A press release is a formal written announcement that informs journalists and editors about newsworthy developments at your salon — a grand opening, a charity event, an award, a significant expansion, a new service offering, or a community initiative. Effective press releases are written in a journalistic style (third person, most important information first), are genuinely newsworthy rather than promotional, and provide journalists with everything they need to write a story without additional research. The most successful press releases result in journalists running the story because it genuinely interests their readers, not because the salon asked them to.
The fundamental challenge of press release writing is the gap between what a salon owner finds interesting and what a journalist's audience finds interesting. A new product line, a website redesign, or a change in hours is interesting to the salon owner; it is almost never interesting to a journalist's audience. A grand opening that includes a charity fundraiser benefiting a beloved local organization, a stylist who has won a national competition representing the local community, or a salon that is pioneering a new approach to a common client problem — these are genuinely newsworthy.
Apply the "so what?" test to every proposed press release. State your news, then ask: so what? Who cares, and why? What changes for people who read this? If the honest answer is "nothing much," the item is not newsworthy. If the answer identifies a genuine impact on a real audience, you have a news story worth pitching.
The categories of salon news that consistently generate genuine media interest include: community events with significant local impact (charity fundraisers, educational programs, neighborhood initiatives); achievements and recognition (competition wins, industry awards, notable training credentials); significant milestones (10th anniversary, 500th client, first expansion location); expert commentary on emerging trends; and genuine human interest stories (the owner's unusual career path, a client whose transformation had life-changing significance, a team member's remarkable achievement).
Categories that rarely generate media interest include: routine service promotions, seasonal discount offers, new product additions without a broader story, and standard business anniversaries without a significant milestone number or achievement to celebrate. If the "news" would belong in a paid advertisement rather than an article, it is not press release material.
A well-structured press release follows journalistic conventions that make it easy for editors and journalists to quickly assess the story's value and use the content with minimal rewriting.
The headline. Your headline must capture the essence of the story in one line, ideally under 100 characters. Write it as a journalist would write an article headline — active voice, present or past tense, leading with the most important element. "Local Salon Raises $8,000 for Children's Hospital at Annual Cut-A-Thon" is a strong headline. "Salon Announces Annual Charity Event" is not. The headline determines whether a busy editor reads further; invest the necessary effort to make it compelling.
The dateline and first paragraph. Begin with your city, state, and release date, then deliver the most important information in the first 50 words. Journalistic writing uses the inverted pyramid structure — most important information first, supporting details in descending order of importance. The first paragraph should answer: who, what, when, where, and why this matters. A journalist should be able to write a brief news item from the first paragraph alone if that is all they have time for.
The body paragraphs. Expand on the essential information with supporting details, context, and quotes. Two to three body paragraphs is typically sufficient for most salon press releases. Each paragraph should add new information rather than repeating what has already been stated. Use specific numbers and concrete details wherever possible — "raised $8,000" not "raised a significant amount"; "hosted over 300 guests" not "was well attended."
Quotes. Include one or two quotes: one from the salon owner and, if relevant, one from a charity representative, a community partner, or a significant client. Quotes give journalists a voice to attribute directly rather than paraphrasing, which makes their job easier and makes stories more personalized. Write quotes as a real person would speak — not in corporate press release language. "We wanted to do something meaningful for the community that raised us," is authentic. "We are pleased to announce our commitment to community engagement" is not.
The boilerplate. End every press release with a brief standard paragraph about your salon: one or two sentences describing the business, its location, its specializations, and how to contact you. This boilerplate is reused verbatim in every press release and provides journalists with the basic business information they need for any story.
Running a successful salon means more than just great services — it requires maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness and safety. Your clients trust you with their health, and proper hygiene management protects both your customers and your business reputation. A single hygiene incident can undo years of hard work building your brand.
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Try it free →Press release writing follows specific stylistic conventions that signal professionalism to journalists and increase the probability of coverage.
Write in third person throughout. Even though you are writing about your own business, the press release is written as if by an objective journalist: "Salon owner [Name] says..." not "I believe..." Maintaining third person throughout keeps the tone authoritative and publishable without additional rewriting.
