To help you save some time, we’ve created fact sheet templates for a variety of industries and topics.  Each fact sheet template is $20 or you can buy all seven for $100.  The templates are chock-full of valuable tips and are already formatted. We tell you exactly what information to write and where to put it.  The fact sheet templates we created for you include:

Crisis Fact Sheet

Event Fact Sheet

Nonprofit Fact Sheet

Political Candidate Fact Sheet

Product or Service Fact Sheet

Restaurant Fact Sheet

Retail Fact Sheet

Remember that your PR fact sheet condenses the most pertinent information about your company, products, and/or services into one page.  The fact sheet includes at-a-glance information for readers broken up by categories, such as contact information, company history, vision, mission, purpose, future, etc. This makes it an invaluable springboard for all of your other communication materials and collaterals.

If you’re going to develop some fact sheets, check out our other fact sheet posts from How to Write a Fact Sheet to the Top 3 Rules for a Powerful Fact Sheet and more.  If you’re going to get more specific, there’s no need to start from scratch. Purchase our topic- and industry-specific fact sheet templates, and customize them for your business.  With our pre-set format and valuable tips for your industry or topic, you’ll be on your way in no time.

Starbucks

Keep it current, Starbucks.  This fact sheet is dated February 2008, kind of old.  Also, Starbucks has gone full boar into the major social media venues from Twitter to Facebook and yet the company’s social media contact information is missing from their fact sheet.  The graphic quality is also poor and not up to par with the company’s top-notch image.  Another brand mismatch is the tone.  This full-on corporate fact sheet is cold and businesslike and seems apart from the Starbucks’ brand of being a fun, friendly, warm place.

Gap

This fact sheet has a nice, easy-to-read layout that looks consistent with their image, but where’s their contact information or even a link to their website and store locations?  It seems incomplete and stops before the bottom of the page.

Gatorade

Gatorade’s fact sheet contains good information, including some unexpected facts like the athletes they sponsor, but it’s dated 2006, much too old to be considered current.  It’s also a bit long at two full pages, though we like that it has all of their product web addresses at the bottom.  Links to those addresses would be even better.

St. Jude Medical

We like how this fact sheet is integrated into the company’s website and the reader can choose whether or not to click on the PDF version or not.  The links on the left and right to the fact sheet topic areas are all active, making it user friendly and the use of web links allows them to make the fact sheet brief while supplying a lot of information.  The only down side is that the PDF version of the fact sheet didn’t open up in our browser so we’re not sure if it contains the same information that’s available on the website fact sheet.

Before creating or revising your company fact sheet, take a look at other companies’ fact sheets to see what works and what doesn’t and let that guide you in perfecting your own.

For more information on fact sheets, see our recent blogs.  Also, do you need to create a fact sheet for your business and don’t want to start from scratch?  Purchase our topic- and industry-specific fact sheet templates, and customize them for your business.  Every fact sheet template includes a pre-set format and valuable tips for your industry or topic.

For more information on writing fact sheets, click here or choose one of the following posts:

How to Write a Fact Sheet
Top 3 Rules for a Powerful Fact Sheet
How to Use Your Fact Sheet as a Springboard
Fact Sheet Critiques

Remember that your fact sheet condenses the most pertinent information about your company, products, and/or services into one page.  The fact sheet includes at-a-glance information for readers broken up by categories, such as contact information, company history, vision, mission, purpose, future, etc. This makes it an invaluable template for all of your other communication materials and collaterals.

When we create a collaterals package for a client, which might include a website, PowerPoint presentation, brochure, business cards, and letterhead, we always start with a fact sheet.  Why?  Because the content in a fact sheet includes your core messages and they should always be consistent to promote a strong company brand.  Inconsistencies in your messaging will lead to confusion, internally and externally, and weaken your brand.  The more repetition you have among your communications, the higher the likelihood that your target public will retain and act on your messages.

That said, here’s how to use what you’ve already created in your fact sheet to produce another communication:

- Press Release: Every good fact sheet has a little gem embedded in it, and this gem can be used on all of your materials.  That gem is your boilerplate.  Somewhere on your fact sheet, there should be a paragraph that explains concisely what your company is about, what you do, and how you do it.  This boilerplate consists of your company’s three to five key messages in one short paragraph.  When you use the boilerplate for a news release, it should appear at the bottom and say at the end, “For more information about Company Z, visit our website at www.CompanyZ.com.”

- Website: The boilerplate in your fact sheet can also be used as the opening paragraph on your website. Each category on your fact sheet could be included on your “About Us” page or as separate pages. When doing the latter, the fact sheet copy can be used as the introductory statement on those pages.  At this point, you’ll have a good portion of your website copy completed without having to spend time creating new verbiage.

- Letterhead and Business Card: A boilerplate can even appear on the back of a business card, on your letterhead, and definitely as the opening paragraph on your website.

We know that you’re now catching on to how to apply your fact sheet to your other promotional materials, which are not limited to the above listed items. Think of how you can do the same with advertising copy, logo items, blogs, and so on.  Even non-traditional mediums, such as listing your mission on your invoices or on your voicemail are ways to maximize the information on your fact sheet.

