Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Emily Probst with Modern Machine Shop, and I'm here to talk about how to write and submit a press release. It's not as hard as you might think. All you have to do is follow these basic steps. Step one, decide what you are going to write about. A press release can be about a new product, a new technology, an upcoming event, an upcoming trade show, a merger, new management. The options are truly endless. What a press release is, at its most basic form, is a communication tool to help you tell us what is going on in your business and why we need to pay attention. It's a way for us to report on what is truly happening in the manufacturing industry. And you never know, sometimes these press releases can turn into much larger stories. Some of our best stories have come to life because you have taken the time to send us information about what is going on in your business. Step two, be concise. I get hundreds of press releases in my inbox each week, and that takes a lot of time to process. For that reason, a press release should be about 400 words or less, and they should also follow the inverted pyramid style of writing. If you've never heard of the inverted pyramid, think about it like this. It's an isosceles triangle that's turned upside down. At the top of the triangle is the biggest portion. The biggest portion contains the who, the what, the when, the where, and the why. The middle section of the press release includes the specifics. It's the technical data that is relevant to our readers. At the end of the press release is the extra information that you would like to include, but perhaps maybe isn't the most important. Any trained journalist will know that this is the section of the press release that they should cut first. Step three, pick a single topic. While it might be tempting to do a roundup of news or product items, it's really not the most effective way to get your information out. Our readers are technical junkies. They want to know the specific details about what is going on with a certain piece of equipment or a machine tool. The more detail you include, the better, and this leads me to step four. Step four is to be technical. We are the technical trade press. We report on the specifics. If you're writing a product release, make sure to include the feeds and speeds. Make sure to include the X, Y, and Z axis travels. Make sure to include how heavy of a work piece can be accommodated by a certain piece of equipment. We're looking for specific product features that someone wanting to purchase that particular piece of equipment would like to know about. We're not looking for just a high-level overview. Step five, check your checklist. Make sure that your press release includes specific technical information. It should also include high-resolution images that are related to what your press release is actually about. Your press release should include hyperlinks and a media contact. It should also include the company name. Sometimes, your company is actually more well-known for the product and your product name is highlighted. You should make it clear what is the company name and what is the product name. Your release should be well-written. If your release is well-written, you stand a better chance of getting into Modern Machine Shop. Also, make sure you submit a Word doc. Word docs are so much easier to work with than PDFs. Send in your product release by the deadline. If your release is related to an upcoming trade show or event, know what the deadline is. Oftentimes, it is months in advance. Step six, send in your press release. Before you do that, though, make sure to do your homework. Cater your press release to what our magazine writes about. For instance, just because it covers manufacturing doesn't mean that it pertains to what we write about. Modern Machine Shop covers metalworking technologies, processes, and innovations. When you send in that press release, make sure the subject line of your email tells me what the press release is about. You should also make sure to include the Word doc and the JPEG as attachments, as those are much easier to work with. And that's it for how to write a press release. It's that easy. Don't forget to send us your press releases at press at MMSonline.com.