When a reporter is wowed, intrigued, surprised or
captivated by your press release, you can be pretty sure
you’ll get some media coverage. And for most businesses,
positive media coverage is worth its weight in gold. The bad
news: Although truckloads of news releases fill reporters’
inboxes every day, few of them are dazzling, or even
interesting.
As a former editor, I speak from experience when I say that
most press releases end up in the garbage can. But don’t let
that stop you from sending them — a well-written news release
can generate more publicity and goodwill than you could ever
accomplish with a paid advertisement. To help keep your
release out of the garbage and get it in print, start by
following these five guidelines.
1. Make it newsworthy. Releases should be used to announce
news, and they should only be sent when something truly
newsworthy is happening at your company. Don’t send releases
that sound more like advertisements than news; they’ll get
tossed immediately. (However, newsworthy events may happen
more often than you realize — see the Resource Box below for
ideas.)
In keeping with the news format, eliminate any superfluous
language or outrageous claims (don’t describe yourself or your
products as “wonderful,” “amazing” or “unbelievable”). Is your
release written in language that would appear in a story in
the newspaper or magazine you’re pitching? If not, it might
sound like fluff rather than news. Make it clear from the
beginning what your news is and why it should matter to the
reporter and his or her readers.
2. Tell a good story. Although you’re sharing hard news (I
hope), your press release should still be interesting to read.
Even though your readers are media-types who do this for a
living, they still like to hear a good story. Draw in your
readers with a creative introduction and interesting language.
Find new ways to say ordinary things. Read magazines,
newspapers and books and pay attention to the stories that
interest you and keep your attention. Then try to mimic those
techniques and styles when writing your own releases.
3. Target your audience. As with any writing project, keep
your audience in mind when you’re writing. The editor of a
small-town newspaper has different interests than the editor
of a trade journal for CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Choose
the media outlets that would be most interested in your
release and send it to them. For best results, you might even
send each person a unique version tailored to their interests.
And always send your release to an actual person — rather than
sending a release to a general news desk, find out which
reporter covers your industry or the type of news you’re
sending and send it directly to him or her.
4. Develop a relationship. Once you’ve located the
reporters who cover your industry, start developing
relationships with them. Call or e-mail to introduce yourself
and find out if they prefer releases to be faxed, e-mailed or
mailed. Be respectful of their time and the harried pace of
their work, but don’t be afraid to check in occasionally to
follow up on a press release or let them know how much you
enjoyed a recent article. Don’t just rely on them for fr*e
publicity; find out what you can do for them and do it —
one-sided relationships never last. Be easy to work with and
willing to accommodate their needs, and they’ll be much more
interested in covering your news.
5. Be consistent. Your communication with the media must be
ongoing in order to get their attention. One release sent in a
vacuum will probably not yield a lot of results. If reporters
are unfamiliar with you or your business, it won’t be a top
priority for them to cover your release. However, if they’re
accustomed to receiving (actual) news from you and you’ve made
an effort to forge a positive relationship with them (see #4),
they’re more likely to a) actually read your releases, and b)
publish them, or at least keep you in mind as a resource for
future stories. If you really want to take advantage of the
possibilities press releases can offer, keep hanging in there.
Nancy Jackson, owner of The WriteShop, helps companies
better market their products and services with powerful
written communications including Web content, newsletters,
brochures and publications. Subscribe to her free monthly
newsletter at
www.writeshoponline.com.
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