Press releases are news announcements, whether through online publications or through traditional media. You can use it as a promotions and advertising tool. To be effective however, you should write it in news format. Publications editors don’t like press releases that sound like an ad copy or business flyers. These editors want news and if your release is too skewed on advertising, expect it to land in the front pages of the trash can. The best press release writing is the seamless integration of hard news, human interest story, and advertising. Here are 3 tips to effective press release writing:

1. Be sure to have something news worthy to write. If you want to advertise your new online company through press release, don’t write purely about it. Write something unique about it like new methods, incredible earnings, and so on. For example, an editor will publish a release with this headline: New ABZ Company Discovers New Method to Earn Millions, rather than a luck luster item like: Introducing the New ABZ Company.

2. Create a slant to your press release. A news slant is the unique and very specific angle of your press release. Don’t write generalizations for this is not news worthy. What is news worthy and of human interest is the angle. In the first example, the angle is about new method of earning millions. If you’re a reader, you’ll definitely read the article.

3. Follow the traditional 4 W’s and 1 H format in writing a news report. Press releases are news items therefore you should follow the rule in news writing. You must also follow the inverted triangle format in listing important information. Your most important information should be at the top while those with lesser importance should be placed below. This is important because editors are constrained for publication space. They usually cut items below your head paragraph. If this happens, your lead information can be retained.

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 9034 articles in print and 14 published ebooks.

Article Source

Tags: pr, begin, press release, write, tips

Headline: “Fashion Mash Launches Clunky Outfit-Sharing Site”

What do you do when a review or an article about your company or product is not as awesome as you hoped it would be?

Here’s what I did:

1. I took a deep breath. PR is not something you can control, but how you react is under your control.

2. I read the review again & made a list to separate out the constructive criticisms from any misunderstandings.

3. Looking at the feedback, I thought, “How can I learn from this?” This person went to the effort to look at my site and took the time to write about it. I immediately thanked them for their time and I added the valid critiques to our Fashion Mash to do list.

4. Is there anything I can do about the misinformation or misunderstandings? Not directly. They allowed comments on the review, so I put in my two cents. And I started asking myself, “Is there a way to prevent this next time?”

5. That turned into a re-examination of my pitch/cold-call/interaction to see what can be improved to better explain my website, Fashionmash.com. Unfortunately, this is just part of learning the pitch process and only practice with good mentors is going to help with this.

6. I looked at the positives. Yes, negative PR does have positives. I learned more about pitching and about things we need to change at Fashion Mash. I still got a LOT of traffic to my site. And I can apply my new lessons to the other review and PR fish in the sea.

7. Now its time to figure out how to let go. After thinking about all that, I was still worked up. Excited about traffic and sad about the review. So I called a friend and wrote about it in my blog.

Article source

Tags: pr, strategy, review, public relations, tips

Did you ever wonder why your news release never resulted in an article or story in the media to which it was sent? Or did you ever wonder if the release was ever read? Do you know why some news releases always get tossed into the wastebasket? Your strategic thinking business coach shares the following tips for your news releases that will help get them on the news desk instead of in the news wastebasket.

Strategic Tip #1: Make your news release sound like news, not like an advertisement.

Strategic Tip #2: Send your news releases only to the media that are related to the topic of your news release.

Strategic Tip #3: Develop an attention-getting headline for your news release.

Strategic Tip #4: Strive to always keep your news releases to a single page.

Strategic Tip #5: Always place your header, contact information and release date at the top of your news release.

Strategic Tip #6: Use short sentences in your news release.

Strategic Tip #7: Double-space your lines in your news release.

Strategic Tip #8: Always carefully proofread your news release for spelling and grammar errors.

Strategic Tip #9: Write a news release about new products and/or services and their unique benefits.

Strategic Tip #10: Write a news release about the results of an online survey or poll you have conducted and highlight interesting trends or impacts.

Strategic Tip #11: Write a news release about an award you or your business has won.

Strategic Tip #12: Write a news release about a famous person or celebrity endorsement of your product or service.

Strategic Tip #13: Write a news release about a celebrity or well-known speaker you are hosting at an event.

Strategic Tip #14: Write a news release about a new book or newsletter you have authored.

Strategic Tip #15: write a news release about an appearance or speaking engagement you have before a well-known or recognized association, club, professional society, etc.

If you would like to learn how to have your news releases end up on the news desk and avoid having your news release thrown in the trash, increase the probability the releases will be read and used and how a strategic thinking business coach can facilitate and guide you in that endeavor, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his website.

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, “Glenn’s Guiding Lines – Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach” and has published more than 250 articles on business.

To find out more about the benefits & rewards of effectively working with a strategic thinking business coach, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his web site here

Article Source

Tags: public relations, strategy, pr, advice, tips

Love them or hate them, these ladies are major power-brokers of a gem that is more scarce and precious today than diamonds: Attention.

There are powerful self-promotion lessons to be learned from these ladies.
Here are 5 PR Power tips that you can apply to get your business and ideas the attention and name recognition that you deserve.

1. Let your personality shine through

Drop the grey, corporate speak already, let your own unique personality shine.
Share more about your own story. What personal challenges did you have to overcome to get where you are today? Are you a natural at what you do? When did you realize that you were going to make this your chosen career?

2. Share your problems and challenges

Jessica Simpson’s popularity soared when news of her crumbling marriage surfaced. We relate easily to others who are facing problems that we are struggling with ourselves.
So inspire your target audience to continue working to overcome their challenges, by sharing your own personal battles and triumphs.

3. Develop your own fans, who can share your story for you.

The average joe can give you a brief life overview of Paris, Madonna and Jessica in fifty words or less. Are you leveraging the experiences of your satisfied clients to tell your story?

When a client is pleased with your services, get more than a verbal thank-you.
Get them to send in a letter, preferably with a picture of them using your product, that you can use as a testimonial.

