Category Archives: Public Relations Service

Press Releases ON-Line

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Use the media that offers wide reach, on-line releases


If you are a pr pro, or in the publicity industry, you need to make sure that you are using all the resources available.

This means print, broadcast and of course, on-line.

Writing releases for the mass media, such as the print industry, requires information for the editor to feel it is newsworthy. This we already know. One important point is to make the release fit that industry. Sometimes its revising one or two paragraphs to make the release more appropriate to that readership.

Now lets move to on-line.

While print releases can be two to several pages long, on-line releases should not exceed 800 words. Actually it should be closer to 650 words or less. Don’t go the opposite and write something only 400 words.

As much as readers on the net like short reads, we want to feel that the information has value and content and was beneficial to us.

Keep the on-line source as part of your media mix when distributing press releases.

Another critical secret in on-line releases is to embed, or provide links. This cannot be done with other media outlets like broadcast and print. Don’t go crazy with links on every sentence, and make sure these links are support for the release.

The next step is to distribute the releases. Use a service that you know can handle on-line distribution as well as traditional. Some of these companies are PRNewswire, Bacon’s, and Business Wire. Also, remember to add the releases to your own web site.

One more thing you need to make sure you are doing to get the most of a release. In your web site, create a navigation button titled newsroom, pressroom, or something similar. Place the releases, and/or stories published in that section. Now you have an additional on-line presence with your releases.

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Fiction or Non-Fiction

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What gets the attention of editors to publish your article

Everyone wants to read a good book. But what about an article that a reporter, or publisher or editor must put in their magazine, or other print media, do they prefer fiction or non-fiction.

It should go without saying, but the fiction stuff is what they really want. Sometimes publicity people, or pr writers get a little too close to the topic and want to make it more interesting so they add some non-fiction stuff to fluff up the story.

This is what gets you in trouble.

Fiction is what reporters want. Something that has a hook to it is not boring and yet has interest.

Ok, not every article you read is like that. And yes, a few boring articles enter this media.

I saw a pr article by Peter Turkington where he uses the 5 "w’s" to describe what you need in a good article. These are the who, what, where, when, why and how that we all learned in school and journalists classes. Peter goes on to say that the media looks for another "w". It is the Why should anyone care?

He explains that you need to make articles newsworthy. Well, we already know that. But I still feel as much as this is important, you also need to build relationships with the media. Because not everything you write, or read is full of newsworthy stuff. It just isn’t possible.

If you happen to have a unique product or your timing is good with the introduction of a product (such as security items since 911) you have a good chance to get some ink.

So as much as it is important to be newsworthy, it needs to be said that relationships with the media, and the timing of your story are also factors in getting something published.

You can expand on this further by knowing the publication, or the news media you are approaching. Know their readership and audience. Then make sure you have written the story for that audience and the editor/reporter to read.

These are some tips to getting in the news. Other ways exist, but for now consider these as a first start.

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Articles That Get Published

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Short or long, which is better for editors?


If you own a publicity firm, your clients are probably asking you to write articles that can be sent to the media, right?

And if you are a company, you’re probably asking your in-house pr person to do the same, or wondering why your publicity agency isn’t getting those articles published.

Well, this isn’t the only way to get noticed and published, but this suggestion is one method to consider. We call them "briefs".

These are short articles, usually less than 100 words. I share the same opinion as another company, called PR Ideas. He too writes that sending good short briefs can be excellent for editors who need fillers, or just short stories on different topics.

This can also position you or your company as experts in the field. Everyone is busy trying to jam long articles to reporters, publishers and editors. When in fact, they need short articles many times.

I like to think of doing these as a way to help the media people with their job and by showing them we offer a lot of valuable information.

On the other hand, don’t go wild sending dozens of these briefs every month. Especially to the same reporters. That will put you in a negative position with them. Timely briefs are good, but can be difficult for a publisher or reporter to consider if the timing is not right for them. I suggest doing timely briefs, and have a few that are not subject to an economic situation, or a trend or something that might become dated too soon.

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Working With The Press

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What to do to make it right with the media

Editorial is "priceless". That’s what we are told in the publicity industry.

But how do you get publicity for clients, or for yourself. You need to understand what the media want and what they don’t want.

Too many times, eager pr people are trying to sell their idea and forget to put in perspective what their job really is.

It is to make the reporter, publisher, or editor’s job easier by supplying compelling information about a product or service that their readers will enjoy (benefit from).

