Tag Archives: press releases

Trade Shows

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Use the shows for positive PR

A month ago we had several clients attend a Natural Products Expo. This show exhibits natural products, for food we eat, to cleaning solvents that are natural, to natural dog and cat food. Yes, even the animals get healthy stuff.

One of our clients was Prime Choice Foods. They produce Organic Snack Foods. The show was held at the Anaheim Convention Center and was in three of the major halls.

Trade shows are an excellent time to get positive publicity and meet the press one-on-one.

This being one of the major shows for my client, we created the booth graphics and carried that image into the brochures for the show to hand to buyers.

In addition, we created a press kit, with several press releases inside describing the new items the client was presenting at the show.

I was able to meet with a few of the media reporters and publishers. At these meetings I presented our clients products and the features they offer in comparison to what already exists.

Being prepared is important. You want to spend your time wisely and not make it a sales pitch but a fact finding for the reporters. Their time is limited and you need to understand that when arranging a meeting with them.

So the next time your client attends a trade show, get the press kit together, any published articles about your company, and samples (if possible) to give to the media. Make use of trade shows, it might be your only opportunity to meet-the-press.

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Important Points When Publishing Newsletters

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This is an excellent way to keep in touch with clients

Writing a newsletter is not an easy task and most companies try to do them monthly, only to quit after the first year.

The reason is that they try to write them at the last minute. That may bring timely information into your newsletter, but it eventually creates the reason to abandon the process.

Here are a few helpful hints about writing a newsletter.

1- Plan to keep a schedule
Decide if the newsletter will be monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly. Remember, whatever you choose, be sure to stay with that schedule. Being consistent builds a better reputation.
2- Write Information that relates to your industry
Having articles that are rich in content and speak about your industry will help to position your company as an expert in the field.
3- Be Timely
All the articles do not need to be current, but they should be timely. Even information that is a year old might relate to a "timely" event that can help your readers make better decisions. Keeping a handful of subjects and information on file for future newsletters can save you the frustration of having to do research the last minute for another newsletter.
4- Accurate Information
Don’t write something and then inflate the story to make it more interesting. Or add figures that are not correct to again show you know it all. That will only hurt your credibility.

When you have a regular newsletter schedule, and it is filled with rich content, it becomes something customers will look forward to and want to read.

This is another form of publicity. Unlike a press release that may or may not get published, your story, or release can be put into the newsletter. This gives you more control of letting customers know about positive things happening inside your company.

Get noticed by having a regular published newsletter. It keeps your company name in front of prospects and current customers.


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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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Interviews on Radio

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Radio is a good medium for publicity

Getting your message out can be done using a variety of media. Newspaper, magazines, TV and radio. And of course the Internet.

Whenever possible, try to get yourself, or a representative from your company have a radio interview. This is an excellent media. It is done live, and the questions asked by the Host can provide you the opportunity to explain more about a new service or product than someone reading about it in a press release.

These types of interviews can be done. It takes more than one or two letters or phone call to the radio station. You need to be pushy, without being a pest.

But before you start making those calls, the interview needs to be planned. What I mean is that the subject you want to discuss should be relevant to the listeners of that station. And that the subject is of interest to the station as well. Otherwise, you’re wasting everyone’s time, and building a poor reputation for your company with non-relevant topics, or issues.

Radio can enhance any publicity campaign. It should be used as a media to help ignite your campaign. Another important thing to consider.

If you want to get an interview on the radio, make sure that you have been sending publicity releases prior to them and other media. It helps to have published releases, or an article written about the company, or yourself (if you are promoting you) before you make those calls. This adds to the credibility and name recognition.

Last and just as important. If your story you want to tell on the radio isn’t of a timely manner, then be patient and make follow up calls. If you have a subject that is critical to the timing, make this known. Just remember, broadcast media is a timely industry. News happens immediately, so sometimes your interview may get pushed back a week due to current events. That’s why it is best to discuss a topic that isn’t as timely but has a lot to offer the listeners.

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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/
 

Get Materials Ready For PR

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I have been explaining about the need to have a campaign ready when you are going to "meet the press". This means you should have already prepared several press releases, a company newsletter, a media kit and a media list for your specific market.

When we discussed the media kit, too often companies feel it can be costly and only print about 50 kits (if even that many) thinking that only 20 or 25 reporters exist in their industry. The problem is that you will need more kits because reporters move around and many times you will be asked to send a second kit to a different reporter at that same publication.