4. Move beyond the boring, traditional boundaries

Madonna has successfully reinvented herself decade after decade by taking calculated risks, by pushing the boundaries. Likewise, you can raise your profile by stepping outside your industry soap box. Support local charities with more than just a check, start up your own awards service, start a podcast. Remember no one ever talks about the plain vanilla.

5. Escape the perfection trap

Name any major talent that Paris Hilton has?

At best she’s an ok actress and a sub par cover singer, but she does not let that stop her from putting her work out there.

Stop waiting for your ideas, projects to be perfect, they’ll never be.
Do the best that you can to get your ideas out there and let your audience tell you what’s good enough.

As the level of advertising noise and daily distractions continues to rise, finding a way to get noticed in your marketplace is becoming harder and harder.

Free publicity is now even more valuable than paid advertising, as your audience becomes more time strapped, ad weary and cynical.

So what’s a hard working author, real estate agent, chiropractor or small business owner to do to get a share of the publicity goldmine- if they don’t have the family fortune to hire a publicist on a $10K monthly retainer?

Fortunately with the rise of web2.0 and user generated content, web 2.0 publicity is turning many mom and pops shops into local celebrities in their back yard.

The key is the ability to win the web2.0 publicity game. The lowest hanging goalpost in the web2.0 free publicity game is setting up an effective MySpace profile.

The best part is that MySpace is free to join and you can establish your own profile in a matter of five minutes or less, with a host of free tools that MySpace places at your fingertips.
See you on the inside.

Are You Missing Out On Your Share Of The MySpace Publicity Goldmine?

Get your FREE MySpace Makeover Audio at this site and raise your profile today!

Article Source

Tags: pr, tips, personality, challenges, story

A must for any successful business owner, that is often forgotten is the power of publicity. Publicity is much more valuable than advertising and, best of all, it is much cheaper than advertising (often free). This article offers you five top tips for unleashing the power of publicity, allowing you to exponentially grow your business.

• Become Newsworthy- The best way to get the media to notice you is to become newsworthy. You may think that you have the greatest products or services in the world, but that doesn’t mean that your product is newsworthy. To gain publicity, you need to find an angle to reel in the journalists. For example, journalists like feel good stories that are personal.

• Become and Active Community Member- Volunteer in the community, go to public forums and write letters to the editor, especially if these things can be in any way related to your business. This can help get your name in front of the media and your prospective customers. Groups such as Chambers of Commerce and Rotary Groups can e great community organisations to get involved in.

• Branding- Stick a sticker on your car, and wear company t-shirts. Make sure they have your company name and website.

• Don’t forget the internet- Many businesses, especially offline, have a website, but do not fully utilize their website. There are a variety of tools online that can be used freely or cheaply to boost your sales through publicity. You can optimize your site for organic results through search engines, and you can engage in one-to-one communication through blogs and forums. Forums can be a great way to make friends and business partners. It’s like business networking online.

• Offer Freely of Yourself- If you are confident in your product or service, offer free quotes and estimates, freely answer the phone and make yourself available. Offering of yourself freely allows you to develop closer business relationships with your customers and partner’s, whilst also making it easier for them to refer people to you as they see you give freely of yourself.

Hamish Jones is the author and owner of Best Business Deals an online hub for business owner’s and entrepreneurs.

If you need help unleashing the power of publicity in your business, check out their PR and Copywriting Services

Article Source

Tags: public relations, publicity, tips, community, newsworthy

Contact with journalists

First, it’s important to recognise that there are different types of contact with journalists:

* expected – they might contact you in response to a story or statement that you have issued

* unexpected – on the back of someone else’s story – they want your expert comment, information or an interview

* unexpected – on the back of a crisis, something that has gone wrong in your organisation – for example, consumers/customers have been put at risk by something your organisation has done, or failed to do etc – this may be expected or unexpected depending on the situation.

Expected calls from journalists – If a journalist contacts you in response to your news story then you should be prepared to speak to them – there should not be any excuse. It’s essential that you are prepared before any press information is issued – ensure that you are clear on the messages you want to get across, have accurate corporate information and facts and figures to hand. If the journalist asks you a question you don’t know the answer to then don’t worry. It’s quite reasonable to say that you will check and get back to them. Just because you have set the agenda don’t assume that speaking to a journalist will be easy. They will be looking for their own angle and may well speak to your competitors, before contacting you, to identify who might disagree with your views or actions.

Unexpected calls from journalists – You might feel on the back foot if you receive a telephone from a journalist out of the blue but the most important thing to remember is not to panic. Never feel pressured into giving answers off the cuff. It is much more useful to note down what they want and take some time to gather your thoughts before providing any information or comment. Your job is to get as much information as possible from the journalist to assess whether this is an opportunity you want to pursue. When a journalist calls remember to ask the following questions to get the information that will be useful for you:

* where are you calling from (publication/programme) etc?

* what are your contact details?

* why are you calling? What is the story and where did you get the story? This gives you a start in being able to research the story to see if there is an angle for you and your organisation. If it’s from a press release then ask to see it

* what are you after – information, comment, interview? Check out logistics for interview requests – live or recorded, whether it will be one-to-one, part of a panel debate etc

* what are your specific questions?

* who else have you/will you be speaking to/interviewing? This is useful to know so you can work out the angle the journalist might be taking

* what is your deadline? The journalist may well answer with ‘as soon as possible’ but push them to be specific

* it’s also useful to note down the time and date of the call.

It’s quite reasonable to note down this information and then agree to phone the journalist back. This gives you some useful breathing space to think about your response and to consider what you and your organisation will get out of an interview.

Treat the conversation as an interview – Whether the conversation with the journalist is to provide additional background information, or an interview recorded over the phone line, you should treat them both as interviews. The preparation is the same whether you expected the call from the journalist or not:

* think about the key messages you want to get across in the interview/discussion

* think about how you can support your key points with examples and anecdotes, research etc

* ensure that you are clear on the audience and think about the most appropriate language to use.

