Marketing Success

15 Steps to Getting Your Press Release Read

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 15:12:00 GMT

15 Steps to Getting Your Press Release Read

Yes, there really is a science to press release writing!

I know, I know. It’s hard to believe. After all, you’re giving news outlets an opportunity for a great story right? They should be grateful, not picky.

But the truth is you aren’t the only one supplying fodder for their mill. So are hundreds, maybe thousands, of other people. So if you want yours to get the attention it deserves, you’ve got to speak the reporter’s language and follow the proper protocol.

In many ways, the proper etiquette for writing and submitting a press release is no different than the proper etiquette for fine dining or hosting a party. There are pretty clear “do’s” and “don’ts” and violating them can do more harm than good to your cause.

Where’s my proof? Years of experience writing press releases and RECEIVING them (as a former newspaper reporter).

What are those “do’s” and “don’ts?” Well, here are just a few.

1. Make sure the information is newsworthy, i.e. is something you would actually read about in a newspaper.

2. Make certain your story meets AT LEAST two of these 7 news values or, ideally, all of them.

· Timeliness – events that are immediate, recent

· Impact – events that are likely to affect many people

· Prominence – events involving well-known people or institutions

· Proximity – events geographically or emotionally close to the audience

· Conflict – events that reflect clashes between people, institutions or ideas

· The Unusual – events that deviate sharply from the expected

· Currency – events and situations being talked about right now

3. Find out which SPECIFIC reporter you should be contacting with your story idea. Call the paper, the TV station, the radio stations. Ask around. Read who writes all the best articles for the section you want to appear in or who does the broadcasts for your type of piece. Whatever you do, DO NOT send the release “To Whom It May Concern” because under that guise, it won’t concern anyone.

4. Structure your release like an inverted pyramid, with the most important information at the tope and the least important at the bottom. Reporters get hundreds if not thousands of press releases a day. They don’t have time to wind their way through 500 to 1000 words to get to the punch line—and more importantly, they won’t.

5. Make sure your headlines only include the facts. Don’t make promises or claims you can’t back up with hard data and don’t sensationalize. Headlines can be long, but they must be newsy not salesy.

6. Make sure the first 30 words of your release are effective and have impact. Remember you’re trying to make your story stand out among features like the local teenage hero, hard-hitting news about a fire that spread through a block of town homes, business stories like the guy who started what is now a $500 million company in his garage, and coverage on local politics.

7. Ask yourself, "How are people going to relate to this and will they be able to connect?" In other words, is anyone else really interested or is it just you?

8. Avoid hype and unsubstantiated claims - journalists get "pitched" everyday so stick to the facts. Even if you think most news coverage today isn’t nearly as objective, factual or relevant as it should be, the fact is reporters pride themselves on living up to these attributes (whether they actually do or not.) So you can’t submit something that doesn’t fit that mold and expect it to get printed.

And because it is impossible to overstate this point, let me say it another way…whatever you do, DO NOT USE the same style, tactics or strategies you use in your sales copy. Regardless of whether they’re right or wrong reporters read sales copy as “bullsh*t” so just don’t go there.

9. Be specific- don't rely on generalities to attract journalists' interest. Give concrete, detailed information with numbers, facts, quotes and figures explaining why the product or announcement is important. Remember the reporter has to justify covering your piece not only to him/herself but to his/her editor and to the readers. Give them the ammunition they need to justify covering your story.

10. Provide as much Contact information as possible: Individual to Contact, address, phone, fax, email, Web site address.

11. Make it as easy as possible for media representatives to do their jobs. Reporters LIVE on deadline. Make their jobs easy by doing as much of the fact gathering as possible and making yourself, or the appropriate contact person, as available as possible.

In fact, a good exercise is to look through your local paper or listen to the TV or radio and pick out a story that is most like the one you want the news outlet to cover on you. Then figure out what you have to do to provide just as much, if not more, information like that which was featured in the story you’re modeling. If it was good enough to make it onto page B-1 or on prime time, yours can be too—if you do the right modeling.

12. Do not annoy the reporters and editors by repeatedly sending your release out. If they feel pestered, that is often good enough reason not to cover your idea at all. Sending one follow-up reminder is enough.

13. Cultivate relationships with reporters. Choose the ones that are in the best position to help you and help them. I’m not talking bribes, but I am talking about:

· Giving them a heads up on great stories that have nothing to do with you,

· Reminding them that you’re willing to be an expert consultant for future articles, and

· Connecting them with the powerful people and resources they need to do their jobs well

The power of reciprocity is a formidable thing.

14. Follow the accepted format for submitting press releases. See the accompanying example for a model you can follow.

15. Include a short glossary of definitions at the very bottom if you’re using technical or trade terms whose meaning might not be immediately obvious to the reporter.

With these 15 tips to creating an effective press release fast, you’ll be well on your way to the coverage you deserve!

Until next time…taste the inspiration,

Lina Penalosa

The Write Solution

Phn: 757-271-6782

Fax: 757-299-8355

lina@thewritesolutionllc.com

www.copyofchampions.com

P.S. Receive your Copywriter’s Playbook Program absolutely free for 2 months by sending an e-mail to lina@thewritesolutionllc.com with the words Free Playbook in the subject line. When you do, you’ll receive a confirmation e-mail and:

ü Two months’ issues of the Copywriter’s Playbook 4-page newsletter including tips on:

o The 3 P’s of copywriting

o My personal 13-point checklist for writing EVERY piece of copy

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“I’ve used Lina on several occasions to create my own revenue-producing sales letters and couldn’t be happier. She takes care of all the grunt-work, works quickly, produces fantastic copy that sells my products and requires very little from me in the process. I can’t begin to imagine how much time and money her services have saved me!”