So what’s the solution? How about creating an Online Media Kit! This doesn’t mean you completely ignore the tangible, printed press kits. It just reduces the amount of printed copies that you would have mailed out, and allows you to distribute the printed kits at trade shows, or press conferences.

An online media kit can be an excellent tool for reporters and other press to access information about your company. Plus, you can easily update the kit without the fear of "printing" too many.

I want to again point out that pitching a story takes time and careful planning. Don’t make yourself hidden to the media, but also keep in mind they do not like constant calls that have no substance either.
Choose three or four of the reporters from your list that you feel can benefit your company. Stay in touch with them to develop a good relationship. Don’t send them gifts; just provide honest and real information about what your company is doing.

How to get publicity ready for the media

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If you are following the publicity tips from yesterday, then you are ready to develop the press release, or story.

The headline you create for these should grab the attention of the editor, but not mislead them. Keep it short, to 12 words or less. Sometimes you might need to include a sub-head to help further make your point about the uniqueness of your product or service.

The format should also be easy to read. For example, if the release has urgency, put the words “for immediate release” on it. Have the contact information for the writer to call if he or she needs more information, at the top right side of the first page.

All body text should be double-spaced. Don’t type in all caps; this is annoying and difficult to read. Don’t use a lot of bold type either. Whenever possible have quotes from a senior level person of the company, or a third party who is endorsing the product.

It is best to have the release or story presented on company letterhead; this adds credibility to your presentation. For press releases, keep it to a maximum of two pages. Unless you are providing a chart or other visual aid. Articles and stories should be limited to 5 – 8 pages with support materials like photos, graphs, or charts. Always include any references to support your claims of the products uniqueness.

In all, keep the information you write factual, not sales copy. If you reviewed your media list, consider re-writing some of the body copy, or modifying the titles to fit the publication’s target audience. Send those re-written pieces to specific publications. For example, if your product has two market applications, the “consumer” editor will want to see something that is directed to their readers. Unlike a trade publication, they would want to see a product that not only fits a consumer demand, but shows retailers how it can increase sales.

Preparing your release or story like I mentioned will get you further into an editor’s or writer’s hand than someone who types a wordy letter and includes a “sales pitch style” release with dinner tickets to get their attention.

Now you’re ready to mail these out, right? Yes, go ahead. When a reporter calls and asks for additional information or a media kit what will you send them? You don’t know? You don’t have a press kit? For those who need to know what to say, and how to prepare a press kit, watch tomorrow’s article. I’ll explain that process.

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Free Publicity Takes Work

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Every business owner wants FREE publicity for their company, or for the new product that was in R & D for the past year. The reality is free publicity comes with a price, it’s called time. If you are willing to invest the time and effort it takes to gain favorable publicity, then keep reading.

So where do you start? You can spend a lot of money buying books on How To Get Publicity from places like AMAZON, or hire a PR consultant to teach you the tricks of getting in front of an editor. Whatever you choose, it requires a lot of time to learn these various methods. After getting all this education, you would then need to decide which road is best for your company.

An easier way is to just follow my collection of publicity tips. For the past twenty-five years I implemented pr campaigns and have met with many talented PR counselors to develop a simple process that you can use today.

To begin, you need to identify your market and make a media contact list of the publications, and news broadcast reporters who cover subjects that are related to your industry. Then determine if the newsworthy story is a local, regional or national. Be honest at this point, because if it is to be national, then prepare yourself for more time and effort to make this a success.

Your print media list should compile of daily newspapers, magazines, trade media publications, and association newsletters. Keep in mind that broadcast media (television and radio) will have varied lengths and formats, so be specific which ones you target for publicity.

Ok, now it’s time that you look at the story or release you want to present. Make sure it is not a waste of the editors’ time. Don’t make the story or press release sound like a sales pitch. And don’t provide PowerPoint presentations to them. Remember, the editors and writers have a job. It is to provide interesting and compelling stories to their readers. Do this test, have someone not in your company read your story. If that person doesn’t understand what you are saying, or is bored easily, then consider revising the story to be more interesting. Don’t get caught up on details of the product, or service. Talk about the benefits of what it will offer to the reader.

Before you mail, or send the story or press release go back and review the media list. This time check the publications editorial calendar. See if your story will fit into an upcoming feature in that publication. This will help get the attention of the editor faster than unrelated stories. If you do not see anything that will fit, then write a short cover letter that will briefly explain the enclosed story. Follow-up by phone a few days later is recommended. Only ask if they received your story, don’t try to pitch them on the phone.

These are some of the basics to help you get free publicity. Next time I will provide tips on presenting your story.

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