ress releases are part of an overall marketing and promotions plan. They're great tools for getting information about your company to print, broadcast and electronic media. They serve as the basis for the mutually beneficial relationship that exists between media outlets and organizations with a message to get across to an audience: They're looking for stories to cover, you have stories to share.

There definitely is a right way to craft a press release and by following a few pointers, you have a better chance of getting media coverage. Number One on the Top Five Most Crucial Things to Remember About Press Releases: Don't send it until you've proofread it. Use Spell Check. Print it out, read it, have someone else read it, read it again, spell check it one more time, re-read it and then send it.

While most releases are now e-mailed, the old rules from the days they were sent through the post office or faxed still apply. Send it on company letterhead, complete with logo, street and Web addresses and phone numbers.

The first things to include are the name of a company contact person the reporter can call, along with that person's phone number and e-mail address. Make sure the release is dated to give it shelf life. Across the top, put a one- or two-line headline that will grab the editors' attention. Explain why they should care about reading it and including it in the publication.

Get to the Point

Publications or other outlets will use your press release as the starting point for a story, so the release should contain all pertinent information about the product, service or event. Reporters and editors make their decisions on whether to run an item or not pretty quickly, so don't expect them to read all the way through to the end to get to the real meat.

Put the most crucial information in the first paragraph - remember "Who, What, When, Where, Why and How."

Know the Publication

Flip through several recent editions of the publication to determine what kinds of articles they run. Along those lines, what will your company's information contribute?

Does the publication have sections or departments for specific types of items? Your company is certainly not one-dimensional, so figure out different ways you can tell your story. You might send a short release about your company's new CEO to one department and another more detailed release about a new product or service you're offering to another.

Is there one reporter covering certain issues or one editor handling specific areas of the publication? Call the publication to learn their names if they don't have bylines. Establish professional relationships with them - let them see you provide solid information that's of interest to their readers. Let them know, too, that if they have questions, they can use you as a resource.

Try to provide a more pinpointed focus to a broader story, such as an issue affecting people nationwide or globally, when possible. Editors love the appeal of the local angle, geographically or specific to an industry, so localize your information when possible.

Is your new security feature being utilized by a global corporation in another field? Send a release to trade publications for each industry. Did your company receive a regional award or sign a big contract with another local vendor? Send a release to the business sections of the daily and weekly papers that cover the area.

Don't waste a lot of space in your release on quotes, particularly self-serving quotes that sound as if they're straight out of Marketing 101. Many publications have a standing policy that they will publish only those quotes their employees have actually heard themselves; quotes in press releases are not to be used.

Some companies seem to have adopted an "infiltrate and overwhelm" philosophy in their distribution of press releases: They send a copy of the release to every Tom, Dick and Harriet who has ever had contact with the company. Never mind that half of those people have left the company or have gone on to other jobs in the newsroom. Make sure your contact list is up to date.

Who's Your Target?

Defining your target audience will give your press release relevance. Identifying your audience and crafting a specific message for those readers means being familiar with the publication's editorial focus as well as with the demographics of its readers. Trade publications serve a different purpose than general publications - their focuses and readers are different, so your message to each should be tailored accordingly.

In either case, though, a little jargon goes a long way. Every industry has a lingo all its own, but too many technical terms make for some pretty dry reading. Be only as technical as you need to be and phrase your information in laymen's terms - chances are most editors and reporters won't want to spend too much time and energy on translation. They will call the contact person for specifics if they need to.

Space is Limited

Resist the urge to call the editor or reporter to see if they received your press release and when it will run. Especially with print media, space is limited. Even with careful planning, stories can be pre-empted by bigger news items; editors and reporters may hold onto your release to use at a later date. If they don't run it, send a new one when you have updated information to share.

Press releases are meant to contribute material and information for editorial content. If there is newsworthy stuff there, your opportunities for free self-promotion are greatly increased. Otherwise, paid advertising is another great tool - and a guarantee that your message will be delivered.