Writing a Press Release for your Indie Comic

In the age of social media, it can seem like the best strategy for getting the word out about your comic is to post it on your profile and in various groups. While social media does help with an immediate, short-term boost, it doesn’t help with long term marketing strategy, SEO, or even future social media campaigns. What does? Getting earned media for your project, AKA, a press article. Social media should only be one outlet in a multi-outlet media strategy, working with press outlets is just as important, if not more important, as posting to social media.

At Indie Comix Dispatch we’re serious about building a bigger, better indie comic community. One way we’re helping grow the community is by offering a dedicated spot for indie comic news. We want to write articles about YOUR project to help you, inform fans, and grow the community, but we need to know more about your project than a social media post allows. This is where a press release comes in handy. If you don’y know what a press release is, keep reading! If you’re debating if your project needs a press release, it does!

What is a Press Release?

A press release is a tool made to announce something that is newsworthy in the most objective way possible. The whole purpose of a press release is to get coverage and get noticed by a target audience. Launching a Kickstarter? A new issue of your Comic is about to drop? Attending a Comic-Con? Say something horrifying you need publicly apologize for? Press release time!

Just like review ratings, “newsworthy” is subjective, but if you don’t write & distribute a press release about your newsworthy event, you have a very low chance of being discovered and written about.

What’s in a Press Release?

Here’s what you should include in your press release

• Heading: Be sure to make it clear why your Comic event is interesting and important.
• Lead: answer the five W’s briefly, but hold to your readers’ attention
• Source: prove your trustworthiness
• Essentials: the beauty is in the details
• Quotes: show the perspective of others
• Additional data: is there anything else you need to add?
• Contact details: introduce yourself and where other can purchase or support your comic
• Boiler Plate: “The boilerplate is exactly the place where they will find any additional info about your company or you. Make it fun and interesting—it works as your business card, and you want to present yourself well.” – Prowly

What’s the difference between a press kit and press release?

So, what’s the difference between a press release and a press kit? A press release is a one or two-page document that shares breaking news with the public. It is part of a press or media kit. A press kit is a collection of images, videos and other media assets a publication might need when posting your article.

A press release is the bare minimum and helps get the word out about your project, a press or media kit helps press outlets develop a more in-depth piece about your project more easily. If you’re new to press, start with just a release, but if you’re ready to up your game, consider creating a press kit.

A press kit may include

• Your Press release. Create as a PDF, Google Doc, or RTF file that can be easily copied from.
• Images of the creators involved. With the proliferation of retina and 4K displays, it’s always best to send high-res photos, even for web publications. JPG is preferred, but PNG will work also. When sending photos use the specs below as a minimum standard:
  • JPG or PNG |  300DPI | 2000px min
• The best images of your Comic or event. Choose carefully. Select visually appealing images that help tell your story. (The same specs above apply). Remember, under the Fair Use doctrine, news outlets can pull images from your book to use in the article. It’s always better if you supply the images you hope they’ll use.
• Videos if applicable.
• A review copy of your Comic. A simple low res digital version of your comic. Feel free to watermark the pages if you’re uncomfortable sending your book around for free.
• Any logos or icons associated with your project. These should be as high resolution as you can get regardless of Web or print.

You can compress your press kit into a zip file for sending over Email, but at The Dispatch we prefer you keep it in the cloud with Google Docs or Dropbox and provide us with a link when sending out your Press Release.

How do I write a Press Release?

Here is a simple little outline from Prowly to get you started. For more expert advice, click here.

1. Choose the angle that matters for your target audience.
2. Start with a well-thought-out headline.
3. Pay attention to a lead paragraph.
4. Cover the essentials in a few body paragraphs.
5. Consider adding quotes.
6. Include contact details. 
7. End your press release with a boilerplate.
8. Decide how to format your press release.
9. Make sure to double-check everything.

How do I send my press release to The Dispatch?

We thought you’d never ask! Simply CLICK HERE!