Time Your News Release For Maximum Publicity

Time Your News Release For Maximum Publicity

by: David Leonhardt

กCindy, whereกs that story? I need it yesterday!ก

กComing right up, boss. Iกll have it to you soon,ก Cindy shouted back.

กYesterday isn’t soon enough!ก

Cindy clicked on her screen. กYou have mail.ก She looked at the messages. ‘three news releases,ก she murmured. กI don’t have time for this now.ก [delete] [delete] [delete]

Stop! Was that your news release Cindy just deleted? Too bad you sent it to her at the wrong time. You may have heard that ‘timing is everythingก and that is even more true in a newsroom. But how do you know when is the best time to send a news release?

Media relations is an art more than a science, so there is no single rule. If there was, everyone would be a media star. Here are a few guidelines to help you zoom ahead of your competition for the mediaกs attention:

Each type of media and each type of journalist is different. Here are just a few of the variables:

National or local media

TV, newspaper, radio or magazine

News reporter, features reporter or columnist

Consumer magazine or trade journal

Daily, weekly or monthly publication

Print or electronic

Each company or organization is different, as is its news. Here are just a few of the variables:

Local, national or international operations

Prescheduled news release, or lastminute reaction to todayกs news.

Product announcement, policy announcement, financial announcement

Bearing in mind the wide range of news you might announce and the wide range of media targets, 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. tends to be the best time of day to release news. You want to give the assignment editor time to send them out to cover your news. If you hope to get into the noon news, you don’t want to go too late, because you run into TV deadlines. Early afternoon is a secondbest time, but if you get much past 2:30, you will catch Cindyกs [delete] button at most daily newspapers and television stations.

I have been asked about the best day of the week to send out a news release. There isn’t one. I have seen plenty of debates on this. From personal experience, the only difference I ever noticed is when I could pick a slow news day. For instance, if in your city the daily newspaper can be reached on Sunday and not too much tends to happen that day in your subject area, you may find it easier to get into Mondayกs newspaper than if you try later in the week. But on average, there is not much difference.

Best time of month, year, etc? Again, there is no single best time. There is one golden rule. Do not send out a release when the world is wrapped up in some allconsuming event like the death of Princess Diana or the attack on the World Trade Center. Remember how much TV airtime and newspaper print space were devoted to those events? The media and its audiences had other things on their minds than your news. You can’t control events, but you can control the timing of your release (most of the time).

How far in advance should you send out your release? Some book reviewers usually need several months. Others don’t want to see your release until the book is on the store shelves. Many consumer magazines have a sixmonth editorial preview. Features editors often run several weeks ahead of time, but sometimes squeeze things in on short notice. News departments want only breaking news. Yesterdayกs news is … well, yesterdayกs news. Your release is already forgotten.

Does all this sound confusing. It is. The bottom line in any marketing is to know your target market and give it what it wants. Same with the media. The guidelines above give a very abbreviated list of what you need to consider. If you are still unsure, a media coach might be a good investment. But be forewarned – find someone with enough experience and success to coach you in the right direction.

About The Author

After a decade and a half as one of Canadaกs top consumer advocates, often conducting over 600 media interviews each year, David Leonhardt is sharing his knowledge with others. Pick up a copy of his special report กGet In The News!ก at http://www.TheHappyGuy.com/PR.html. Home page is http://www.TheHappyGuy.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on December 05, 2002

by David Leonhardt

Getting a Killer News Hook

Getting a Killer News Hook

by: Bryan Thompson

Getting a news hook.

When you are going to write a press release probably the most important thing you can do is create a killer news hook. A press release without a news hook is just blatant advertising, plain and simple. There is nothing that turns off journalists more than a press release that’s just advertising, and when you turn them off, they’re often off for good.

So, with this in mind, creating a news hook for your press release and media plan in general is probably the most important thing that you can do. But, how do you do it?

A news hook can be defined as the property in your press release that really makes a person read it and say, ขI’m glad that I read this. This is really news.ข A news hook does not directly try to sell something, but to put some real news in front of the reader and encourage them to learn more about you.

If you are a major company, almost anything you do could be considered news. Take Google, for example. Everything they announce tends to be frontpage news, no matter how small it is. However, your probably not so lucky, so you have to look pretty had.

If you are selling cars in a local dealership, a news hook could be if a local celebrity if performing a function at your dealership or even if they are long time and outspoken customers. If you are selling hair dryers, upgrading your model form XD1000 to XD1001 is not news outside of the hair dryer community. However, there are plenty of ways to generate news out of something that normally cannot be considered news.

To do this, you must ask yourself the 6 questions that every journalist is always asking

Who

What

Where

When

Why

How

If you are able to answer all of these, then you have something that can go onto the next stage. If you are not able to adequately answer these questions, then you have to try again and find something that can legitimately be considered news.

When you have this, then what you must do is think about

What a member of the general public would think about this news

What journalists would think

What a member of your target demographic would think

When you get this, decide how you will address each group. If you want PR, then you will typically have to go through the journalist. The journalist should have a good idea of what the general public wants and what the target demographic wants, so if you have news, they will pass it on.

With this in mind, if you are selling something specialized, and then you should target publications and media that focus on that specific industry. If you have something more general, then you should focus on the more general media.

About The Author

Bryan Thompson is a young entrepreneur and founder of Press Release Writing Online ( Http://www.prwritingonline.com ). In his experience as a freelance publicist, writer and entrepreneur, he has worked with dozens of small, medium and large companies. He is also writing a book on the basics of Publicity for small businesses and managing several other businesses at the same time. You may contact him at [email protected].