If you are commenting on the back of someone else’s story then you may need to do a bit of further research to check facts and figures, and read up around the subject etc. Once you have gathered all your information and prepared your messages you should contact the journalist. It’s worth making colleagues aware you are doing this to avoid interruption – so you can focus on the conversation.

Unexpected calls fro journalists when something has gone wrong – If you have a robust crisis handling process in place then you will have materials, including a holding statement, in readiness should any calls come through from the press and media. If you have identified a risk area and have been informed of a possible crisis then it is essential to put the time into planning and to ensure that your communication is all in line. For crisis handling it is advisable to seek professional PR support – how you handle a crisis is just as important as the crisis itself.

It’s worth remembering, however, that when speaking to journalists there are two particular phrases you should probably avoid using:

* ‘no comment’ – this is the worst possible thing to say to a journalist as it suggests that you are guilty or have something to hide – that could damage your reputation rather than protect it

* ‘off the record’ – this is often misunderstood so is best avoided. While the journalist may not name you they can indicate your gender, the organization you work, your department, job title etc.

Getting your message across via the press and media is hugely valuable. Knowing how to prepare yourself helps to put you in control and gives confidence in handling their queries. While not every conversation or interview with a journalist may go as planned doing your preparation puts you in a strong position.

Using PR to build your profile and protect your reputation can help you influence the audiences that are important to you – I invite you to access more free articles, tips and information on this, and other subjects related to public relations, by visiting: here

Debbie Leven – Profile Matters Ltd PR Consultants UK

Article Source

Tag: media relations, advertising, agency, tips, journalists

Too many people in business today are not media savvy and continue to make one mistake after the other in their dealings with the media. It is important for business people to become more media savvy and less media ignorant. There needs to be a commitment made to learn more about working with the media in a positive way.

Based upon more than 35 years of experience in working with the media, your strategic thinking business coach created a list of ten (10) tips on what to avoid doing when you work with the media in order to foster more positive media relations. Here is the list of actions to avoid:

1. DON’T send your media release to every possible media you can think of.

2. DON’T try to use publicity as a substitute for advertising.

3. DON’T demand editorial space in return for placing advertisements.

4. DON’T even think of asking a journalist to review his or her story before it is published so you can approve it.

5. DON’T ask or expect journalists to let you know when an article or story will run.

6. DON’T make it difficult for journalists to get information about you and/or your company.

7. DON’T have a policy to only speak to or seek out the media when there is good news.

8. DON’T expect to build relationships with the media over lunch.

9. DON’T annoy the media by calling and asking them if they received your release and are they going to run it?

10. DON’T ask journalists to send you a copy of their story or article after it is printed.

Your strategic thinking business coach encourages you to use strategic thinking to plan for your media relations also. If you would like to learn more about how to and how not to work with the media, please contact Glenn Ebersole today through his website here

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, “Glenn’s Guiding Lines – Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach” and has published more than 250 articles on business.

Source

Tags: public relations, tips, work, media, press

One of the most powerful ways to bring traffic into a website and build links is to use press releases.

If you’re using online methods to distribute your press release, you’ll find that every time you submit on, it will bring in both traffic and links.

Even if your press release doesn’t generate any interest from reporters, it will still help your website.

A great press release can completely change your business and bring in a flood of traffic, links, and even get you on CNBC or Oprah.

Even when given all the benefits of press releases, however, most people will never use them.

They have a list of excuses that include: I don’t have anything newsworthy; My business is different; I don’t know how to write a press release; and this one really befuddles me – because someone might actually call them and want to interview them – they’d have to *gasp* actually talk about their business to someone.

Of course, they’re just that – excuses. Coming up with something newsworthy is relatively easy. Any business can benefit from the use of press releases, they’re even relatively easy to write. For those who are afraid you might actually have to talk to someone, though, I’m not sure what to tell you – a lot of times, no reporters will call, but they might.

Here’s a few tips for successful press releases.

1) Headlines Are Vital

Just like a great headline can make or break a salesletter, the headline of your press release can make or break it. If your headline doesn’t grab someone’s attention, then it doesn’t matter how great the rest of your press release is because nobody’s going to read it. If you need help coming up with headlines, just go to your library and look at the headlines of magazines and newspapers. You’ll find plenty of great headlines within their pages.

2) Not An Advertisement

Remember that your press release is not an advertisement. While you can certainly use them to promote a new product or service in your business, the actual press release should read like it’s being written by a neutral third party. Think of yourself as the reporter writing the story about the product, why it was created, and a little history. Don’t hype up the product, just give them the facts.

3) Quotes

Have you ever noticed how just about every article you read in a newspaper has a quote from one person or multiple people? That’s because quotes make your stories more interesting. Always include a quote from someone in your press release, even if the only person you can quote is yourself.

So next time you’re looking for to get more traffic or links to your website, give the press release a try.

Gary Ruplinger is search engine optimization expert at UltimateTrafficBlueprint.com. Learn more about using press releases and learn how you can hire Gary to do all your link building for you.

Article Source

Tags: website, traffict, press release, tips, build

The U.S. economy can’t seem to make up its mind. Stocks are up in recent years, but many businesses are struggling.

In “A Tale of Two Cities,” Charles Dickens wrote: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” A wobbly economy can be a problem for your business. Or, it can be an opportunity to gain new clients and boost revenue — if you implement the grassroots PR strategies that work best in tough times.

Here are time-tested public relations strategies that companies can use to maintain their sales.

1. Educate your customers. A well-educated customer is your best friend. Call customers and suggest ideas they can use. If they go ahead with your ideas, they will ask you to implement them. Also, make sure clients or customers are aware of your full line of products or services. Often companies are shocked when they survey customers and learn that customers are unaware of the full menu of services offered. That leads to the next tip.