Avoid promotional language. Adjectives like "outstanding," "amazing," "world-class," and "best" are marketing language, not journalistic language. A press release should read like a news article written by someone who has no financial stake in the outcome. Every claim should be verifiable fact rather than promotional assertion. "The salon has received five-star ratings from over 200 clients on Google" is a fact. "The best salon in the city" is a claim.
Use standard press release formatting. Type "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" or "FOR RELEASE ON [DATE]" at the top. The contact information for the person journalists should call (name, title, phone number, and email) appears in the top right corner or immediately following the release designation. The press release ends with "###" or "–END–" centered on the final line, which signals to editors that the document is complete.
Keep it to one page. Most press releases should be 400–600 words — approximately one printed page. If your story requires more detail, include a fact sheet or media kit as a separate attachment rather than expanding the press release. Journalists' time is limited; a concise, complete press release is more likely to be used than a comprehensive one that requires editing.
Attach high-resolution photography. A press release accompanied by professional, high-resolution (300 DPI or higher) photography significantly increases publication probability. Many publications — particularly digital publications and visual-forward outlets — will not run stories without accompanying photography. Include two to four relevant images: a salon interior, a team photo, and an action shot related to the specific story.
Writing an effective press release is half the work; distributing it to the right people is equally important.
Build a targeted media list for your salon. Maintain a spreadsheet of the specific journalists, editors, and producers who cover beauty, lifestyle, local business, and community news in your target publications. Include their name, publication, email address, beat (their specific topic coverage), and any personal notes from previous interactions. This list should be built from research — actually reading the bylines in publications your clients read — not from purchased contact lists.
Send to individuals, not generic inboxes. A press release addressed to a specific journalist by name, sent to their personal professional email address, is far more likely to be opened and read than one sent to "press@publication.com" or "editor@publication.com." Research direct contact information through the publication's website, LinkedIn, or the journalist's social media profiles.
Follow up by phone or message. For genuinely newsworthy stories, a brief phone call or personal message to a journalist one to two days after the email is sent and read is appropriate and expected. Keep the follow-up brief: "I sent a press release on Tuesday about [specific story] and wanted to make sure it arrived. I'm happy to provide additional information or arrange a quick phone call if that would be helpful." More than one follow-up per story is excessive.
Use distribution services selectively. Paid press release distribution services like PR Newswire and BusinessWire distribute your release to large media databases but are expensive and produce better results for national stories than for local salon news. For local coverage, targeted personal outreach consistently outperforms paid distribution services.
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How frequently should a salon send press releases?
Send press releases only when you have genuinely newsworthy information — typically two to four times per year for an active, community-engaged salon. Sending press releases too frequently, or for items that are not genuinely newsworthy, trains journalists to ignore your communications. When you do send a release, it should feel like something they want to act on because your previous releases were always worth reading.
Should I use an email or a printed press release?
Email is the standard and preferred format for press releases today. Paste the press release text directly in the email body (do not require recipients to open an attachment to read it) and attach high-resolution photography as separate files. A PDF attachment can supplement the email but should not replace the in-body text. Physical printed press releases mailed to journalists are rarely used and rarely expected.
What if I never receive coverage despite sending press releases?
Re-evaluate your news value honestly. The most common reason press releases fail to generate coverage is that the content is genuinely not newsworthy to the journalist's audience. Invest time in understanding the publication's editorial perspective and the types of stories they cover before crafting your next release. Consider consulting with someone outside your business — a marketing advisor or even a trusted client who is a strong writer — who can give you candid feedback on whether your news story would interest a reader who has no existing relationship with your salon.
Maintain an organized archive of every press release you publish and every piece of media coverage you receive. This archive serves multiple purposes: it provides evidence of your media track record when approaching new outlets, it provides journalists with background context about your salon's history, and it helps you identify the types of stories that generate the most coverage so you can prioritize similar stories in future PR efforts. A basic media kit — your salon's background document, headshots of key team members, a fact sheet, and links to your five strongest media placements — makes it easy for journalists to write about you quickly and accurately.
Press releases build your salon's professional reputation over time. That reputation is grounded in the actual quality of your work and operations — including the hygiene and safety standards that clients rely on every day.
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