|
How to Write a History of Your Business
The "History" of your business is exactly what the title implies.
It is an explanation of where your business came from or
how it began. Like the Backgrounder, you can have a fairly
complicated history or something simple and easy to read.
For an Online Press Center, we recommend a simple format
for easy web reading.
Elements that you may consider including in the History:
1. Inspiration that started your business.
2. Major accomplishments during the life of your business.
3. Short biography of the founder of the business.
4. Where you plan to take your business or future plans for
your business.
Strategies to write your History:
1. Chronological order.
List events of your business in chronological order. Use important
dates throughout the life of your business to highlight your
accomplishments.
Example:
http://www.shec-labs.com/about.htm
2. Tell a story.
This is more informal, more fun to write, and probably more
interesting to read. Just start at the beginning and explain
the inspiration behind your business, what made you choose
your particular business, and where you think
your business is headed.
Example:
http://www.thewritemarket.com/media/index.htm
3. Chronological order with Humor.
List the events of your business in chronological order with a twist.
Use humor or "bloopers" to highlight events. The whole point of the
history is to get the press to take up your story and publish it.
Using humor makes the History more interesting and more likely
that the person reading it will read it through to the end.
http://www.microsoft.com/misc/features/features.htm
4. Highlight the founder of the company.
If your business is based on the name of one person, this is the
perfect strategy for your History. A short biography of the founder
and then an explanation of how the product or business came
into being as a result of the founder.
http://www.hawkslim.com/profile.htm
Although the above Histories are a good place to begin,
it is much more helpful to search out Histories that are similar to
your own business. The best way to learn how to write in a particular
format, is to read several documents in that format.
To find Histories:
1. Go to Yahoo (or any directory you prefer)
2. Find a category where your business would belong.
3. Start clicking on sites.
4. Look for the "about us" or "press kit" sections on those sites.
5. Find "Company History" or "History."
It can be difficult to find these "about us" sections. They are becoming
more popular, but many sites still don't have them. Many times, you will
find that the History is the first page of the Online Press Center.
In your online travels, if you find a particularly good history, or if you
decide to write one for your own business, please email the web
address to
It would be neat if we could start a list of examples.
|