2. Survey your customers. A simple survey costs very little, and can identify unmet needs. You can ask questions about customers’ satisfaction with your services. Ask whether they are aware of your full spectrum of products and services. Also ask, “What services do you need that we are not currently providing?” Evaluate the responses, and if you are able to meet these unmet needs, you’ve just earned new business!

3. Weigh your advertising decisions carefully, and consider the competitive advantage of advertising in a down economy. According to The Wall Street Journal, companies that advertise in a downturn reap the rewards, because there is less clutter from your timid competitors. And when business ramps back up, your brand is still strong, while your competition has to spend extra to rebuild their market presence. Be smart, be conservative, but be consistent!

4. Revisit inactive accounts and old sales leads. Get in touch with past clients or customers. This lets them know you are interested in working with them again. You may be surprised how often these simple phone calls spur action on the part of a former customer.

As you can see, tough times call for targeted efforts and a “back to basics” marketing and public relations strategy. The best news is that creativity and innovation are your competitive edge, and great ideas are absolutely free, in good times or bad!

Steve Cebalt of Bottom Line Public Relations is Founder of the Social Marketing Leadership Roundtable in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He specializes in marketing, advertising and public relations issues of interest to nonprofit communications professionals, on this site.

Copyright Steve Cebalt 2007 May be used with author acknowledgement

Article source.

Tags: pr, tips, economy, public affairs, survive

Most business owners fail to see the benefit of using press releases as a way to get their online or offline businesses known. Because of this very fact those who do use them will drive a lot of new business to their online or offline business if done properly.

If you think that your business is not newsworthy, think again. Go to Google news or any news related website and you will find many well-written, business related, press releases.

A press release is simply unknown news. It doesn’t have to be breaking news. It only needs to be newsworthy. If you have a product or service that no one knows about then you have newsworthy, press release material.

Here’s what happens when you submit a press release. Your press release is submitted to news sites, big and small. The news site will look at your press release and decide whether or not your press release is newsworthy or not. Most of the smaller sites will pick it up if it is properly written and easy to understand. The big guys such as CNN will look for unique information. Sites like Google and Yahoo is where an online business can do well because they are more apt to pick up a well-written release that is Internet or even better, it is search engine related.

The thing that you have to understand is that a press release is not an advertisement. It is a factual, narrative, newsworthy story and must be written that way. When you write a press release, you must write it in a third person fashion as if a reporter was interviewing you and the reporter is reporting your news to the world. In other words, when you write a press release, you are the reporter as well as the business owner who is being interviewed.

Writing a press release can be a daunting task because most of us are not used to writing in this way. However, once you have done a few of these it becomes much easier to do. As with anything that we do in life, the more we do it, the better we become at it.

If you have a new or existing business that you want to expose to the world there is no better way of doing it than through a well-written press release. If one of the big boys, such as Google, Yahoo, or even CNN picks it up, expect to get clobbered with more business than you can handle which is a nice problem to have.

If you feel that you are incapable of doing a press release yourself, you can always hire someone to do it for you. There are many services that will write it for a fee. Run a Google search for press release services. You will find a list of many who will perform this service for you.

Most press release sites have a free submission service as well as a paid service. While you can submit using the free version of the service, and you should for the most part, especially if you are just starting out however, you should use the paid submission service because of the extra benefits that it brings. With a paid submission, your press release will go out within a day or two and will be submitted to more news sites. I suggest that you do a paid submission quarterly and use the free service the rest of the time. Pay submissions are pretty inexpensive. Prweb is one of the largest on the web charges $40. Paying $40 every three months won’t break anyone considering the extra advantages that it can bring to your business.

You should try and write the press release yourself because hiring someone to do it for you can be quite expensive and unnecessary because with practice anyone can write a good press release himself or herself. Check out Prweb and run a search for your type of business and read through the press releases there to get a better idea of how a press release should be written, and what it should look like. You can find Prweb here. http://prweb.com

One last thing that you should know about submitting press releases, most business owners will only submit a press release quarterly at most, while many others will do it just once and not do it again. If you want to get ahead and stay ahead of the competition in the business field that you are in, you should submit a new press release monthly using the free submission services and pay for it every three months.

You will be amazed how much better your business will do by using press releases because of the free publicity that it will bring to your business. Write a new press release often and watch your business grow a lot faster.

Brian Queenan is the owner of an Internet Marketing website that teaches new as well as seasoned Internet marketers to market successfully on the web for free, check this site.

Article source.

Tags: pr, tips, news, news release, digitize

In baseball, it’s said that you know an umpire is top-notch when you never notice his presence. If he’s doing his job, he won’t call attention to himself in any way. It’s much the same for the writer of a press release. When the recipient of a release focuses only on its content — and not on its creation — the writer has succeeded. With that in mind, here’s The 10 Commandments of Press Releases:

1. Thou Shalt Be Professional. No goofy fonts, rainbow paper or silly gimmicks. Even lighthearted press releases represent a communication between one professional and another.

2. Thou Shalt Not Be Promotional. If you can’t get enough objective distance from your company to write a press release that’s not filled with hype and puffery, hire someone to write it for you.

3. Thou Shalt Not Be Boring. Even the driest subject matter allows for some sparks of creativity. Journalists like knowing that there’s a human being communicating with them, not some corporate robot.

4. Thou Shalt Be Brief. Learn to cut out extraneous words. Keep your sentences short. Include only the points necessary to sell the story. The well-crafted one page press release is a thing of beauty.

5. Thou Shalt Know Thy Recipient. A features or lifestyle editor is a very different creature from a city desk editor. If you’re promoting the opening of a new winery, the food and wine editor may be interested in all the details about what kind of aging process and wine press you’re using. The city desk editor just wants to know when the grand opening is and what’s going to happen there.

6. Thou Shalt Use The Proper Tense. When writing a hard news release — a contract signing, a stock split, a major announcement, etc.) use the past tense (Acme Industries has changed its name to AcmeCo, the company announced today…) When writing a soft news release — a trend story, a personal profile, etc. — use the present tense (Jane Smith is one of the best marathon runners over 40. She’s also blind. Thanks to new technology from AcmeCo, Jane is able to…).

