But writing one is easier said than done. So let’s take a look and demystify it – shall we?

To begin with, remember that a press release should be clear, informative, visually exciting and specific.

Be clear

Let’s take it from the top, literally.

1) Start with headed paper. Your company logo should appear clearly at the very top of the page, as it appears everywhere else. This consistency should already be a cornerstone of your marketing strategy.

2) Set clear instructions on when this fashion press release should be published. Write ‘FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE’ at the very top of the page on the left.

3) Give it a title: Each collection and a newsworthy story about your brand will require a new fashion press release. Make it easy for the reader to know at a glance what the release is about. This headline is vital; use one sentence or a few words that will tell a journalist exactly what your release is all about.

4) Add the date and location also, this will give relevance to the journalist.

5) Ideally, you should insert a strong image into your document immediately below the title.

Fashion is a visual industry and images often speak louder than words, they are easier to digest and grab attention and fire up imaginations faster than words can. So take your time and pick an image that will speak to the reader and hold their attention.

Here’s how you can build a commercially strong fashion collection^[1].

Be informative

6) Now make your words work for you. Your fashion press release should inform a journalist in their language: who, what, when, where, why.

This is in regard to the product or collection that the press release is about.

Example:

(Brand = who) is launching their (product or collection = what) for (season = when) at (location = where).

Then elaborate on your whys.

It is important that this opening paragraph sustains the reader’s attention after seeing that strong image, and answers the questions that they had upon seeing it.

7) Moving on to the body of your press release: you can expand a bit more here, but not too much. An effective press release is at most, two pages long but preferably one page.

Write the most important things first and add properly referenced quotes. Make sure that a journalist can lift a paragraph out of the press release easily without having to edit it too much, especially if there is little lead time.

8) You should include all relevant information, such as where products are stocked, price points and distinguishing features etc.

9) Last but not least, remember that editors meet many designers and brands, and cannot be expected to remember all of your vital brand information. So make it easy for them. Include a ‘note to editors’ at the end of your press release to briefly remind them of who you are. Just the vital statistics and information will be enough to put your press release into context.

10) Make sure that you finish your document by adding your brand’s contact information. Who should a journalist contact if they need additional information? You directly? Your PR manager, or an external company who deals with all of that for you?

Simply add contact information: first name, last name, job title, company, phone number, and email address.

Include a Twitter or Instagram handle if you think that’s appropriate.

Be visually exciting

You know what looks best, so include the best image at the start of the press release. You might choose to source the image from your lookbook, as the chances are that if it made it there; you’re proud of it.

Make sure your images are low-resolution in order to keep the finished fashion press release less than 5MB. Journalists get a lot of emails; you could risk not getting into their inbox because you could not fit in – byte-wise!