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 11

by Bryan Thompson

Secrets to Writing Powerful Press Releases

Secrets to Writing Powerful Press Releases

by: Ted Kushner

Using press releases for marketing purposes has become increasingly popular lately.

There has been an increase of firms springing up online offering optimized press release services for individuals or firms wanting to get the word out about their web sites, newsletters, products or services.

Using press releases can be a very effective marketing tool if constructed properly. Learning to write a powerful optimized press release can often drive tons of targeted traffic to your web site.

The real secret behind writing any effective press release is to plan your release out carefully before publishing it.

A poorly constructed or planned press release is just a waste of your time and resources. You want to target the message of your press release for the purpose it was meant for.

So, the first thing you must do before writing your press release is to figure out just what do you want to accomplish with it?

Do you want to create some brand awareness for your site or products?

Do you want to add additional subscribers to your newsletter or ezine?

Or are you trying to promote a new product or service you have developed or are marketing?

Once youกve decided what the most compelling reason is for your press release, you can then get down to the business of writing it.

The first thing you may want to do is sketch out a rough draft of your press release to see how it flows. Does it provide the needed information to get the word out and has it been properly formatted?

Most press releases have a certain format that they follow. If you’re unsure of how to format your press release correctly you can view a sample press release template here at http://www.prweb.com/pressreleasetips.php#template.

The number one most important aspect of your press release is your headline.

Get it wrong and you will limit the effectiveness of your release.

Your headline is what the search engines are going to pick up on first. So make sure you use it advantageously. List any key points here, using your keywords or a catchy headline so that it will grab your readerกs attention.

Again planning is essential. If promoting a new site include the URL in the headline. If promoting a product or service then include some keywords in the headline.

Some press release services use a summary box. I normally write a catchy oneparagraph recap of my press release using some of my targeted keywords.

Without being spammy, I will normally optimize my press release by using some of my targeted keywords in the first and last paragraph. I will also include some of them throughout the release for a keyword exposure of approximately 23% saturation.

Tip: if you’re promoting a web site, I will normally mention my URL around three times within the release for the maximum benefit.

One of the first questions I had when I first started writing press releases was what was considered a great release? What did it consist of and how was it constructed?

Being curious, I emailed my contact at http://www.prweb.com/ and asked them if they could show me a few press releases that they considered as excellent examples.

These releases have received their editorial scores of 5 on their scale of 1 to 5; with five being the highest.

They sent me three of them for review and you can see each one of them here:

http://prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb136748.htm

http://prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb149213.htm

http://prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb203448.htm

Study each one of these against the press release template to see what is required for an effective release.

Note: to get additional exposure for your press release via www.emediawire.com you have to have an editorial score of 4 or higher. So it is to your benefit to write the best release you can the first time around.

Once you have studied the examples and want to try submitting you own press release you need to know which ones are the most popular ones being used.

Here are some of the press release services I have used and found to be effective:

http://prweb.com/

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/index.html

http://www.webwire.com/default.asp

http://www.247pressrelease.com/

With most of press release services you can submit your press release for free or via paid inclusion. Paying for inclusion gives you the benefit of faster indexing into the search engine news services and natural search engine result pages.

Normally your release will be picked up by Google news within a few hours after its release. From there it will normally show up in the natural search results within a few days or a week.

I have used both of these services in the past but have found that paying them at least the minimum amount allows me to view my stats online. It also allows me to choose different categories for my press release to be displayed in, giving my release a chance for wider coverage.

So using press releases can and is a very effective marketing tool that you can use for promoting your web site or affiliate products if done correctly.

By using press releases, I have been able to create a steady flow of targeted visitors to my web site and affiliate programs while generating dozens of back links to my web site.

Even though the effects of each individual press release may be short lived, they still have provided me with both free and inexpensive ways for getting hundreds of new visitors to my site and quite a few top ten positions in Google for my targeted keywords.

So get to it and write a few press releases your self and see what they can do for you!

Copyright 2005 Ted Kushner

About The Author

Ted Kushner of AffiliateRevenueSources.com can show you the powerful benefits of writing press releases for promoting any product, service or affiliate program. Learn how you too can get multiple top ten positions in Google using press releases at: http://www.affiliaterevenuesources.com/powerfulpressreleases.htm.

This article was posted on March 13

by Ted Kushner

Don’t Use FFAกs To Build Your Newsletter Subscribe

Don’t Use FFAกs To Build Your Newsletter Subscriber

by: Dean Phillips

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, The initials FFA stand for กFREE For Allก and my advice would be don’t waste your time! FFAกs DON’t WORK!

FFA sites are directories where anyone can place their ad for free. And thatกs exactly what you geta zillion people posting free ads.

When you post your ad on an FFA directory or site, hereกs what will happen. Youกll immediately get back in response to your ad a truckload of autoresponder emails from every Tom, Dick and Harriet soliciting you to join their programs. Hardly anyone ever actually reads your ad. FFAกs will produce next to zero new subscribers to your newsletter.

Here are some suggestions to help you build your newsletter subscriber list:

1. Put a subscriber box on your web site. People can easily enter their email address and send it to you. A percentage of people who visit your web site will sign up for your newsletter. Just don’t scare them off by asking for a lot of personal information. Put their minds at ease by promising not to share their email address with anyone else.

