Everybody needs to know how to write a hard intro (first sentence, also called a lede, lead or hook). Writing a hard headline is a similar skill, and in public relations you've got to work just as hard on your headline and first sentence as the story itself.
Reporters and editors swim in a sea of press releases and opeds. Readers have millions of web pages and blogs they can choose from. If you've only got two seconds to grab the attention of a reader, how can you stand out?
Writing a hard intro or headline is harder than you'd expect, because you're cramming the Five W's of journalism (who, what, when, where and why) into a single sentence -- or into a few words of a headline.
Here are a few tips on writing a hard intro in the traditional, summary style:
1) Use the inverted pyramid
It's easy to get overwhelmed trying to stuff all Five W's into a single sentence. Get focused by asking yourself, what is the most important thing that happened?
"What" is usually the most important of the Five W's; you can usually delay telling the reader about when, where, who and why.
2) Why should anyone care?
Put away your notes and step away from the keyboard for a second. If you were talking to your friend, how would you tell the story?
It's OK to use slang and shorthand at this point. "Hey, our company got the Archer contract -- it means our revenue is about to triple, and we'll be hiring a ton of people. Know any engineers looking for work?"
If you clean that up, you've got the lead for your company's press release. People care about jobs. You're company is about to create a bunch of jobs.
Instead of leading with a more self-serving "MidCo gets Archer contract" headline, which nobody would really care about except maybe stock analysts, go with the jobs. The local papers will cover it, and the reporter will probably get a quote from the mayor or local politicians saying this is great news for the local economy of Midtown -- and readers will actually care, because a bunch of new jobs is a story that every local will care about.
3) Kill every comma you can
Headlines and intros are almost always too long.
Commas are the surest sign of a bad intros or headline. One comma is OK. Two or more commas is a flash neon sign that you need to get out the Red Pen of Doom.
Pick up your local paper and look at the front page. Now grab a red pen. Can you slay any words in the headline for the top story? Can you kill words in the first sentence of the piece?
A good story is tight. You can't kill any more words.