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Do You Repel Women...With Your Copywriting?

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:34:00 GMT

Do You Repel Women…With Your Copy?

Hint: If you’re writing to women the same way you write to men, the answer is YES!

You see, there’s a reason why books like “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus,” “He Said, She Said,” and “Sperm Are from Men, Eggs Are from Women: The Real Reason Men And Women Are Different” hold such universal appeal across all age groups, cultures and genders.

Why? Because they speak to the inherent biological, psychological and emotional differences between men and women—despite what certain feministas claim.

So What Makes Male And Female Consumers So Different And How Does That Affect Your Marketing Results?

Let’s start by discussing just a few of the most basic differences between men and women. Then we’ll see how these characteristics account for radically different purchasing behavior.

Me vs. We

Man’s Motto: “It’s every man for himself.”

Woman’s Motto: “All for one and one for all.”

What does this mean? Simply that a man’s mental scripts often read like, “I can do it myself. I’ll make my own way. I don’t need advice. I don’t expect people to help me. I mind my own business and so should the other guy.”

A woman, however, tends to have these scripts running through her head, “How can I contribute? How can I increase our bond? How can I achieve greater life balance? How will my decision affect the people around me? How can we succeed together?”

Now, I’m not saying one is right and the other wrong. In fact both are critical for a balancing of the proverbial scales. But what accounts for the difference? A difference in core values. Whereas men tend to place a high degree of value on independence, freedom, autonomy, and self-sufficiency, women place a higher degree of value on people, connections, community and camaraderie. That doesn’t mean each sex ONLY values those things, just that given a choice that’s where they’re priorities generally lie.

And before you get up in arms about how you as an individual are different or your mother, father, brother, sister, wife, uncle, etc. is different, let me just say the thing about generalities is they’re GENERALLY true.

Masters vs. Students

As Marti Barletta says in her book, “Marketing to Women: How to Increase Your Share of the World’s Largest Market,” men prefer to see themselves as masters of a situation, while women are more likely to see themselves as students.

This is why men are less likely to ask for directions, less likely to request assistance at the office, and less likely to admit they don’t know something. Why? Because in the male culture, it makes a man look weak, less-than and inferior to admit these things in the face of other men who are bound and determined to seek out and jump on any opportunity to prove THEIR superiority. It’s not malicious. It’s not bad. It just is.

Women, however, see themselves as students. They share, they discuss, they encourage, and they relate to one another. This is what their hard wiring is programmed to do just as men are programmed to rib their buddies and engage in comical displays of what I affectionately call “peacocking.”

Prioritize vs. Maximize

Let’s say you gave a man and a women each a list of 10 things to do. A man’s inclination is to prioritize the list and accomplish that which he feel is most important first, then work his way down to the least important last.

And generally speaking, if a man accomplishes 3 or 4 of the most important things, but doesn’t get to the rest, he’s still happy. Why? Because he accomplished what was most important.

Women on the other hand are maximizers. Instead of ranking their lists according to importance, they rank their lists according to how many things they can check off before the allotted time is up. For example, if a woman goes to the grocery store, she’ll often ask her husband, “Is there anything you need while I’m out?” A man, however, rarely dares to ask such a question. And if he does it’s usually because he’s been reprimanded for NOT doing it in the past.

Why the difference? For a woman, adding more tasks that she knows need to be done anyway makes the trip worthwhile. It justifies making the effort. It also appeals to her multi-tasking nature. Women call it being efficient. Men call it being complicated.

What’s The Moral Of This Marketing Story?

If you want women to pay attention to your message, you’ve got to write in a language they understand. Women don’t respond to single-focus ads and marketing based on competition, financial power, or one-upmanship.

Instead women respond to messages that reveal how a product or service will meet MULTIPLE needs, provides the PERFECT solution and incorporates values like teamwork, community, charitable contribution, family financial security, life balance and so on.

A woman doesn’t care how much horsepower a car has. She cares about crash-test safety and what that means to her children.

She doesn’t want to thumb her nose at the next door neighbor or her friends by making them jealous of her newest toy. She wants to be the glue that brings friends together by sharing her new toy.

She doesn’t want to shop at Target because it’s the cheapest place to buy laundry detergent. She wants to shop at Target because they donate 5% of their income to worthy causes and support environmental protection.

Winning with women means speaking to HER values, HER thoughts, HER feelings and HER needs. After all, with 80% of the country’s purchasing power in women’s hands…can you really afford not to?

Also check out: “Marketing to Women: How to Increase Your Share of the World’s Largest Market” by Marti Barletta for more insight and marketing examples.

Until next time…taste the inspiration,

Lina Penalosa

The Write Solution

Phn: 757-377-1244

Fax: 757-299-8355

lina@thewritesolutionllc.com

www.copyofchampions.com

P.S. Receive the Copywriter’s Playbook Program absolutely free for 3 months by going to www.mycopywritingplaybook.com. When you do, you’ll receive:

ü Three months’ issues of the Copywriter’s Playbook 4-page newsletter including tips on:

o How to improve your copywriting with Lina’s 17-point checklist

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ü Three LIVE 60-minute group coaching calls plus MP3 recordings with Copy Champ Lina Penalosa, where you can ask any and every copywriting question you can think of including the less obvious ones like:

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ü Three 60-minute Life Coach Interviews and MP3 recordings with select guest experts who will share their secrets on: