A better title for this concept is “How to write a press release that won’t get thrown away faster and more viciously than Igor Vovchanchyn knocked out Francisco Bueno.”

Writing a press release can be important, whether you are promoting enrollment at your school, a local tournament, or anything else.

You’re doing two things here: a) giving a reporter a heads up that you have something worth covering, and b) giving them some info to fill out their story.

Often, stories, particularly short items, are written entirely from news releases – you’re reading the words of someone who has done this. Having a short item that’s only a couple of paragraphs long can still be valuable to your school or other event. I have seen many events packed because of an item just a few sentences long in the local paper.

Before you send out your news release, you might want to call the local paper and check when their deadline is for articles. If you’re dealing with a weekly paper, or perhaps a daily that has a special section of local events once a week, you want to make sure you’re not too late to be included. Just because a weekly paper comes out on, say, Monday, doesn’t mean their deadline is Sunday evening – or even Friday afternoon. It takes a lot of time and effort to put these papers together.

In some cases, a particular section for a paper that comes out on a Monday may have a deadline of Tuesday or Wednesday. So make sure you plan ahead so you are not shut out.


There are probably a number of schools of thought on how to write a press release, just like there are many ways of teaching a basic armbar or guard pass. I’ll give you one, but feel free to explore others.

For the purposes of this media guide, we’ll assume you’re sending out a press release to promote an event – let’s say you’re hosting a tournament at your school.

Don’t worry about overloading your press release with information – the last thing you want is for a reporter’s eyes to glaze over and throw the thing out or hit the delete button on his or her computer.

The most important things to get across is the vital information about your event: what it is, what jiu-jitsu and/or MMA is, where it will be held, and when. You’ll also want to include a contact number where the reporters can reach you to ask some questions.

If there is something particularly interesting about your event – large cash prizes, participation from prominent fighters, etc – that’s icing on the cake.

Here’s a sample of a news release for a tournament – feel free to use it as the basis of a news release for one of your own events.


Arlington VA BJJ
Contact: Jeremy Singer, 703-555-5555
jsinger@arlingtonvabjj.com


ARLINGTON, VA -- April 18, 2006 – Arlington VA BJJ will be hosting an open invitational BJJ tournament at its Clarendon Blvd location on Saturday April 29.

The tournament will feature some of the top Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) fighters on the East Coast, as well as a featured “super fight” between one of the top Brazilian black belts and a top American BJJ black belt.

These matches will feature the fast-paced action of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a self defense style made popular in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and shown on television weekly during "The Ultimate Fighter" on Spike TV.

Reporters and photographers are welcome. If you have questions, call Jeremy Singer at the above contact information.

Arlington VA BJJ has been teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Arlington since 1999. The school has roughly 100 students who train in this martial art for self-defense, competition, and physical fitness. The school is located at 5555 Clarendon BLVD, and can be found online at www.arlingtonvabjj.com