2. Announce your newsletter in the ezine announcement directories. There are several sites with searchable catalogues of ezines. These sites get lots of visitors and are a surefire way to find hundreds of new subscribers. Here are a few to get you started:

http://www.ezineuniverse.com

http://www.escribe.com

http://www.ezinemarketing.com

3. Trade ads with other ezines. Find newsletters that focus on topics similar to yours. Theyกll run your ad in exchange for you running theirs.

4. Consider emailing a press release to the media. Your release should announce your newsletter and explain whatกs interesting or helpful about your newsletter. There are a number of press release services that will email your release. Here are just a few:

http://www.ereleases.com

http://www.majon.com

http://www.majornewswire.com

http://submitexpress.com

Whatever you do, DON’t add people to your newsletter list who haven’t asked to be on it. The spam gods will come down on you like a ton of bricks! Thatกs why many newsletter publishers insist on double optin. Whatกs double optin?

Double optin is your protection against the sending of unsolicited email. For example, after visitors register at your site, they will receive a confirmation email. By replying to the confirmation email, your visitors have กdouble optedinก which means that:

1. They are the owners of their email addresses

2. The address is working

3. They indeed want to subscribe

Usually the confirmation action is as simple as replying to the confirmation request or clicking on a link.

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Make Money Online! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will help you make money online, starting today…Guaranteed! For details just visit my website.

Website: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

This article was posted on September 30, 2004

by Dean Phillips

Learn The Five Key Steps To Getting Free Publicity

Learn The Five Key Steps To Getting Free Publicity

by: Dianne Beiermann

For many of us, the idea of getting free publicity can be a confusing and daunting task. So why do it? Because free publicity really works and if you are looking for ways to attract new customers to your internet business, free publicity is by far one of the best ways to do it. I am going to share with you five key steps to getting free publicity for your products. They go as follows:

1) Website Focus: Make sure your site is focused on a specific category of products. I cannot stress this enough. The editors will often check to see if your site features products that are in the same category as your product press release. This is one of the key ways you can get free publicity for your products. Because when you send out a press release on a new product, the editors will check your site to make sure that you offer similar products. Once they see that you offer a wide range of products in this same category, you will greatly improve your chances for getting free publicity for your products and website.

2) Target the right magazines for your products: I have talked to many people who are tempted to send out their press releases to every magazine available. I strongly advise against doing this. It is simply not effective and can even upset the editors when you send them information not related to their audience. It also reduces your chances of getting in the magazines if you are sending out press releases to every magazine category. The key is to stick with the most targeted magazines for your products and only email them with your product announcements.

3) Be consistent and patient while emailing the editors: it is very important to be consistent when you email the editors. Try to introduce a new product on a monthly to bimonthly basis to the editors of the magazines. If you do it on a consistent basis before you know it, one of your products could be picked up in one of the magazines. It is also important to be patient with the process. You may not here anything for a few months and then all of a sudden you will find out that a magazine picked up your press release and is running it. On average it takes print magazines a month to three months to print your press release. For online magazines you could have your press release picked up within days or weeks. That is why it is important to target both.

4) Be prompt to an editor’s request: Be prepared when the editors contact you. Many times an editor will want to contact you and ask some basic questions about your company. Another reason they might contact you would be to include your product in their next issue.

When this happens the editor will ask you for a 300 dpi photo of your product to be emailed to them so they can put it in the magazine. Through the years of doing email press releases, I have learned to contact my suppliers before I send out a press release and ask them for a 300 dpi photo. I keep the photo(s) on file in a computer file folder marked ขeditor’s photos.ข They are easy to retrieve, and since I already requested the picture ahead of time, I can just retrieve it from my file and send it to the editor within minutes of the request.

5) Personalize the Press Release: Whenever possible find ways to personalize the press release. Here is a simple technique you can use: Address the email to the specific editor of the magazine. Instead of writing: ‘to the editors of the magazineก Take the extra step of searching the magazine’s website for the name of the editor and address them accordingly. To find out more about getting free publicity for your products and site visit http://www.productpressrelease.com

About The Author

Dianne Beiermann is a resultsdriven internet marketer and online business owner. Dianne Beiermann is one of the leading experts in press release marketing for online businesses. Productpressrelease.com specializes in assisting individuals and businesses with obtaining free publicity for their products and website. You can visit their site at http://www.productpressrelease.com or call 18003713945.

This article was posted on March 12

by Dianne Beiermann

Press Releases for Every Occasion

Press Releases for Every Occasion

by: Bill Stoller

To many marketers, the press release is something of a กone size fits allก proposition. You want to get media coverage, you knock out a press release, send it to some journalists and sit back and wait.

Of course, smart Publicity Insiders already know that’s a prescription for failure. You know that your press release has to have a กhookก, be wellwritten and sent to appropriate journalists in an active, not passive, manner. But there’s another part of the puzzle that even savvy publicityseekers sometimes miss you can’t just write กa press releaseก, you have to write the right kind of press release.

There’s no such thing as a กone size fits allก release. Smart publicists have variations of the press release model ready to be go, depending on the occasion.

(Note: for a general introduction to press release writing and formatting, see: http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp

Letกs look at some releases suitable for กharderก and more timely news…

The News Release

To some folks, กnews releaseก and กpress releaseก are interchangeable. Not to me. I use the phrase กnews releaseก to refer to a release that, well, carries actual news. Let’s face it, most of what a business has to say to a journalist isn’t exactly กstop the pressesก kind of stuff. But, on occasion, something of real significance occurs. A merger, a stock split, a major new contract, winning a national award…something that’s truly timely and important. For these sorts of events, don’t mess around. Craft a solid, hardhitting News Release that’s written in pure journalistic style (lead includes กwho, what, when, why and howก, language is in 3rd person and completely free of hyperbole). Use journalism’s กinverted pyramidก most important information at the top, next most important info in the second paragraph and so on down.

