awareness days throughout the year that will be relevant to your business – so try and tie your event into an awareness day that relates to your event. This will increase the newsworthiness of your event, and by including it at the top of your press release, you’re instantly letting any journalists know what the angle of your pitch is and how they could share this information.

• Distribute your press release

What good is a press release with a good distribution strategy? If you’re hosting a local or community event, be sure to send your press release to local newspapers, council and community influencers. Gather relevant email addresses and either send your press release in one batch email or, if you have time, cater each press release to your individual audience by including their name or adding a personal touch.

Dos and Don’ts for writing a press release

Dos

• Get to the point – Try and keep the copy below 800 words if possible and explain what your press release is about as quickly as possible. People will lose interest if it isn’t immediately obvious what you’re talking about.
• Keep it simple – Keep your text concise and clear, using language which is easy to understand for all audiences. 
• Be professional – Maintain a professional tone of voice throughout your press release and avoid any slang or jargon which might put people off. 

Dont’s 

• Use first-person language – Avoid referring to your company as ‘we’ or ‘I’ and keep avoid referring to the readers as ‘you. It’s important to be as unbiased as possible.
• Over-punctuate – Stay away from too many exclamation marks! 
• Give away too much – You don’t want to disclose everything your event has to offer in your press release – your potential attendees should be encouraged to come along to see what else lies in store.

Conclusion

Follow these guidelines and you’ll be able to write a great press release that will sell your event in style and attract the right audience.When it comes to managing that audience, TicketSource^[8] is the perfect platform to help. Whether your event is free or at a cost, TicketSource will help you to manage, promote and distribute your event tickets all from one easy to use interface, providing real-time analytics for you to assess your success.