7. Thou Shalt Think Visually. A press release is more than words — it’s a visual document that will first be assessed by how it looks.

I’m referring to more than font size or letterhead. I’m talking about the actual layout of the words. Whether received by mail, fax or e-mail, a journalist — often unconsciously — will make decisions about whether to read the release based on how the release is laid out. Big blocks of text and long paragraphs are daunting and uninviting. Short paragraphs and sentences make for a much more visually inviting look.

When writing a non-hard news release, I often use a simple formula — the lead paragraph should be one or two sentences at most. The next paragraph should be very, very short.

Like this.

8. Thou Shalt Tell A Story. How to arrange the facts of a hard news release is pretty much cut and dried. The old “who, what, when, where and how” lead and “inverted pyramid” concepts still hold. (Rather than engage you in a course in basic newswriting, I’ll direct you to a really good discussion of what the inverted pyramid is.

So let’s focus on a soft news release. The trend story, the feel- good company story, the “gee-whiz, I didn’t know anyone was doing that!” release. The difference between these releases and the hard news release is simply a mirror of the difference between a feature story in, say, the entertainment section of your newspaper and the breaking news report on page one. The hard news story is about cold, hard facts (A mudslide closed portions of Interstate 70 last night, causing massive delays). A feature article about the guy who spends all day looking at seismograph readouts trying to predict where the next mudslide will occur will be very different. It’s likely to be in present tense, it won’t load all the facts upfront and it will be designed to draw the reader deep into the text. It is, in short, all about storytelling.

Here’s the formula I use for these kinds of releases. I call it the 3S approach — Situation/Surprise/Support.

The first paragraph sets up the situation. The second paragraph reveals the surprise. The third paragraph supports the claim made in the second paragraph.

One very typical 3S is discussing a common problem in the first paragraph (For centuries, people have accepted memory loss as an inevitable result of aging.) The “surprise” paragraph announces the solution to the problem (But one local man says he’s ready to prove the medical establishment wrong.) The “support” paragraph then tells the story. (John Smith, an Anytown entrepreneur, says he’s found the key to retaining a strong memory function far into old age. His “Memory Maker” software is based on ancient Chinese texts that were used more than 2000 years ago to…)

Another 3S — let’s revisit our mudslide watching friend. How would you start his story using this method?

While John Smith’s colleagues at the National Atmospheric Center are watching the skies for signs of lightning and tornadoes, his attention is focused elsewhere.

John Smith is listening to the mud.

As the Chief Mudslide Analyst at the NAC, Smith spends his days glued to a seismograph, eyes and ears peeled for the telltale signs on an impending slide.

Along with the 3S in action, I also followed the 7th Commandment. That really short second paragraph is a visual grabber, and will keep the journalist reading right into the meat of the release.

9. Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness. This may seem an obvious point, but it always bears repeating.

Tell the truth.

Don’t inflate, don’t confabulate, don’t exaggerate. Don’t twist facts, don’t make up numbers, don’t make unsubstantiated claims. Any decent journalist will be able to see right through this. If you’re lucky, you’re release will just get tossed out. If you’re unlucky, you’ll be exposed.

It’s a chance not at all worth taking. Make sure every release you write is honest and on the level.

10. Thou Shalt Know Thy Limitations. Not everyone can write a press release. A good feature release, in particular, isn’t an easy thing to craft. If you just don’t feel like you have the chops to get the job done, hire a professional.

One last tip: right before you start writing your release, spend an hour or two reading your daily paper, paying special attention to stories similar in feel to yours. Immerse yourself in how the pros do it and you’ll be in the right frame of mind to tackle the job!

Bill Stoller, the “Publicity Insider”, has spent two decades as one of America’s top publicists. Now, through his website, eZine and subscription newsletter, Free Publicity: The Newsletter for PR-Hungry Businesses, he’s sharing — for the very first time — his secrets of scoring big publicity. For free articles, killer publicity tips and much, much more, visit Bill’s exclusive new site.

Article source

Tags: commandments, tips, public relations, write, press release

Writing a press release is not a very simple task if you do not understand the basic frame work of writing a press release. A press release needs to be written properly, the selection of words needs to be good; it has to be concise and informative. While writing a press release it is important that you remember your target market and its nature. The way you write your press release will be affected by the profile of your target market segment.

The press release is good only if it has the information it is supposed to convey to the reader. It can be considered to be well written only if it has the desired information stated clearly. The content needs to be rich and it also needs to be carefully worded. A press release does not need to have very complex sentences. It needs to be simple enough to be read and understood by the general public.

Many companies prepare lots of press releases. The trick they use is that they prepare many slightly different versions of the same press releases. This is something really good as now the same press release can be sent to different smaller segment of the target audience. Not every one can write a good and effective press release. If you need any help in this regard you can browse through the internet. Many websites will be able to give you a clear guide line about how a press release should be written. You can also hire a professional press release writer to do this job for you

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to generating massive traffic ‘Triple Your Traffic Fast’

Download it free here: Triple Your Traffic Fast

Download a free article marketing guide here: Secrets of Article Writing

Do you want to learn how to build a massive list fast? Click here: Email List Building

Raymond Nesa is an experienced web marketer specializing in article marketing, traffic generation, and list building.

Article Source

Tags: press, write, press release, strategy, tips

Title — Waterloo Non-Profit Ditches In-House Survey Software Development — (something different that reflects a major trend is more likely to be picked up. does it include a customer+1 point include a major company who is a customer +5 points)

Tagline — Non-profits are saving time and money by avoiding in-house survey software cycles and implementing pre-built survey and forms systems like CHECKBOX® from Prezza Technologies — (a compelling statement that will make your readers and hopefully press get excited about your news.

