Truth 45. It pays to think PR and send news releases
If you run your own business or consult for a living, add news releases to your repertoire. They can earn you editorial coverage that is a lot more credible than advertising, and moreover, you need only invest a little time.
Writing releases is a skill valued by most professional associations, too. Practice your know-how on behalf of a professional group, and you’ll fast become a valued member. What’s worth a release? First and foremost, have something newsworthy to communicate—a story. Many events are worth capitalizing on.
Look for opportunities to announce a new product or service, significant staff addition, office relocation, business success, and awards or honors for yourself, a staff member, or your business. You can also announce an appointment as a nonprofit board member. Through press releases, invite the public to attend a special meeting or event, and invite readers to join a contest or competition. Use historical milestones, such as an anniversary, to gain attention for the company, and give the organization a human face by, for example, publicizing good deeds of the company or employees—food drives, donations, toy collections, work in food pantries, scholarships, and so on.
Moreover, you can generate information to give you a reason to write a release. For example, you can collect some statistics or conduct a simple survey—which can be done via e-mail—on something relevant to your industry. If you sell bicycles, you might survey your customers about whether they wear safety helmets. “Local survey finds that only 38 percent of bike riders wear helmets” makes a good story that might be picked up by a local newspaper. This gets your business’s name out there.
Scan your business regularly for connections to the news or things that might interest media and readers. You can identify seasonal tie-ins or find opportunities that offer human interest or visual potential. For example, a children’s toy store runs a fashion show for dolls; the young owners dress them up and do “runway” commentary. The owner’s simple release drew the editor of the community newspaper to cover the event and take pictures.
Look beyond the obvious to figure out what will interest people. What’s special or unique about the event? With a product or service, the most promising angle lies in what it achieves. A new piece of medical equipment may not sound important in itself, for example, but if it helps people monitor their blood pressure more easily, you’ve got a story to tell.
Most publications prefer to receive releases by e-mail. To get it read, use specific, informative subject lines. With social media releases, make information readily usable for online bloggers, reporters, and editors by chunking (breaking content into short, easily read pieces); and more findable by search engines via “tags,” words that identify the content generically. Whatever the media target, always try to address the release to the current editor.
Plan the release
Start with the goal. Generally, it’s to gain favorable publicity for your business and raise its profile, to support marketing. Consider audience: While you’re aiming to reach the general public or the segment that might buy your product, you must first win the approval of the “gatekeeper”—the editor. Since the editor’s job is to find interesting stories for his or her readers, make your release relevant to the publication’s audience.
Preferred writing style—Try for objective-sounding, third-person, newspaper-style reportage. Begin by crafting a good headline, one that crystallizes the message and captures attention. Use short, crisp leads that appeal to the readers’ interests. Write in “inverted pyramid” fashion: Start with the most important facts and work down to what is least important.
Use simple, straightforward, “sayable” language: short words, sentences, and paragraphs. Eliminate most adjectives, all jargon, clichés, and empty phrases. Use active, lively verbs. Minimize the number of words ending in -ion and -ing and the number of times you use the words on, of, and to. Edit with particular attention. Publication gatekeepers notice every spelling error, and they care.
Content and format essentials—At the top: Say whom the release is from and include complete, reliable contact information, including your cell phone number.
Body of the release: Cover the journalist’s core questions. For example: What is the event? Who is the sponsor? Where and when will it take place? Why is it newsworthy? What’s the event’s purpose? How can the editor get more information?
Keep the release short: In print format, one page total is preferable, and one and a half pages are okay. Your goal is to provoke interest. Keep paragraphs short and use space between them to make the release more readable.
At the bottom: End with a statement that briefly says what your company or organization does; include your Web site address. If you’re trying to get a reporter to cover the event, or are inviting the public, include brief, clear directions.
If you have a good photograph: Including it multiplies the chances that a release will be used. To lure coverage, specify the photo opportunities and when they’ll occur.
If you’re trying for television coverage: State the visual element and exact time frame.
Use the results—Circulate a hit wherever you can: Enlarge and frame it to hang in your office, post it on your Web site, print it in your newsletter, mail or e-mail it to your customers and prospects, send it to your professional associations (who may rerun it in their newsletters) and to any group that might help your cause or product. Consider running an ad incorporating the coverage.
Some of the sharpest PR people we know see events as excuses to create great press releases. They’ll even create or adapt an event to justify a release and media interest. It’s a good, entrepreneurial way to think.