Press releases are as old as the media, but that doesn’t mean they’re yesterday’s news. Getting your dispensary written about is one of the most powerful tactics in your toolkit, with the potential to grant you powerful visibility, authority, and often great word-of-mouth all at the same time. And here’s a little secret: They’re easier to write than you think.

While some media outlets run press releases as-is, they’re really designed to inspire journalists to write about your business. And here’s a key element: Because you decide which story you’re offering up as newsworthy, it gives you implicit control over your image. In the best-case scenario, what you share in your press release helps sets the tone for how a journalist might decide to cover your dispensary.

We’re going to share a few of the best practices about writing a press release along with some pointers and tips to make sure you don’t stumble out of the gate. The topics we’ll cover include:

• What Is a Press Release?
• What Makes a Press Release Great?
• Rules of the Press Release: Basic Formatting
• Closing Thoughts

By the time you’ve finished reading, trust us: you’ll be able to throw together a press release with ease.

What Is a Press Release?

At its simplest, a press release is a short news article designed either to be shared as-is by a media outlet or to inspire a separate article or profile. While it might appear that a business that shares a press release with the media is asking for free coverage, the truth is more complicated.

Journalists are tasked with finding stories to write about, so any that come to them can potentially make their lives a lot easier. And given that the typical journalist has hundreds of emails awaiting them each morning, a well-crafted press release can be just the thing to flag a busy journalist’s attention. As a recent “State of the Media” white paper by Cision found:

“63% of global respondents said press releases were the preferred vehicle of news conveyance and 44% of journalists also trust press releases the most, with 44% saying that it’s their most trustworthy source of brand-related information.’”