Please note that it’s best to duplicate the copy on your fact sheet as closely as possible (taking into consideration search engine optimization for websites, etc.) in your other communication vehicles.  In other words, if you say X about your company’s vision on your fact sheet, you must also say X about your company’s vision on your brochure.  Again, when your consumers are exposed to the same messaging over and over, it helps them to process and comprehend it so that your business, product, and/or service is top of mind, and most likely, one of their top “buys.”

So if you’re creating new company materials or revising the old ones, start with a fact sheet.  From there, use your fact sheet as your springboard to PR success. For a free fact sheet template, click here. For more detailed instructions on creating and customizing your fact sheet, purchase our topic- and industry-specific fact sheet templates, and customize them for your business.  Every fact sheet template includes a pre-set, detailed format and valuable tips for your industry or topic.  Templates available include crisis, event, non-profit, polictical candidate, product or service, restaurant, and retail.And, check out our Top 3 Rules for a Powerful Fact Sheet.

The rules below are essential though often over-looked, yet, if followed, they are sure to boost the communication of your key messages to your target publics.

Rule #1: Stay within one page
We’re sure you’ve noticed that newspapers, magazines, ezines, etc. are serving up content in short, chunky bits more and more these days.  Cnn.com lists a few bulleted highlights of each story at the beginning of each article.  Why?  Because nobody wants to read anything lengthy, even though they may get useful information from it.  Readers want to know the most important information first.  Thereafter, they’ll decide if they want to learn more. For the fact sheet, this means keeping it to one page.  We’ve had people tell us that if a document is more than one page long, they automatically don’t want to read it or tell themselves they’ll read it later and never do. So, page length is definitely a factor in increasing the readership of a communications piece.  To accommodate more copy, adjust margins but don’t go overboard and crowd the page or reduce the font to a miniscule size.  Remember, the perception of length comes more from the number of pages than the number of words.

If you feel that you cannot communicate the basic who, what, where, when, why and how within one page, consider breaking up topics into several fact sheets.  For example, if your intention was to write a fact sheet on all of your products, create a separate fact sheet for each product.

Rule #2: Communicate the gist in less than one minute
A reader should be able to get the main message and direction of your fact sheet in less than one minute.  Formatting comes into play here.  The content of your fact sheet should be laid out in distinct categories.  Use bold font to distinguish the categories so readers can pick or choose what they want to read.  Within those categories, bulleted or numbered lists work well.  Think of your fact sheet as a map.  When someone first looks at it, are they able to get their bearings quickly (scanning categories to figure out the general progression of the piece) and navigate confidently (if they need certain information, they can easily find it)?  Also, be sure that the fact sheet is written in short, simple sentences that allow for easy reading and comprehension.

Rule #3: Provide ALL contact information clearly
Don’t you just hate it when you’re trying to contact a company and you can only find a phone number or website response mechanism, when all you really want to do is email them?  Or when there’s only one way to contact a company and that way doesn’t work.  Grrr… A fact sheet should include all of your company’s contact information from phone numbers to email, website address, Facebook address, etc.  Every person may prefer contacting you via a different medium, and you certainly don’t want to miss their inquiry.  Moreover, if you print your fact sheet on company letterhead that has your contact information pre-printed on it, it may still be a good idea to repeat this information in a separate category in the body of the piece.  Sometimes contact information on letterhead is in a smaller font or designed in a unique way to make certain that there is enough white space on the letterhead.  Having the separate contact information category in the information paper guarantees that your reader will see it easily.  And, repetition never hurts.

It’s easy to bend the above rules, but remember that the more rule bending you do, the higher the chance that your fact sheet will go un-read and your goals un-met.  Sticking to the rules will give you every opportunity to produce a powerful, effective fact sheet.  For a free fact sheet template, click here.

A fact sheet is generally one or two pages and includes the who, what, when, where, why and how about a business.  Components of a fact sheet include the below.  Click here for a fact sheet template.

1. Your business name, address, phone number, and website address should be on the upper left.  If using company letterhead, disregard this step.
2. A contact name, title, phone number, and email address should be on the upper right.
3. Triple space down and type the name of the subject.  This should be centered and in upper case.
4. Double space down and type “Fact Sheet,” which should also be centered.
5. The body of the fact sheet is set up in two columns.  The left side includes the headings, such as history, vision, mission, purpose, future, etc., all in upper case lettering.  The right side contains the heading descriptions.  The descriptions should consist of short sentences that align under the second column.
6. If the document is longer than one page, type “-more-” at the center of the bottom of the first page.
7. At the end of the fact sheet, “###” should be centered and inserted.
8. Finally, double space down and type the month and year, flush right.

Once you have a completed fact sheet, create a clear and specific distribution plan so you can ensure that your target publics receive the information. Begin with deciding which publics you want to receive the items and the best way to get them into their hands.  For example, you may want to include the fact sheet in new customer mailings, emails, and on your website.

For more detailed instructions on creating and customizing your fact sheet, purchase our topic- and industry-specific fact sheet templates, and customize them for your business.  Every fact sheet template includes a pre-set, detailed format and valuable tips for your industry or topic.  Templates available include crisis, event, non-profit, polictical candidate, product or service, restaurant, and retail