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.

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