Tell the entire story in the headline and subhead. Again, don’t get cute get straight to the point. The headline กAcme Corporation Selected by Pentagon to Supply Troops with Widgetsก is far better than something like กGuess Who’s Making Widgets for Uncle Sam?ก or something กcleverก like that. In the subhead, fill in some details: ก$18 Million Contract Largest in Company’s Historyก. Talk about getting straight to the point! You’ve just given the journalist the meat of the story before she’s even read your lead.

Add a กdatelineก (Akron, OH) at the beginning of your lead (first) paragraph. In the dateline, use your company’s home town (or the location where some news has broken. You can be a bit creative here, if it helps maximize your impact. For the above example, you can dateline it Washington, DC and say that ‘the Pentagon today announced that it has selected an Akron company…ก).

In distributing the release, use email, fax, distribution service such as PRWeb or PR Newswire, or even overnight courier. The goal is to get it into journalists’ hands on the same day you distribute it.

Executive Appointment Release

Most businesses send out a brief release and headshot when someone new is hired or a major promotion is made. That’s fine, and it will get them in the กPeople on the Moveก column on page 8 in the business section. It’s an ego stroke for the employee, but that’s about it. Savvy publicity seekers use the Executive Appointment release to generate real publicity. Here’s the key don’t just announce that someone’s been hired or promoted. Rather, explain why the move is significant to the company and perhaps the market as a whole.

For example, Jane Smith has been hired as your company’s new director of sales. Not so exciting. However, the reason you hired her is because she came from a major online retailer and is planning to overhaul your sales system to compare with the state oftheart systems used by the big guys. Hmmmm…that’s a lot more interesting. So why not tell the media about it?

The key ingredient is context. Your headline may still look like that of a typical Executive Appointment release (Acme Names Jane Smith New Director of Sales), but starting with the subhead, you begin your journey off page 8 of the business section and onto page one (Hiring of Key Figure in Online Sales Explosion Marks Important Shift in Acme’s Sales Strategy). Ah, now you’ve entered the realm of news, not business as usual. And a sharp business editor will see that a local company is doing something far more significant than just making a hire.

Dateline the release, fax (or even messenger), email or regular mail it over to your local business editor and follow up with a phone call. Offer Jane Smith for interview, too.

The Media Alert

The Media Alert is a deceptively simple creature. It’s essentially a memo from you to TV, radio and newspaper assignment editors, city desk editors and others who decide whether a particular news event is worth covering. They’re used to alert the press about news conferences, charity events, publicity กstuntsก and other events.

The point of the Media Alert is to, in just a few seconds, tell a journalist about the event, how to cover it and why it’s important that the media outlet, in fact, covers it. Most publicists are pretty good on the first two points almost all media alerts do a decent job of telling what the event is, where it will be held and what time it starts. It’s the third aspect the กwhyก that will make the real difference, though. And it’s the thing most publicists do a lousy of job of conveying.

First, a word about format. Use standard press release headings (contact info, กFor Immediate Releaseก and headline). The rest of the document should be a few paragraphs, spaced at least three lines apart from one another. The first paragraph, should begin with What: and continue with a one or two line description of the event (WidgetFest 2004, a celebration of young minds). Next paragraph, When:, after that Where:

Now here’s the key paragraph,

Why You Should Cover WidgetFest 2004: The brightest young minds from around the region will gather to present their inventions, as Acme Corp. celebrates the state’s top high school science students. The event will be a visual feast, with a host of awe inspiring inventions, many colorful, active and exotic, on display. As part of the event, more than $10,000 in scholarships will be distributed to budding Einsteins by John Smith, Ohio’s Science Teacher of the Year.

The key? This line: ‘the event will be a visual feast, with a host of aweinspiring inventions, many colorful, active and exotic, on display.ก I just spoke an assignment editor’s language, telling him that this will provide lots of cool visuals, making for great video or photos. The bit about the scholarships and the Science Teacher of the Year assures him that this won’t just be a promotional stunt. So what are we offering? A nonpromotional, feelgood event with great visuals. Just what an assignment editor is looking for.

About The Author

Bill Stoller, the กPublicity Insiderก, has spent two decades as one of Americaกs top publicists. Now, through his website, eZine and subscription newsletter, Free Publicity: The Newsletter for PRHungry Businesses http://www.PublicityInsider.com/freepub.asp heกs sharing for the very first time his secrets of scoring big publicity. For free articles, killer publicity tips and much, much more, visit Billกs exclusive new site: http://www.PublicityInsider.com

This article was posted on January 04

by Bill Stoller

The Big Bang Publicity Campaign

The Big Bang Publicity Campaign

by: David Bell

Famous is as famous does and the famous get known through publicity. Yes, thatกs right, fame doesn’t discover you, you create it through strategic campaigning. Whatกs more, the techniques for increasing your exposure isn’t as difficult to attain as you might think. A great publicity campaign starts with courage, then planning, and lastly, it succeeds through persistence. If your not sure why you should seek fame, consider fortune because the two go hand in hand.

Fame will bring your business into the forefront of your target audience faster than any advertising campaign can hope to do. It solidifies you as an expert and creates a deep, abiding confidence in the consumer. It makes you a shining star with infinite possibilities. So whatกs are the steps you ask? Well paste a gold star to your forehead and letกs get started.