Location and date — Cambridge, MA (Cambridge) May 18, 2007 -

First paragraph — Prezza Technologies, the software developers responsible for creating the CHECKBOX® survey software and feedback system, are proud to announce their support in the form of discounted pricing for non-profit institutions such as the Family and Children’s Services of the Waterloo Region. In addition to providing a pre-packaged survey software package that requires… (this should explain everything without requiring readers to go on. Many business executives and journalists are in a rush, so make this compelling).

Further details — Unlike lower-end competitors such as SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang, Prezza’s CHECKBOX® is a powerful web-based system that allows multiple users to design, share, and analyze dynamic surveys and forms….

Customer Quote1

It has proved to be a very valuable tool in our large non-profit agency. The software has an excellent interface, is very simple to use, reliable and was easy to install. The more I use the software the more I like it and am glad we purchased it.

Feature list –

Standout features of the CHECKBOX software include:

• Email triggers

• Advanced branching

• Blah

Company spokesman quote — We are proud to be helping non-profits as well as large institutions …etc

Related information – Mention Other non-profits, mention specific feature usage, mention # of customers, etc. bonus points if you quote research (according to a recent survey 66% of people think XYZ is true.

Brian Henderson oversees internal and external marketing for Prezza Technologies. Prior to joining Prezza Technologies, Brian has held senior-level marketing positions in successful New England-based companies, including Perseus Development Corporation, Equallogic Corporation, and EMC Corporation.

Brian received his degree in marketing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management.

Survey Software from Prezza Technologies

Article Source

Public relations or PR is a very cost effective way to build your brand.

My definition of PR is building goodwill with strategic stakeholders through effective communication.

So in a practical sense how can you build your brand using PR. Here are the first seven of 21 tips.

1. Tie-in with news events of the day

A publicly listed Perth company and client of mine, Cell Aquaculture Limited made a recent announcement that “land-based fish farming is the only solution to stopping the world’s wild caught fish stocks collapsing”.

They received good media coverage when they commented on a report where “marine scientists have warned there will be no more commercial fishing in 40 years if the present levels of fishing continue around the world.”

Cell’s message was that land-based fish farming is the only solution.

This is a good example of leveraging off a big global news story. The new study on fish stocks, conducted by Canadian researchers and reported in the journal Science, concluded that stocks of all of commercially caught species will collapse to less than 10 per cent of the maximum catches recorded.

2. Tie-in with a newspaper or other media outlet on a mutual project

Do a joint venture. You have the content and the media outlet has the distribution channels.

This strategy worked well as a young manager at the ABC when we did a joint colour supplement in a major rural newspaper when we launched our new brands for all our regional radio stations.

3. Conduct a poll or survey

The outcomes of research are very newsworthy because they are new.

Polls, especially on the Internet are very easy to do.

4.Issue a report or white paper

This is a great way to generate good PR. White papers are now becoming a very effective lead generation, positioning and business growth tool.

5. Arrange an interview with a celebrity

Here’s another example with a client called Aurenda who are Independent worker injury risk managers. They held a function with former International cricketer Rod Hogg

Click here to listen to the interview with Rod Hogg…

6. Take part in a controversy

You have to pick your issues and I suggest you seek professional advice if going down this track.

7. Arrange for a testimonial

A proven, time tested PR technique. You will notice I use collect and use testimonials with permission in this eZine.

(Source: Adapted from Public Relations: Strategies & Tactics Wilcox et al. 1995, p.300)

Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries. You can subscribe by visiting his site.

Article source.

Tags: public relations, brand, tips, marketing, advertising

Awards are everywhere these days. Winning them can further your career, generate positive PR for your company, promote staff morale, impress potential clients…or simply boost your ego. So if your trophy cabinet is looking a bit threadbare, here are some tips for picking up your share of the glory.

1. Creating a really brilliant piece of work is useful, but not essential. You’d be amazed at the amount of stuff that’s entered for awards that is barely competent, let alone outstanding. Sometimes it even wins a gold.

2. It helps if your company is a big name, preferably one that’s known for creative advertising. It shouldn’t, but it does.

3. If the piece has had wide exposure it’s better placed than if it ran once in the local rag. Unless it’s not that good in the first place or it’s been over-exposed.

4. Come up with something that really stands out in its environment. All car ads pretty much looked the same until Volkswagen came along. It can be done, even with the likes of financial, medical, or recruitment advertising. Although the world still awaits truly ground-breaking ads for corporate multinationals.

5. If the criteria are strategy, execution and results, then that is how your entry will be judged, and you’ll be expected to deliver the goods in each area. If the creative was great but the strategy stinks, or you try and fudge poor results, you’ll likely be found out.

6. Ensure the details are right. Correct grammar, punctuation and spelling still count for something, and however good the idea, shoddy art direction will put you out of the running.

7. Make sure the entry goes to the right place at the right time with all the right bits and bobs. I recently judged a field of twenty-nine different entries for an award. Three had items missing and one had neglected to include the work altogether. What a waste of time, effort and entry fee.

8. Get someone who can write clearly and concisely to complete the application form. Don’t exceed the word count, but don’t make it too short either. It looks bad if it’s padded out (and probably means it wasn’t worth entering in the first place). Remember, you’ve only got a short time to impress – or put off – a judge.

9. Keep entering. There are so many organisations and publications dishing out awards that you’re bound to win something sometime. Even if it’s only Runner-Up for Best Use of Colour in a Small Space in Widget World Weekly.

10. Be lucky. Every year, first rate pieces of work fail to win major awards, and every year something not so great gets onto the winners’ podium. So good luck.