One of the things to do is attend your industry’s trade shows. If you can only afford to attend one, or two, select the ones that will make the most impact.

Then do your homework. Just like knowing the buyers of that industry, you should know the media. Know about each publication that interests you, making sure these are the right fit for your company.

Then put together a press kit. The kit should contain a fact sheet, a bio on key personnel, and several releases. If possible, include a company brochure or a product brochure. Don’t put a catalog in the kit. Too much sales information will only get your press kit tossed out!

Assemble information that can be worthwhile to a reporter. Such as industry trends, statistics on your product and how it compares to competitors, new technology, techniques and useful advice. Whenever possible attach a letter, or fact sheet from the CEO, or president of the company describing the outlook of your industry…not your company’s outlook, but the industry.

If you schedule it correctly, invite several press in your booth, or at designated room to hold a small press conference. Make sure you have something worthy to say, or it will haunt you forever.

Also, never assume the reporters know about you, or your industry. I don’t mean that you bring the level of conversation to a 3rd grade. But if the media is diverse in your market, give them some credit, but don’t make them feel foolish by using a lot of abbreviated terms that only you or the "in" people of the industry use.

Last point. The reporter you talk to today just might be that publisher or editor tomorrow at a major publication. So treat all the media with high respect and it will pay off.

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Building A Web Site For Publicity

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Publicity is everywhere

Companies large and small are building web sites that contain too much information, or create a nightmare to navigate.

I read an article about this problem titled "Analytics that Boost Web Revenue". The author of the article, Karen Vogel, uses an airport to illustrate how web sites are getting so large (depth in pages) that if an airport didn’t have signs and sections for you to enter, you would be lost.

I believe that if you are a company that offers a lot of information, such as a financial institution and want feel you need to have all the services explained. Or your company sells automotive aftermarket accessories and you put your entire catalog on the net.

That is ok, if you build the site so customers can navigate back easily, or are able to not "get them lost’.
Too often companies add links upon links to take you deeper, or to another site for support information. That’s how you will loose customers.

A web site is part of your publicity campaign. It is what people will think of your company. It’s that image building I spoke about many times before.

To keep a positive image when you are facing this problem with too much information, I suggest building a separate site, maybe three different sites that can link to each other.

This will keep specific information in one place, and provides you the ability to market your company in several markets through different web sites.

Remember, customers are looking for information, or something to buy, solve a problem. Don’t give them a reason to hate your company because you put everything inside the site.

Maybe it is giving customers a summary of the information, about the services or products you offer. Then give them the option to contact you for further information.

Customers like choices. Make this work for you and that will be the publicity reward– a positive name (brand) in the industry.

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Rich Media, Streaming Video and Podcasting

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Use these new media tools for publicity

The Internet is no longer that slow machine that uses dial-up. Ok, some people are still in that Dark Age, but broadband is quickly becoming the norm.

It wasn’t even a year ago that people were downloading movies and TV shows illegally from non-approved sites.

Today, TV stations are "asking" you to download some of the hottest TV shows just after they air…literally after it airs. Shows like Desperate Housewives and Lost are among the two hottest shows you can get directly from the stations and approved sites.

What this is telling you is that rich media, pod casting and even streaming video (which has been around but is now catching on) are in high demand.

If you use your new marketing tools correctly, you can have video releases, or releases with images sent via mail faster and easier than traditional methods.

Reporters and editors are still holding off on using this technology at its fullest. That doesn’t mean they will not change, it just will become too much for them to handle when this media is more of mainstream for their access. The reporters will need to learn how to sift through the releases, pitch stories and submitted articles to find what is really important to them.

An article today by Jim Meskauskas talks about the use of Rich Media being the only media. He has some good points, and does a short walk down memory lane of how we went from 9600 or 14,000-baud rate to the broadband industry.

Jim reinforces my belief that we are moving at such a fast pace that in order to keep up, we need to use the new tools available. And that includes blogging, RSS feeds and Pod casting. So hold onto your computers, it’s going to be a wild ride these next two years.

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What Makes a Good Press Release

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Writing a press release for the media

This same old problem still exists. No matter how many articles or blogs or books you read, people still forget the basics to writing a good press release for the media. The focus is the "media".

I’ve seen pr people say that there are 10 tips, some say there are 7 tips, publishers will write an entire book with lots of tips. So who’s right?