1. Press Releases: Increase awareness through a press release. Yes, I know, press releases have become quite the popular little tool around cyberspace with releases being blasted hither and there, but is it working? Probably not. Blasting your press release will bring blasted little results. Instead, thoughtfully put together a very dynamic one page press release and target publications that would be most interested in you and your business. Don’t drone out the details, make that press release sing your praises. Then send it to a real live editor and follow up with a phone call. In other words, let the press release be the invitation to your follow up phone call. Begin making connections with the media. Be polite, be excited, and be patient.

2. Create A Press Kit: A Press kit is basically an exaggerated press release turned into a package. Itกs more complex, tells more about you and your company, and is all pulled together into a nice neat folder. Of all the questions I receive, first is, what is a press kit? Simply, it is a folder of information about you or your business. It should contain:

An Introduction Letter

One or Two Press Releases

A Fact Sheet (This contains the facts about you or your business.)

Bio Sheet (Which is a biography of you and your accomplishments.)

Copies of Published Articles

Company Literature

A Business Card

Send your press kit when an editor, publisher, or producer wants to know more about you.

3. Newsletters Offline. Don’t forget that a whole world exists offline. Locate newsletters or smaller print publications offline and submit articles. This can be a very dynamic way to increase your exposure as well as add to your press kit. You can locate newsletters in your subject area by visiting the local university library reference section. Ask for a directory of trade newsletters and do your research. Once you have been published, itกs easier to step up to the larger publications. Fame starts small and then snowballs onto itself.

4. Speak Up! Yep, thatกs right. Start giving speeches on your area of expertise. Start locally at civic clubs and local educational programs. Then find the local talk radio shows and make your case to the producer. Itกs surprising how many talk radio shows are actively looking for new speakers. Once you have achieved Talk Radio, the opportunities will start coming to you.

5. Publicity Pitches: Put together several dynamic article ideas. Just the ideas, not the actual article. This is called a Publicity Pitch. Take those ideas and then pitch them to editors of targeted publications. This can work very well as it saves Editors time and puts the outline right into their hands. As a past Editor I know how well this works. Editorกs love ideas, especially ideas that are completely outlined and correct for their readership. This means don’t send pet article ideas to cooking magazines. Send pet articles ideas to pet publications. Seems like a no brainer, huh? But youกd be amazed at what editors see that don’t apply to their own publication.

Fame comes from planning and persistence. It has itกs rejections, but if you can learn not to take it personally, it will eventually work. Remember, once you start, keep going. Once you stop, you have to start all over.

I hope this helps in your future marketing decisions.

About The Author

David Bell is Manager, Online Marketing, at http://www.wspromotion.com/ , a leading Search Engine Optimization services firm and Advertising Agency.

This article was posted on April 25

by David Bell

Media Training 101 The Secrets Of Writing A Goo

Media Training 101 The Secrets Of Writing A Good Press Release

by: Sandra Stammberger

Does the thought of trying to get publicity for your business seem like something that you can’t do yourself, and would have to hire a professional for? Do you think that writing a press release is totally outside your ability to do? Does the thought of talking to the media about your business make your mouth go dry and your stomach clench? If so, take heart, because you’re about to learn how you can take care of your own publicity, simply and easily.

Getting publicity for your business can seem like an impossible task something that only happens for กbigก companies that can afford to hire publicists.

The reality is, getting free publicity for your business isn’t that difficult. Welcome to กMedia Training 101 The Secrets of Writing a Good Press Releaseก. By the time you finish reading this article, youกll not only understand the basics, youกll know what goes into the process, and what you have to do to get started writing your own press release.

First of all, letกs go over some basic terminology you need to be familiar with.

Press Release: A statement with useful and relevant information that is written for distribution to the media.

Hook: The information or larger story that you can use to attach your press release to. Using the right กhookก in the right way can help you to get more publicity for your business.

Spin: Telling your story your way.

The good news about learning to write a Press Release is that there is an established format that you need to follow. And once youกve learned the basics, writing a press release is a kind of กcookie cutterก process. Here are some basic ideas to keep in mind:

Make your news กnewsworthyก. A press release is not a sales advertisement. A good press release answers all of the กWก questions (who, what, where, when and why), and sometimes กhow.ก Your purpose in writing it is twofold: to provide the media with useful and relevant information about your organization, product, service or event and to get your name out to your target market.

Begin with a strong headline. Your headline and first paragraph need to grab the reader’s attention. Without being flowery or overly dramatic, you have only the first few seconds to grab your reader’s attention and get them to read your story, and decide if it’s worth running. So don’t blow it by being vague or weak. The rest of your press release can give them the nittygritty details.

Tailor your story to your Primary audience – the media. Your secondary audience is your target market, but if the media doesn’t decide that your story is newsworthy and runs it, your potential customers will never know about it!

Pay attention to your writing. Sometimes, especially in rural areas and online, the media will run your press release in their publications with little or no modification, so make sure you’ve used your spelling and grammar check before sending it, and keep to the facts. Most of the time, journalists will use your press release as a stepping off place for a larger feature story, especially if you can show larger relevance to other current events. Always develop your story as you want to have it told – put YOUR spin on it. Even if your story is not reprinted verbatim, always remember what YOUR purpose is in writing it – to provide exposure for you, and to help brand you as an expert in your field.

Not everything is news. Just because you are excited that you made your first big sale, or started a new product line, or wrote your first article, doesn’t necessarily mean that the press are going to think you have a newsworthy story. From the time you start your first draft, keep your audience in mind. Who will find your story interesting? Why are they going to find it interesting? How is it relevant to something else that’s going on right now?