* Peter Wise is a freelance copywriter, website copywriter and SEO copywriter based in London, UK. He also writes ads, direct mail, brochures, newsletter articles and press releases. For further information, please visit Source

Article Source

Tags: marketing, advertising, awards, tips, win

Part 1: Are You Prepared to Face a Journalist? As a former journalist I am aware of how difficult it might be for some people to face the press and send their message right. I’ve heard so often nasty comments against my line of work, I faced negative responses, even had to beg for an interview and hardly get those stubborn “I don’t do interviews” VIPs answer my questions. I knew back then why I had to struggle so much to make people understand I was not the enemy. I know it now as well.

How many times were you misquoted? Too many? Often? Always? Never? Depending on how you answer this question you’ll know whether you were able to send your message right or not.

As odd this might sound, sometimes it’s not the fault of the journalist. When you have to face the media “in person” and you give “live” answers you have a few factors that will determine how your message is perceived: body language, voice inflections and face expressions. While for skilled psychologists and behavior scientists these are quite clear messages, a journalist might “read” these messages wrong and make not so accurate presumptions.

The moment you are being interviewed you become part of the media – you become the news. The reporter you talk to, in most of the cases, is not always the one who will write the story. He or she is just collecting data to hand over to an editor. Way too often the reporters are not familiar with your field of expertise. They are supposed to document their work and research a bit prior to an interview, but how many do you think that really do the hard work? No so many, to be frank, especially not those who get their questions from the managing editors and all they need to do is come back with your answers. To such reporters you are speaking in a foreign language.

Another problem: the reporter might, or might not care about the subject he/ she has to cover. The lack of emotional concern will definitely influence the reporter’s ability to get your message right and to underline the points that really matter.

So here come some questions for you: are you ready to face a reporter? Do you understand that he/she might know zip about your business? Are you prepared to accurately answer fast paced questions in a short time? (Journalists are always in a rush!) Are you prepared to see your business or personal values and views shaken to their core by someone who has obviously other understanding of what really matters? Because, believe it: journalists know what matters for the public and this is the only thing they care about. After all, it’s in their own interest to “sell” the news. And they’ll look for the “sensational” that sells. Being so focused on instant success they might ignore the long-term elements from your message. They’ll also overlook any of your statements they might consider “tacky”, “blah-blah” or irrelevant for their target audience.

If you feel this is unfair, you might be right. From your point of view. From the journalists’ point of view though, this is fair. As you, they try to run a successful business, which is a rather unfortunate turn of actions. The media was supposed to serve the public and not some profit hungry entities.

For more related articles visit eWritings or her website.

Article Source

Tags: strategy, tips, deal, press, public relations

What does public relations (PR) have to do with your and your business? It deserves to be more than just an afterthought. It should be an integral part of your business and has quite a bit to do with how your prospective customers perceive you and your products. Also, it is a way for you to practice your messaging in order to see which messages or concepts resonate with the media and ultimately with your customers.

Over the last 19 months, I have been quoted or featured by 20 different news organizations in such publications as The Washington Post, MSNBC, AP (Associated Press ), Spirit (the In-flight Magazine for Southwest Airlines), Better Homes and Gardens, Monster.com, Shutterbug Magazine Radio, and The Washington Business Journal. Many of these publications are national in scope and have increased my recognition and the ability to attract more business.

How did I get access to these media organizations? First I was able to sign up with an on-line publicity firm called PR Leads. PR Leads allows me to pitch the media when they need help completing a story with information in my area of expertise. However, this only gets me half way to getting quoted. I have learned that having a consistent message that resonates with my media contacts is the other half of the equation. I have a consistent message albeit one for my photography and one for my professional speaking.

During this time, I have responded to 112 queries in the following categories … work/life balance, creativity, presentation skills and photography. The reason I chose these categories is simple. I work with people and organizations to increase their communication power through my unique photography angle. I do this through my creative keynotes (work/life balance, creativity and photography) and through my powerful presentations skills.

Out of the 112 queries, I was able to garner 34 responses for a 30% response rate (nearly 1 in 3). A good first step to a query is getting a response of any kind. It’s much like a positive phone call might elicit a prospective customer to ask you what you do. Sometimes the media contacts have plenty of information from other sources. Other times I find out that my expertise or my angle isn’t quite right for the story. Also, many of the pitches to the media are often to freelancers. These freelancers in turn pitch their stories to their media contacts. This adds another layer as to whether or not you will get quoted by a news organization. All of the potential rejection keeps me trying harder. The results speak for themselves.

Out of my 34 positive responses, I have been able to achieve nearly a 60% quote rate in newspapers, magazines, and on the radio, or 20 total quotes in 19 months. To put it another way, for every query I do answer, I have approximately an 18% chance that it will result in a quote in a regional or national media outlet. This is a fairly good response rate compared with the average direct mail response rate of one to two percent. I have found that there are some tips and techniques in dealing with the media.

Seven Media Tips & Techniques

Respond Quickly – The adage that ‘the early bird gets the worm’ is very true here. Sometimes I don’t have the opportunity to respond to an appropriate query as soon as I would like and I find the response rate goes down as a result. It’s gotten to the point that if I am not able to respond to a query within 24 hours, I usually don’t respond. However, I do save the media contact for future reference.

Be Personable – writers and reporters like to talk to somebody that makes it easy for them to do business (or at least quote in an article). Reach out and attempt to make a genuine connection.

Make It About Them – reporters are on deadline most of the time, so have the attitude of helping them first. Do your best to provide them with as much information as possible. Suggest a time to talk on the phone and be prompt. If they don’t call you back, call them – all in the spirit of helpfulness. I will usually say, “I know you’re probably on deadline, but I wanted to call back and help you finish your article.”

Get to the Point (Briefly) – let them know why you are responding and tell them how you can help with a few tips. It’s good if you can include a few references right from your website since it makes working with you easier. This should take a maximum of 5-10 minutes per query. Also, group paragraphs into 2-3 sentences maximum for easier reading and always save your responses. You can use these to answer similar queries.

