I have seen so many press releases
out there that look something like this:
Press Release
There is a new website at http://www.iownawebsite.com/
We have all kinds of cool stuff. Come check us out.
Honestly, do you think any editor in
their right mind would be interested in this? Firstly, it doesn't promote
an event. A new website is not an event and is certainly not newsworthy
(unless you're Bill Gates).
A press release needs to be these things:
Newsworthy
No editor will print about your event
unless they think other people will be interested in it. There are certain
media that cater to new websites, most of them being web based. You should
certainly let these people know, but they probably won't require a press
release. The thing to remember is that what is newsworthy to one editor
may be totally bland to another. Find out who will be interested in your
story.
Timely
If it is about a past event, it's
probably not news unless it's something quite significant (election results,
disasters etc...)
Concise
Most editors don't have time to sit
around and read a novel about your event. Make it to the point. Put the
bottom line up front. The release should read like a good newspaper article.
That is, use the "inverted pyramid". The main meat of the story goes in
the first paragraph (who, what, when, where, why). The remaining details
go in the following paragraph in descending order of importance. A full
page is acceptable, but a release of just a couple short paragraphs will
be far more successful.
OK, so what does a good release look like?
You should probably go to the websites of some major companies that have
something to do with your topic and look at their press release archive.
Don't just look at one. Look at several. You will see some good examples
and bad. Compare them to the criteria you see above and ask yourself "if
I were a busy editor, would I print about this".
The following format will almost always
be acceptable (italics are for emphasis, don't italicize your entire
press release as you see here):
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Use this space to show who and
how
to be reached
_________________________________
Your Headline Here. Make it Catchy.
If it's
not, the editor won't read the
rest.
_________________________________
Lawton, OK - 7 September, 1997 --
Here is the text of your release. Remember to use the inverted pyramid.
Five W's here.
In the following paragraphs, place
other important information in descending order of importance. If it isn't
necessary to tell the story or relay critical information, don't put it
in. Be concise!
OK, now you know how to write a good
press release. So who do you send it to? Well, that's the tricky part.
It will take you a while to build a good database of release recipients.
You may want to use a press release
submission service (usually pretty expensive, but worth it if you don't
have the time to do it yourself and you have money to burn) or you may
want to do it yourself...
Identify media that will be interested
in your event. Send an email to someone there and ask who you should send
your release to. If you are courteous and professional, they will probably
point you in the right direction. Send your release to as many people as
possible, but don't waste your time sending it to people that won't be
interested.
Here are some resources that you will
find extremely helpful:
Web
Wire
A service that will post your press
release. The service is used by many newspapers and other media to find
story ideas. Your story may get picked up, but you are listed there with
many others...
AJR
Newslink
Contains links to just about every
media (newspapers, radio stations, TV) source that has a website. Follow
the links to the media you think will be interested in your release and
find out who to send it to. This is great for building your contact base.
Also contains some great articles and many other convenient resources.
Reporter's
Network
Among other things, contains a great
searchable database of reporters. Want to find a reporter interested in
silver widgets? Do a search here for "silver widgets" and a list of reporters
who have reported interest in this will pop up. Very cool.
Now, if you don't want to go develop a
list of your own, then you can get a list of over 6,000 national media
contacts for free when you purchase 1,001
Killer Internet Marketing Tactics.
You may also be asking yourself, "what
if I don't have an event to publicize?" To this I say: "make one!" Use
your ingenuity. Host an online event like a celebrity chat or forum. The
only limits here are your imagination.
Again, in 1,001
Killer Internet Marketing Tactics we show you how to generate publicity
events and even provide real world examples of how people with little or
no money generated millions of dollars in free publicity. This is
required reading if you are going to use the news media to help promote
your business.
Next --->
Home | The
Basics | Contests | E-
mail | Events and Press Releases | Linking
|
Awards | Content | Newsgroups
Further Study
For more great stuff, see the Internet
Marketing Library and the Internet
Marketing ProShop.
Copyright © 1999 Aesop Marketing
Corporation
All Rights Reserved. You may distribute
this report freely if left intact.
You can give it away or even include
it as part of a package you sell. Feel free to post it to your website
or BBS if you like. Just be sure to leave the contents intact (that is,
it must be distributed as the guerilla.exe
file with no changes or modifications). For this, you need ask no
permission from us, just do it.
However, You may not quote from
or distribute any individual part of this report without express permission
from Aesop Marketing Corporation (pubs@aesop.com).
|