Identify a problem, and show how you’re solving it. Use real life examples about how your company or organization solved or is solving a problem. Give examples of how your service or product fulfills needs or satisfies desires. What benefits can be expected? Use real life examples to powerfully communicate the benefits of using your product or service.

Stick to the facts. Always. Tell. The. Truth. Avoid fluff, embellishments and exaggerations. It is part of a journalist’s job to be skeptical. If you want to use publicity effectively, then you’re not looking for a one night stand. You want to gain the trust of the media, establish your credibility, and build an ongoing relationship with your local media, so that you become a resource for them within your industry.

Find your ขhookข. Try to make your press release timely. Keep informed about what’s going on in your community, in your state, region, the country or the world. Is there a local, regional or national news story that somehow ties in to your industry or your business? If you can hook your press release to current events or social issues, you increase your chances of having it picked up. If not, then make sure your story is relevant to the needs, wants or problems of your community or target audience.

Use an active, not passive, voice. Use strong verbs that will bring your press release to life. If there is controversy, describe it. There is an old adage in the news business: ขIf it cries it flies, and if it bleeds, it leads.ข (Not very nice, but it’s often true.) So, while you may not be crying or bleeding, make what you’re writing about stand out. Use active verbs. Write ขpartneredข rather than กentered into a partnershipก or ขengagedข rather than ขinterestedข, etc. Writing in this manner will help guarantee that your press release will be read.

Use only enough words to tell your story. Avoid using unnecessary adjectives, flowery language, or redundant expressions such as กadded bonusก or กfirst time everก. Paint a strong, vivid picture in the minds of your audience by making each word count.

Use jargon sparingly. There are times that some jargon is required if your goal is to optimize your news release for online search engines, but whenever possible, speak plainly, using everyday language. Avoid words like กcapacity planning techniquesก and กextrapolateข.

Avoid hype. The exclamation point (!) is your enemy. You will destroy your credibility by using hype. If you must use an exclamation point, use one. Never do this!!!!!!!!!!

Get Permission. Most people and companies are very protective about their reputations. Be sure that you have written permission before including information or quotes from employees or affiliates of other companies or organizations. If there is a hint of a dispute in this area, chances are your press release will be tossed aside, and never used. And you will lose your credibility.

If you follow those simple rules, youกll be able to put together a newsworthy story that will help you achieve your goals of getting the word out about your business.

About The Author

Sandra Stammberger is the owner of Insider Scripts. At Insider Script’s programmers are working around the clock to develop affordable, powerful money making scripts that will help you drive traffic to your business. http://www.insiderscripts.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 26

by Sandra Stammberger

Best Approach For Free Advertisement

Best Approach For Free Advertisement

by: Emma Okafor

Best approach for free publicity.

Product/service publicity is the superhighway to business success everyone dreams. Then imagine having your product/service written on newspapers, trade publications, aired on radio and viewed on television absolutely for free!!! That’s going to skyrocket your profit target only if you know how to use the best method of getting free publicity.

The milliondollar question now is, what’s the best method for a free publicity? It is the PRESS or NEWS RELEASE. The knowledge about how it works is the key to your success. This knowledge depends entirely on how you understand the psychology of the editors and new directors that publish or air your press release. This article will show you how their psychology works and how best to manipulate them for your benefits.

Number one. These editors and news directors are very busy people. Don’t bother them with your trials and tribulations or your plans for the future. They are only interested in something new and profitable to their readers or viewers. So the rule here is to sell him first. Convince him that your business fills a need to his readers, viewers or listeners. Then your press release will be welcomed.

Number two. Editors and news directors move with the trend. They concern themselves more with current issues and events. So timing of your press release with current news events is an important factor. For example a story on job layoff and increased unemployment carried out on newspapers, on TV and radio should prompt you to get a publicity release out to all the media on help and opportunity offered by your product/service.

Another kind of timing to keep in mind is publication. For Articles you’d like to appear in the Sunday paper, you’ll generally have your release in at least nine days prior to the date of publication.

Number three. Media men appreciate polite gestures. When an editor uses your publicity release, always followup with a customized “thank you” note. Next time you send out your publicity release with others, his more likely to pick yours. If he doesn’t use your publicity release, never call him demanding to know why he didn’t use it or only gave you a mention. Do this once, that particular media will “round file” my further material received from you, unopened! If your first effort is not used, change the story, perhaps write it form a different angle and try again and again.

Number four. They appreciate a formal press release. Finally you need an actual publicity release that’s well written and expected to be used by the media. It must be typed, double spaced, and short (1/2 page total length). About an inch from the top of the paper, with an inch and half margin on the side of the paper; from the left hand margin, type in capital letters: PRESS RELEASE. Then, underline this word. Immediately following the colon, in small letters put the date. Note to put the date forward, at least one day after you intend to mail the release.

On the same line, but on the right hand side of the page, all in capital letters, FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: underline it, and immediately below type your name, your phone number and your address all in small letters.

Skip a couple of spaces, then in capital letterscentered between the margin type story headline, and underline it… skip a couple of spaces, and from the left margin, all in capital letters, type the words, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: from there on, it’s the news or publicity story itself.

Use these four basic psychologies of the media men and enjoy a free publication of your product/service always.

About The Author

Am Emma Okafor,an online market researcher and writer.

http://bizacumen.8k.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on November 22, 2002

by Emma Okafor

The Most Beneficial and Most UnderUsed Web Site P

The Most Beneficial and Most UnderUsed Web Site Promotion Tool

by: Richard Brunelle

Of all the methods of Web Site Promotion, the Press Release is by far the most beneficial tool available. It is also one of the least used tools. When thinking of Web Site Promotion, a web site owner or his delegate has to consider what method of promotion will bring the best results. But, a majority of these people fail to recognize the significance of the Press Release.

