What Is A Feature?

When you read a newspaper, a lot of what’s on the front pages is usually breaking news, information that needs to be told right away, or it will be dated and lose its relevance. Not so a feature.

If done right, a feature can be evergreen; that is, it can have an indefinite shelf life that will enable it to be used when it is needed, and is not reliant on when it is sent out. Items on such topics as food, travel,pets, home improvement and health, for example, lend themselves wellto this kind of treatment.

The more you write a feature so it can be used any time of the year, the greater your chances of being picked up by broadcast,print and online media.

Features are often about how we live, love, and learn. While the news of the day is of vital importance, many people seek a respite from grim headlines and need useful information relevant to their home and family. That’s where a feature comes in.

While a feature may look like a press release when it is transmitted, the two have some important distinctions.

A traditional press release is better for breaking news, which people need to know right away.

Unlike a press release, a feature is intended for verbatim use, as if a journalist could have written the item. That means it needs to emphasize information over outright promotion. To accommodate verbatim use, it is crucial for features to be concise, no more than about 400 words. Beyond that length, you reach a point of diminishing returns with most media, and features will be either cut for space or not used at all. There are exceptions, now and then, but you shouldn’t count on being one of them.

Do it right and you have more chances than ever to get noticed by the media, which have limited resources for staff, freelancers and syndicates for features. If you can provide quality material for free, that will go a long way toward getting into print or on the air.

Even if your feature doesn’t get used word for word, journalists may look to you as a source for their own articles if they view you as providing credible information in your feature.

There is no one right way to go about this. However, the following paragraph-by-paragraph breakdown of a feature’s most crucial ingredients can serve as a useful template. The more comfortable you are writing a feature, the easier it will be to tailor it to your own preferences.

Source: http://www.cyperus.com/features/guide_intro.shtml