How to write a press release for your farm

farm marketing

Aug 1

Capturing the media’s attention is no easy feat, but a well-written and strategically distributed press release can help. But first, be sure what you plan to promote is newsworthy. Here are some examples/themes to keep in mind:

Tying a local perspective to national news: droughts, crop prices, etc.
Correlating your farm or business activities to a recently released national study.
Milestones and anniversaries: 50th anniversary or 3rd generation family farm.
Use or development of new technologies, positioning your farm or business as a thought leader.
Major changes in your operation.
Events
New product offerings or services, such as CSA’s or new retailer locations

Once you’ve identified your newsworthy item or event and you want to garner some publicity, here are some simple steps to follow to compose a direct and effective press release:

Compose a compelling title: This is the most important feature of your farm’s press release. It needs to be straightforward, easy to digest, and compelling. It should also entice someone to actually open and read what you’ve sent. The good news is, a good title forces you to organize your thoughts.
Provide a brief introduction: Think of this as an executive summary. Newsroom managers are busy. If you’ve hooked them with your title, this section becomes crucial. Include the most important information here—enough that they get the gist if they don’t have time to read the rest.
Further details: This is who, what, when, why and how section. If a media outlet decides to run with a story about your farm’s news item, they will need a lot of details—more than they will likely publish. Be sure to include links and important dates, times, and locations. This section should cover what the story is and why it matters. If the content gets too dense, try to pull out key details and use bullet points to highlight them. Anything you can do to make your content easier to digest will help.
Provide an about us section: You don’t need to weigh down the body of text with background information about your farm or business, but you do need to include some additional info so the media outlet can provide context to its viewers or readers.
Include a way to contact you: This may seem like a no-brainer, but include your contact information. Name, title, phone, email, and website at minimum. If a media outlet picks up your story, you need to be available, sometimes with very short notice, to be interviewed.

Keep in mind that press releases are not informal pitches.

They are formal announcements regarding something new or significant about your farm or business. Don’t let that scare you. Media outlets are always looking for news and they rely on their community to share content with them.

You’ve written your press release, now what?

You need to get it into the hands of your local media outlets, and perhaps some relevant national media outlets. You can easily look up TV stations, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, and online outlets. Most will list a general media contact on their website and all prefer email submissions unless otherwise stated.