Everyone. What makes a good release is that you first make sure it has news value…newsworthy, to the reader.
If you feel this is what you have then you need to identify your media. Trade publications should be identified differently than consumer, or general media. You need to write the release differently, not just the opening statement.

Now, rather than give you 7 top points, which is how Joan Stewart describes her point of writing a release (and I am not commenting in a negative way, she has good points), I will give you the brief version.

Make the release accurate with all the information. This includes your contact information should the reporter or editor want to contact you for further information.

Keep the release short, not more than two pages. And keep the "sell" out of the release. This is to be an informative writing, not a sales letter or sell sheet.

Now you need to distribute the release. This can be done via email, traditional mail, and/or fax (if it is high priority and needs immediate attention). Keep in mind the reporter, or editor reading the release is a person who has a lot to read to decide if YOUR information is something of value to their readers.

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What To Write About

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Make the story interesting and meaningful

Publicity firms are always asked by their clients to "write something about our company that is great!"

To do this you need to make sure what you are going to write is going to have credible information to that publication’s readers. Just because you or your client feels the information is valid, think of whom you are going to pitch the story to. Go through a list of questions:
1- How important is this information to the readers of XYZ publication
2- Does this offer anything that can help or enhance a readers knowledge to improve their life, business, etc?
3- Am I only writing this to get people interested in the product or service? If so, re-think this and re-write it to be lees self-serving.
4- How timely is this information?

These are but a few points to consider when you need to "get the word out" for a client or if you are a company doing pr internally, then re-think your story or release.

The worst thing you can do is submitting non-informative information in the form of a press release or story to reporters, because the industry hears this type of communication. It can cause a negative effect on you, the company you work for and can cause future releases to be less considered when you get this type of reputation.

Make the words count, in more ways than in numbers. It is up to you to put aside the "sell" and write for the good of the potential readers of a publication.

That will position you higher on the list with reporters.

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Press Release Distribution

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Get your release to the media

Writing a press release that has newsworthy information is a task. Once accomplished in developing this newsworthy bit of information, you need to get the word out.

Not as simple as many thought. Yes, there are a lot of Internet companies claiming to send out releases for you. And yes, you can look up all the reporters and create a database of media yourself.

The cost needs to be evaluated in these different processes.

For example you can join organizations such as Business Wire (which was bought by Warren Buffet’s company about a month ago) and pay their yearly dues. On top of that it will cost anywhere from $300 to $800 to send out one press release.

Other companies like Mass Media Distribution will send your release to 100 newspapers for about 100 bucks. But these are limitations, restrictions; you need to read the tiny print and what you are getting.

Don’t misunderstand me, these are good places to get the news sent out, but that’s all they do. No follow-up, no help in getting you a possible article, or even get the release published as written.

Whatever path you take, it requires a lot of follow through, relationships with the media, and creating the releases/articles that are written to their audience.

The solution is to get professional help in getting that news into the hands of the media. And those pros will work to get articles, follow-up stories and do a lot more than just being a glorified mailing source. A good pro will develop a pr plan that will include press kits, event planning, interviews with the media, press conferences, distribute kits and attend many trade shows in your industry to arrange for reporters to meet with you, among many other services.

You will actually save money this way, which will be a better investment than trying to go the other routes.

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Press Kit on the Web

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Make Your Web Site Newsworthy

Many companies are posting their press releases inside their web site. Few are including a complete press kit for reporters to download.

Is this what you are doing? If not, maybe it’s time to re-think how you communicate with the press.

Technology has changed how we interact with the media. The positive to this, it becomes easier and faster to update your media information and to post a new release about the company.

Bill Stoller, a publisher, wrote an article about this topic. He points out that although the "printed" press kit has not died, it is important to put the material online for reporters to download. But where to put your link to this information is up to you. Some believe it is best to have a link visible on the main page; others will create an entire section within the site for all press media to view and download.

The choice is yours.

Mr. Stoller gives a few tips on the Do’s and Don’ts about letting the press know about your pressroom site.

One of the most important parts to the article is what you need to put into this newsroom. The obvious, which is the contact info, press releases, and executive bios/photos. But what companies neglect to add is the "search tool". The worst thing a reporter hates is getting lost inside your site, not knowing how to get back, or find what they were just reading.

For those who are proactive in getting a pressroom online, Mr. Stoller provided these web sites as examples of how to build your pressroom:

www.microsoft.com/presspass/default.asp
www.google.com/press/index.html
www.crayola.com/mediacenter/