Step 6: Write a Press Release

In Step 5 of Merit's achievement workflow, you selected the audiences your story would be sent to.

In Step 6, you will begin writing your press releases.

Setting Your Contact Information

Upon entering Merit's press release workflow, you'll see your default contact information and dateline. Make any necessary changes to this information here:

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Next, you will see an interface for editing your press releases.

Depending on where your students are from, you may need to write press releases about both individuals and groups of students. Merit will let you know if a group press release is required by displaying these tabs:

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Individual Press Release

Merit will automatically generate a press release for you by duplicating the online story you wrote in Step 3. This will become the version of your story that will go to any newspapers interested in only one student from your list.

Edit this version of your press release as needed, using the dropdown boxes and Insert Placeholder buttons to add personalized data:

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If your story does not require a group press release, you can advance to Step 7: Preview Your Achievement now:

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Group Press Release

If you see the Group Press Release tab, you will want to review and edit this story before it goes out. This is the version of your press release that a newspaper will receive when multiple students are from their coverage area. Click the Group Press Release tab to make changes:

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Your group press release will have four sections: headline, opening, repeating and closing. The headline, opening and repeating sections will be the same for every newspaper. The repeating section will contain all of your placeholders and will be the only part of the press release that varies from paper to paper.

Headline

Your headline and opening will be automatically created for you using the achievement title and summary you wrote during Step 1. We recommend changing these to give your releases a local angle.

Start by customizing your headline, which will also be your email subject line:

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Pro Tip: Begin your group headline with "Local Students" to immediately capture the media's attention.

Opening

Your opening will begin the body of your news release. You can have as much text here as needed. Use the last sentence of your opening to introduce your list of students:

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Repeating

Your repeating section will become a list of local students for each newspaper. The text here will be largely placeholder data that acts as a short blurb about one student. Merit will turn it into a list for you.

Placeholders for students' first and last names, hometowns and zip codes will appear here automatically, but you should also add any of the placeholders used in your individual press releases:

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Closing

Your closing section will be the same for every newspaper. It lets you round out your press release in any way you'd like. The boilerplate saved inside your account will appear here automatically, but you can add as many additional paragraphs as you need:

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