Press Releases

Press releases, also known as news releases, are brief documents that are used to communicate news (not advertising) to the media. Although a one-page news release is the most basic of publicity tools, it is also one of the most powerful documents that your company can possess - IF it is used correctly. Just one news release has the potential to receive publicity that reaches thousands of potential customers.

Your press releases will provide publicity that will:

• Increase your sales
• Increase traffic to your Web site
• Give you and your company recognition and credibility
• Increase your profits for a relatively low cost
• Save money

Press release distribution is an extremely cost-effective Internet marketing tool. It can build more credibility than any other Internet marketing technique because most readers are more likely to trust independent authorities such as reviewers, columnists, reporters or broadcasters than an over hyped advertising message. A well-written press release can dramatically expose your company to the masses, and greatly enhance the image of your business.

10.1 Writing an effective press release or news article

Although common practice in the corporate world, press releases are an example of an all too often overlooked potential for business growth, exposure, and traffic generation.

Press releases, done correctly, can garner the online business significant, low cost marketing via interest generated in writers and editors across the globe. These interests can develop into stories, features, or even a mere mention that can send traffic counters reeling, and sales through the roof.

Developing an effective press release is an art form all its own. The content must be creative, eye catching, and somehow moving to the reader. Though this sounds much like the creation of a successful marketing campaign, the idea here is to assemble a final release that communicates ideas and features in a manner that makes the copy of interest to the news-hungry.

One of the most important lessons that you need to learn is that writing media releases is all about developing a persuasive communication within the framework of a traditional news story format.

Editors will quickly trash media releases that make outlandish promotional promises -- "the best ever," "everyone wins," "one-of-a-kind," "changing humankind forever." Instead, you must think like a reporter. Media releases must follow journalistic style in order to be given any kind of consideration. How do you accomplish this task? Here are some tips:

Collate and organize your facts

Contrary to what most people think, a journalist actually spends the bulk of his time in collating information and facts. When everything is ready, it is not uncommon for journalists to finish writing the story in just half an hour.

How should we go about collating all the information and facts surrounding a particular event? A simple rule of thumb is to find answers to questions pertaining to the who, what, when, where, why or 5 Ws of the event. And we do not stop at just the absolute facts and figures. These must be presented in the right perspective relative to some industry norms, trends and statistics. You may have to undertake some researches by going through past industry and newspaper's reports.

Identify your story's angle

Now that you have collated all the relevant facts and figures, the next step is to identify the "angle" or headline of your story. A good story angle must have the following three attributes:

• It must be the most important fact in your story.
• It must be timely.
• It must be unique, newsworthy or contrary to industry norms

and trends.

This story angle must be presented in the first paragraph as well as the headline of your press release. Most newspapers employ an "inverted pyramid" format that presents the most important information in the opening paragraph, follows by other information that support or develop the key points raised in the first paragraph.

Create a catchy headline

By all means, keep your headline short and simple using less than ten words. It should convey the key point raised in your opening paragraph in a light-hearted manner that catches people's attention and imagination.

Write in third-person voice

Unlike an emailed newsletter that is written in a personal voice, a press release must be presented objectively from a third person point of view.

The reason is obvious. Every journalist has a duty to provide his readers with impartial facts and figures. He must not be seen as endorsing a company's products or services.

Some of the guidelines are listed below:

• Refrain from using any sales pitch in your press release.
• Remove "you", "I", "we" and "us" and replace them with "he" and "they".
• Provide references to any statistics, facts and figures raised in the press release.
• Refrain from expressing personal opinions, unless they are done in quotes.
• Draw conclusion from facts and statistics only - not general opinion.

Provide "quotes" from the newsmakers

As a newsmaker, put your most important message down into a quote. Reporters always use quotes from the newsmakers to add an authority voice to their reports. If your press release contains quotes that are important and relevant to the story, chances are high that they will be replicated in full in the published article.

Provide additional background information

You should end your press release with an appendix that provides brief background information on your company, newsmakers as well as who to contact for further information.