Press Releases are one of the few documents that can be submitted one time to one location, but be considered for publication in millions of other locations. Press Releases submitted to a quality News Distribution Service are routinely reviewed by a bunch of Journalists. Journalists from all forms of media consider use of Press Releases in their publication. It is probable that a Press Release of significance will get selected by numerous Journalists for inclusion in their publication or media as a Press Release, as well as used for a subsequent news feature. How many times has Google generated a Press Release that creates news features on television, radio, print publications, and all over the Internet? In case you aren’t sure the answer, every time.

Now, most of us will never write a Press Release of such significance as to reach all forms of media like a Google press release, but a simple Press Release from an unknown stands a pretty good chance of getting significant distribution. A Press Release published on the Internet, immediately upon publication generates attention to your business or web site. How? Most of the News Media select Press Releases for inclusion to their Internet news publications. Most of these News Media sites also are Free Content Providers to millions of other web sites by offering free news feed linkage from the News Media site. Not all of the sites using such feeds are going to select the specific feed that carries your Press Release. But, what if only one in ten do? You cannot pay for banner ads or search engine placement that will give you as much promotion in a single day.

Press Releases are one of the few documents that get published in other media that immediately attract attention to your business or web site. Newspapers, Newsletters, Magazines, and a large amount of company bulletin boards frequently pick up and publish Press Releases from News Distribution Services. If your Press Release is picked up for publication, the first day of its release will probably be the strongest in the print media. However, newsletters and magazines usually are not a daily or weekly publication. So it’s possible that two weeks or a month after its release, your Press Release will get another strong viewing.

Press Releases are one of the few documents that get published to numerous locations without much effort. One single Press Release, submitted to a quality News Distribution Service is considered for publication in millions of media publications, read by tens of million readers. So, even if only one of these publications picks up and publishes your Press Release . . . Do the math!

A Press Release is the best method of increasing Search Engine Ranking by linkage. Once a Press Release is published by any of the News Media, it is archived in a searchable database. This placement of your link into a high ranking, high traffic media site is priceless. Test this for yourself if you wish. Simply prepare and distribute a press release. Within two to five days, do a search for your web site. If your Press Release was accepted and published, you will find a number of links from the media that published your Press Release back to your web site. And, what if one of those media sites just happen to be Google or Time Magazine? We can wish and dream, can’t we?

What do you have to do to get your Press Release published? There are only two rules to successful Press Release distribution and publication. 1. WRITE WELL. And 2. SUBMIT IT WELL. There are no Editors that like poorly written anything. Poorly worded or full of grammatical errors gets one thing, the trash. And, regardless of many peoples opinion, the News Distribution Service utilized is very important. You can submit a press release about Jimmy Johnson getting caught eating boogers and subsequently getting promoted from the Mailroom to Building Maintenance, as long as you follow the proceeding rules.

To write a Press Release well, you have to understand the use of a Press Release. A press Release is not a Sales Brochure. A Press Release is not for telling stories about your weird Uncle Alfred. A press Release is to tell the world some newsworthy event has or will occur. And believe it or not, your web site or business probably has such newsworthy events happening all the time. Once you have ascertained that you have such an event to tell the world about, you have to write your article properly. Not only do most places you can submit your Press Release to require it be in a certain format, but they also expect it to read a certain way.

A Press Release should start strong with an informative title, followed by an equally strong first paragraph. The first paragraph should contain answers to Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Subsequent paragraphs should be used for interview quotes and or supportive content. Having done that, there is one more important element to a proper Press Release. There is no such thing as an anonymous Press Release. Press Releases contain all the specifics relative to the person making the Press Release. There are some Editors and Journalists that actually want to discuss the Press Release content, and your Press Release will not see the first glimpse of publication if they are unable to contact you.

This article has not prepared you for writing and distributing your Press Release properly. Doing so is not my intent. The sole intent of this article has been to raise your awareness regarding the value of Press Releases. I recommend that you consult a professional, read a book on the topic, or find a friend that works in Public Relations to help you for best promotion of your company or web site using Press Releases. But, if you are willing to put forth the effort, you will find the Press Release one of the strongest promotional tools available to you in any media.

About The Author

(C)2005Richard BrunelleAll Rights Reserved

This article may be reprinted freely in its entirety, including my reference box.

Richard Brunelle is CC&BW for datajam’s Internet at http://datajamsinternet.com. He has been providing technical support services, building web sites, and writing informative articles since 1996.

