Before you even write a single world, I want to pound one idea into your head: There is not a single reporter who cares about driving visitors to your website or helping your company make money. What a reporter is interested in is finding a story that will entertain or inform his readers, that will please his editor.

What's this mean? It means that he doesn't care about your huge selection and inventory. And he doesn't care your flawless customer service and satisfaction. Take your natural inclination to sell and promote your brand out of the equation.

Well now that that's out of the way, there are just two important rules...

• Be Interesting. Make your headline similar to the headlines you see in the news every day.
• Be brief. State your most exciting finding or announcement in as few words as possible.

The idea is to throw a hook at the reporter with hopes that he bites.

Of course I want to help you visualize a really bad press release headline, so here is one absolutely horrible example: New Website Selling Smoking Cessation Options Allows High School Students to Speak Out Against Smoking in Public Places.

Of course this could be made into a great headline.  Here is a much better choice: Today's Youth Health Conscience, Want Smoking Banned.