Identify your readers

Do you understand your consumers well? As marketers, it is important for you to recognize the profile and buying behavior of your consumers. Information such as their age groups, interests and preferred media would come in handy when you want to reach out to them effectively.

The key to an effective communication, whether verbal or written, lies in presenting your messages to interested audience or readers. Whenever possible, you should only send your press releases to those media whose readers' profile matches that of your target consumers.

You must send your press release to the right persons in order to increase the chance of having your story published. Look through the chosen newspapers and identify those reporters who cover events or activities that share the same theme as your products or services. You can identify the reporters by the articles' byline.

Prioritize Your Messages

Before you start writing a press release, you should list down all the relevant facts and details on a piece of paper. This is a good writing practice. It helps you organize your story better. I encourage every writer to make it a habit to do so.
How should we go about collating all the information and facts surrounding a particular event? A simple rule of thumb is to find answers to questions pertaining to who, what, when, where, why or 5 Ws of the event. And we do not stop at just the absolute facts and figures. These must be presented in the right perspective relative to some industry norms, trends and statistics. You may have to undertake some research by going through past industry and newspaper's reports.

The next step is to evaluate and prioritize the facts according to their relative importance in conveying your intended message to the media. The most important fact will form the basis for your story's angle.

Relate Message to Readers

What you want to say about your product or service may not be the same as what your readers want to know. What this means is that you and your readers may look at the same event from totally different perspectives.

To kindle your readers' interest, you must present your intended message from their perspective. If you have done a good job in understanding your readers, you should have no problem in empathizing with their view and interest.

Remember that practice makes perfect and the best way to learn how to write an effective press release is to observe how business news are reported in the business section of your newspapers.

Press Release Distribution

Press Releases should be distributed to various publications. Smaller companies should start local and small. Here are some distribution tips:

• Local and/or small media are most likely to be interested in your story and it's the perfect way to hone your release writing skills. Try local newspapers, trade journals, industry specific magazines, websites, radio shows, and television shows. Don't send your release to just anyone, or you could be accused of spamming.
• Always remember to get specific contact information for your press release. A release address to a particular person will receive a lot more attention than a general release sent to the media outlet.
• Familiarize yourself with the editor or reporter's work. Find out the method she prefers to receive press releases. Don't automatically send them by email...some will prefer mail or fax. Find out their deadlines.
• If you are sending your release by email, never send an attachment. Copy and paste your release into the body of the email. Never send a bulk email. Address emails individually
• For your local media, check the publication or their website for information on how to submit a release.  Do a search on popular search engines for websites in your industry that might just be interested in running your story. MediaPost (www.mediapost.com), which is an extensive directory for US media, may be a good place to submit press releases.
• Submit your site to a few online newswires and news websites. There are a number of sites that require payment. However, there are a few good free websites as well. Some of these are www.prweb.com, www.free-press-release.com, www.usanews.net and so on.
• If your budget permits, you may contact a good Press Release Agency. Such agencies distribute your press release to various industry specific websites and publications for a fee. However, care should be taken while selecting a PR agency. Some of these may just spam instead of targeting various sources.

10.3 When should you distribute Press Releases?

Press Releases should be distributed every time something newsworthy happens with your website or products. The key here is newsworthy. A press release may easily be considered spam if the reader feels that the content of the press release is not interesting.

Given below is a list of events when a Press Release can be distributed:

• The launch of your website
• When you add new services & products:
• When you arrange events like public speaking engagements, open houses, seminars, fairs and so on.
• If your company creates new partnerships
• When you run contests on your website
• If you are arranging fundraisers & donations
• If your company or product gets a major award or accomplishment.

Press Releases can be an effective tool for marketing your products. As discussed, you can hire professionals to create a valuable press release for your company. However, this would add to your costs but nevertheless, it definitely is worth it.

In the next chapter, we will discuss a very interesting form of marketing known as Viral Marketing. Viral Marketing is probably one of the cheapest forms of marketing, yet extremely effective.