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 29

by Richard Brunelle

24 Killer Press Release Secrets

24 Killer Press Release Secrets

by: Larry Dotson

1. Your press release should sound like news, not an ad.

2. You should only send your press release to the media related to the topic of your press release.

3. Keep your press release one page in length.

4. Your header, contact information and release date should be at the top of your press release.

5. Use short sentences and double space your lines.

6. Your header and first few sentences should grab the readers attention.

7. You should tell a story and mention your business, product or service in the body of the press release.

8. Proofread your press release many times. Look for grammar and spelling mistakes.

9. Write a press release about the new products or services you’re offering on your web site.

10. Create a press release about the results of an online survey or poll you have completed.

11. Submit a press release about a trade show or seminar you’re hosting.

12. Write a press release about no cost chat room classes you are teaching.

13. Create a press release about your opening of a new web site.

14. Submit a press release about an online award your business or web site has won.

15. Write a press release about a free ezine you’re publishing.

16. Create a press release about online products or services you’re giving away.

17. Submit a press release about an online business association or club you’re starting.

18. Write a press release about a famous person thatกs endorsing your business.

19. Create a press release about a joint venture you are doing with another business.

20. Submit a press release about a new book or ebook you wrote.

21. Write a press release about an expert who is speaking in your chat room.

22. Create a press release about a fundraising event you’re doing at your web site.

23. Submit a press release about a new contest or sweepstakes you’re having at your site.

24. Write a press release about major sponsorships you’re doing online.

About The Author

Over 40,000 Free eBooks & Web Books when you visit: http://www.ldpublishing.com As a bonus, Bob Osgoodby publishes the free weekly "Your Business" Newsletter visit his web site to subscribe and place a FREE Ad! http://advmarketing.com/business

This article was posted on January 20, 2002

by Larry Dotson

Five Tests Every Press Release Must Pass

Five Tests Every Press Release Must Pass

by: George McKenzie

Youกve heard ‘themก say it, haven’t you?

By ‘themก I mean the experts. The teachers. Even some people from advertising & PR agencies.

Theyกll tell you thereกs only one way to do a press release กright.ก

Single page, double spaced, 12 point type.

Bull…

Iกve been working in radio and TV full time or part time since 1972, and that means Iกve seen thousands of press releases.

I never threw one away because it didn’t fit the กclassicก or กstandardก format you hear about so often.

A journalist especially a journalist working on deadline doesn’t care about that stuff…

There are, however, five things that *are* important, and if your press release doesn’t have them, it will probably wind up in the trash in seconds.

In my Instant Press Release Toolkit program at http://www.pressreleasetoolkit.com, I call them ‘the Five Tests Every Press Release Must Pass.ก

1) The Instant Eyeball Test

The person reading the release takes a quick glance at the overall appearance.

Does it have a catchy headline, or is the top of the page crowded with unnecessary information or big graphics (like PR agency/company logos)?

Is it readable? Does it look cramped, with block paragraphs that suck up most of the white space? Will the screener have to search through a lot of print on the page to figure out what’s newsworthy?

Is there any bold print emphasizing important points?

And maybe the biggest factor of all: can he/she figure out in five seconds or less what this release is about, and what action the writer would like the news operation to take in response?

Flunking the Instant Eyeball Test doesn’t mean the release will immediately drop into the trash can. But if your release is poorly formatted and visually unappealing, it’s definitely a strike against you.

2) The Headline Test

Even if you’ve just flunked the Instant Eyeball Test, you’ll probably still get a chance to redeem yourself by offering a great headline.

In my opinion, this is the most important part of the release.

Give the reader a catchy, attentiongrabbing, interest provoking headline, and the battle is half won.

For a quick primer on headlines that motivate journalists to กbite,ก see http://www.publicitypro.com/articles/headlinespublicity.htm

3) The Hot Button Test

The next question in the screener’s mind relates to the subject of the release. Actually, there are probably several questions running through the screener’s mind simultaneously:

* Is it information people need to know, or would like to know?

* How much of a potential audience is there for this information?

In other words, how newsworthy is it?

There are certain universal themes, story lines, and angles that make something newsworthy. I call them news กHot Buttons,ก and they’re the subject of a Special Report Iกve written, available free at http://www.publicitypro.com/hotbuttons.htm

4) The กMedium Matchingก Test

The first question you should ask yourself is กWho’s going to be reading this, and what do they need to know from me?ก

Very few people take the time to tailor a release to the medium they’re pitching, but those who do tend to be more successful.

The decisionmaker looks for opportunities that are characteristic of their medium.

TV news wants visuals of people doing something.

TV/radio talk or กmagazineก shows look for engaging guests to interview or topics to discuss at some length.

Newspapers and magazines look for depth.

5) The กPerspectiveก Test

กPerspectiveก answers the question กWhat is this news release *really* all about?ก

Sometimes it’s obviously written from the perspective of someone who wants to sell a product. They talk mainly about that product or their company, and they offer little or no กnews value.ก (see the กHot Button Testก for more on the meaning of กnews valueก)

Remember, a news release is supposed to be about news. It reads like an announcement or a newspaper article, not a promotional flyer or sales copy.

Sometimes a news release is written from the perspective of someone who wants to pat themselves on the back. It’s the kind of selfglorification that you see in annual reports.

These news releases come off as boastful and selfserving, and usually offer little of interest to journalists.

The best news releases are those written with the media’s audience in mind.

They say to the decisionmaker, กHere’s something you can offer your viewers that will keep them from reaching for the remote…ก or

กHereกs something you can give your listeners to keep their fingers away from the pushbuttons on their radio…ก or

กHereกs something that will compel your readers to look at the page long enough to notice the deodorant ad to the left of the column.ก

In other words, news organizations don’t want you to ‘touch that dialก and switch your attention elsewhere.

Give them information that keeps their audiences tuned in, and youกve got a winner.

News releases written from that perspective are the ones that get attention and coverage.

To see a linebyline critique of two press releases I think are excellent, go to http://www.publicitypro.com/pressrelease1.htm

Both these release announce product rollouts, and both pass the ก5 Critical Testsก with an A+ grade.

About The Author

George McKenzie

Award winning TV anchor George McKenzie offers a

free 7part email กPublicity Crash Course,ก which

shows you how to turn the mass media into your

personal publicity machine. Register now

at http://www.publicitypro.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 02

by George McKenzie