Effective press kits can lead to free publicity for your film.
Some business schools devote entire classes to press kit development and for good reason. Television news producers as well as newspaper and website editors are inundated with press kits from organizations looking for publicity. Creating a press kit that really stands out from the others isn't easy. If you write a compelling press release and include the right components in your kit, however, you could get your kit and your film noticed.
Instructions
Writing a Press Release
1. Place contact information for the film's media liaison in the upper right-hand corner of the release. Be sure to include the person's name, title, an email address and a phone number.
2. Create a title for your press release and place it at the top of the main text. Your title should read like a newspaper headline and the main words should be capitalized. You may also bold-face your title if you like.
3. Open the press release with an interesting piece of trivia or other hook. Take the point of view of your reader. Highlight something that will peak the editor or producer's interest as well as her final audience. A press release destined for a local news channel should have a different opening than one prepared for a technical trade magazine. For instance, if an actor who grew up in the the local news channel's coverage area, that might be a fact to highlight.
4. Write the body of your press release like a journalist. Make sure to cover who, what, where, when and how but be concise. Place the most important information about your film in the first paragraphs. If the reader is strapped for time, he may not read the entire release.
5. Include important information about the film. The reader will want to know the film's release date, when and where you are preparing a press junket, who is featured in the picture and who wrote and directed the piece.
6. Close the release by mentioning the other items the reader will be able to find enclosed in the kit.
Compiling a Film Press Kit
7. Place your press release in the kit. It will serve as a letter of introduction and should be the first thing the recipient sees when opening the kit.
8. Create a list of possible interview questions or story ideas and place it in the kit. Most professional journalists will not use your suggestions directly. But the cheat sheet will give them a starting point to draft their own inquires and story points.
9. Include filmographies and biographies of the principal actors and important crew members such as the writer and the director.
10. Place any publicity still shots from the film in the kit. Be sure to identify the people included in the shots.
11. Select clips of the film and include them in your press kit. Make sure the clips are in an acceptable format. Call ahead to see if the media outlet you are sending your kit to has a preference.
