Press Release Basics
10 Dec 2005, 3:50:25 pm
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Press releases can be an easy way of getting the media to pay attention to you, and when they work they give you the desired 'free publicity' that companies love.

However, many people who have tried press releases with little or no luck become discouraged and write them off as a waste of time. This is often because of misunderstandings about what a press release is.

The key to writing an effective press release is to focus on the first word in press release: the word 'press.'

A press release is a way for your business to pitch a story or news item to members of the press. If you are lucky, your bit of news can be an addition to a piece they are working on. If you are very lucky, your piece may inspire a feature of its own!

Members of the press are inundated with announcements and story ideas from many sources, and they have limited time & space in which to give their readers & consumers their news & information. So how do they select which ones are worthy? Well, it all comes down to what's intersting.

While whatever your business does is interesting to you, your friends and family, is it really news worthy? Likely not. Would you want to read a publication or listen to a program that listed all the little 'news' items about what each company in America did today? Even local reports on all the businesses in your city would be pretty boring to most of us.

When considering writing a press release, imagine yourself having to listen to or read this story about anthoer company in another field... Is it interesting?

If it's not interesting enough for you to hear about someone else, likely the person reading the release will view it in the same way. Remember, they get paid to inform their readers/viewers/listeners, and they have lots of stories to chose from.

If the story idea seems interesting to a small pool of readers, then look for media with an interest in that area. What media reaches your target market? What members of the media would find your press release interesting enough to write a story about it or at least publish a small paragraph about it?

Another thing to keep in mind is the amount of information you provide.

Many media professionals scramble at the last minute, so provide as much information as you can so that the person who is interested in this story will be able to prepare a piece based on the press release only. Give them quotes to use so they will sound like they interviewed you or a member of the business. Give them the company background & other details so they can produce a full piece. Other stories fail to pan out, other pieces will not make the deadline, or they need to fill a small space or sidebar with a feature - and if you keep these situations in mind when you write your press release, you have increased your chances of having a member of the press mention your business.

You'll cultivate good relationships with those in the media if you:

Only send them press releases and other notices when you have something of interest to them.

Provide enough accurate information for them to produce a story on their own.

Provide accurate contact information (email address, phone number) for them to do any follow-up they desire.

Send them professional press releases. (Read How To Write a Press Release, by Linda Formichelli, for a good overview on this.)

In short, respect their time and soon you could be receiving free publicity too.

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