July 2012
Communications: Tried, True, & New

The How and Why of Press Releases

Mary Ann Patterson

You have a wonderful church community. You know it, the members of your congregation know it, but how do you let others know about it? Sending a press release to your local paper, online event calendars, community website, or TV station can help. Here are some ideas of what to promote:

  • Your latest accomplishment Did you recently complete a home or home renovations for Habitat for Humanity? Did parishioners work in the local soup kitchen? Raise money for a new homeless shelter? This may not be news to your church family but it is news that needs to get out to the greater community.
  • Share an inspirational story Your congregation is comprised of many wonderful people, each with a story to tell. Share one with the community at large.
  • · Offer useful, free, or educational resources Does your adult Bible class meet regularly? Youth group? Do you offer camps or instruction for children? Singles? Elder care? Let the community at large know these programs are available to them.
  • Broadcast your upcoming event At Christmas and Easter, people are looking for a place to go to church. Let them know what services you offer and why they need to be there.
  • Respond to what’s in the news Being up on current events links the leadership in your church to potential members. What are the topics being discussed in the secular media? What is your church’s position on these issues?

Types of Press Releases
There are many types of press release. Be sure and post the specific type at the top of your release. This will help ensure that it gets to the right person and placed in the correct media vehicle.

General News Release
A general press release is the most common type of press release and the type of press release that come to the most people's mind. This type of press release simply includes news that must be disseminated to the media people. The goal of this type of press release is to secure an editorial story that will generate interest, coverage, and exposure for your church.

Launch Press Release
A launch press release is similar to a general news release in terms of format, but it's intent is much more specific. A launch press release is more urgent or timely, and its main purpose is to create a buzz regarding a launch. Church launches could include a new program or type of service.

Executive or Staff Announcement News Release
An executive or staff announcement news release is what you send out if there are staff changes at your church. This type of press release is different from a general news release in the sense that it can contain biographical information to support the information and will often include a photo.

Expert Positioning Press Release
You would create and distribute an expert positioning press release if you want to show an individual's expertise in a subject area with the goal of building him or her up as the person media people would go to in the future for information or a quote. This would be useful if your priest had a particular field of expertise that reporters could tap into if they had a question while covering another story.

Event Press Release
An event press release has a different format than a general news release primarily because it needs to clearly lay out to members of the media the five Ws — who, what, when, where and why. An event press release typically looks like a list or outline instead of having paragraphs. The goal with this type is that the media will make your event known to the public.

Media Advisory or Alert
Similar to an event release, but it is aimed towards getting the media people to attend an event and includes why they would want to do this. This would be applicable if your church was hosting a big event on a Saturday, but you were staging a media event on Friday so they could film and show footage, or write articles with pictures, in advance of the event.

Tips for Getting Your Editorial Story Published
Aside from event notices for calendar sections, sometimes you have an editorial story that you want published by your local newspaper, either in print and online. Local reporters get hundreds of releases each day. What can you do to make sure your release will get noticed, read, and published? Here are some suggestions.

  •  Get to know your local media contacts. A cold call will suffice if all you want to learn is: who should get your releases and what is their preferred method of receipt (email, fax, letter, etc.)
  • The personal touch is still the most effective. Invite your local reporter out to lunch. Find out what kind of stories they are looking for.
  • Find out about their frequency policy. For example, some papers limit stories about a particular organization or person to once every six months. If you know that, be sure and filter your releases so that you send the one you really want published.

Sharing your story
Why send press releases? Sharing your congregation’s stories and photos in your local media is one of the most effective ways people can learn about your congregation. In the same way that Jesus sent the disciples into the world to share the Good News, by building relationships with local media, congregational communicators create opportunities to share the Good News of their faith community with the community at large.

Mary Ann Patterson is director of communications and marketing for The School of Theology, at The University of the South [Sewanee]. A marketing and communications professional, she has more than 25 years experience in senior level positions for both nonprofit and for profit organizations.


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This article is part of the July 2012 Vestry Papers issue on Communications: Tried, True, & New
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