Reduce Their Risk – reporters like dealing with people who have been quoted by other reporters. It reduces risk and this is important in the media. Always reference your past performance with respect to the media. I have a section on my website called Press Room. While it can be challenging to get your initial momentum with the press, keep trying. You will have to go through a few obscure publications to make it into the more recognizable ones.

Follow up – Reporters are writing many articles at one time, so you need to follow up. You want to make sure that they send you a copy of the newspaper, magazine or web link. Put these on your web site for it’s an integral part of your business and helps to increase your expertise.

Add to Your Database – after you have dealt with the reporters, add them to your database and keep them informed on your expertise areas when appropriate. This is one of the best ways to get additional quotes in other magazines. Keep thinking of your reporter contacts as your customers. Again, make sure you save your responses to reuse or to use as fodder for your newsletter, articles or books.

My investment during the time I have been using PR Leads has been $1,584 or approximately $80 per instance of being quoted. The bottom line is that for $80 per lead with the kind of national exposure I am receiving is more than worth it! This modest investment is a fraction of what medium to large PR Agencies charge their customers for similar results. In the past, I had paid more for one month of PR at a larger firm than what I have paid for PR Leads over the entire time (19 months) I have been using them!

Also, the great thing about responding to queries is that it helps me generate lots of writing, understand local and national trends and develops a connection with my customers right away, as in “Mark’s been quoted in The Washington Post.” Can I make a clear connection to getting quoted in a magazine like Better Homes and Gardens and additional business opportunities? I believe it’s a little harder to show a direct connection with PR (public relations). It’s more of a subjective relationship.

I do believe that PR has added to my momentum much like a pebble is thrown into a pond making larger and larger circles. These larger and larger circles are access to regional and national media. Eventually I believe that I will be able to reach a wider audience. Why? Because reporters and other members of the media like to work with people that have already been quoted. Reporters also like to work with people that can help them attract readership (in the case of magazines) and sell more copies. It is my desire to make it onto national media like television on a regular basis with my speaking and photography. PR like PR Leads has and will continue to lay the foundation to make this happen.

Once I get more national exposure, I have the systems set up to take advantage of the opportunities presented. This means that my web site is professional, I can receive and respond to enquires, and I have an automated shopping cart so customers can purchase my products. Louis Pasteur defines luck as “when opportunity and preparation meet.” I am constantly preparing and believe that the ‘lucky’ opportunity will present itself eventually. A recent example of how luck has played a part in my business is with my recent book.

Specific PR to Business Examples
I just released my third book, Snap: the ultimate guide to digital photography for the consumer . Being able to state in my biography, “Mark is frequently quoted in the media by such organizations as the Associated Press (AP), MSNBC and Spirit (Southwest Airlines In-Flight Magazine),” has added to my expertise. It has also allowed me to attract more customers. If you would like to see how I used PR on the back cover of my latest book, please go to a two-page PDF at http://www.staashpress.com/pdf%20files/Snap143e.TOC.pdf .

PR is a long-term strategy. I needed 18 out of the 19 months to get quoted by the Associated Press (AP) and MSNBC and used this exposure for Snap . If I would have ‘cut and run,’ then I would have missed out on key media that I have been using to help promote and sell my latest book, Snap . Plus this has had a positive effect on speaking at two association conferences. Within days of announcing my digital photography book, the National Speakers Association asked me to present at their Annual University. The NSA Annual University attracts 300 of the top speakers in the United States and will allow me to further establish my expertise of simple yet powerful communications using a unique photography angle.

One week later, I got a web query from another association about speaking to key members on photography. I was able to show the conference decision-maker my recent book and pointed out my expertise as is written on the back cover. She was very impressed with the amount of information contained in the book, the quality of the printing, the cover and back cover design and yes, where I have been quoted. This entire package eased her ‘risk’ and helped make her decision to hire me that much easier. I can definitely say that PR is a very important part of the packaging, both for my book and for my business. I highly recommend PR Leads to anyone who is looking for a great way to get media exposure for an incredible value.

Some people wonder if they can afford public relations. I wonder how they can live without it. While you need to determine your appropriate PR spending level in relation to your revenue and expected outcome, I believe that working with a media resource outlet like PR leads has boosted my expertise and subsequently my business opportunities in the marketplace. I will continue to make PR a key part of my business strategy. Also, I have found seven key benefits to PR from my perspective.

Seven Key Benefits to a Public Relations (PR) Campaign

1. PR is an important component to my business packaging.

2. PR helps me to write more material.

3. PR helps me to spot trends.

4. PR is a long-term strategy.

5. PR helps me to establish my expertise in the marketplace.

6. PR helps me to fine-tune my messages.

7. PR helps me to provide more value to my customers.

Mark Sincevich works with people and organizations to increase their communication power through a unique photography angle. He accomplishes this through his creative keynotes, meeting facilitations and powerful presentation skills programs. He is the founder and Chief Perspective Officer of Staash Press and the creator of the Staash Perspective System (SPS). The SPS teaches that simplicity leads to more powerful communication. Mark is also the executive director of the Digital Photography Institute. He can be contacted at this website .

Article Source

Tags: tips, techniques, media relations, campaign, pr

Body language has been on display since caveman days. But people in business constantly overlook the tell-tale signals they send to reporters. When a journalist arrives at your office for an interview, they will be sizing you up from the moment you meet. Are you happy to see them? Are you relaxed? Have you offered them tea or coffee? Be open and enthusiastic. Resist the temptation to stand in the corner with your arms defensively crossed. For the reporter, this is like an open invitation to be hostile!

A much better option is to project warmth and sincerity. Greet the reporter with a smile, a firm handshake and steady eye contact. Show genuine interest in the reporter and their work. If they warm to you, you’ll be less likely to face negative questions.

Once the interview is underway be aware that the reporter will interpret certain body language isigns. These include:

crossed arms: defensive

eye rubbing: doubt, disbelief

hand to cheek: evaluation, thinking

ear pulling: indecision

open palm: sincerity, honesty

tilted head: interest

seated legs apart: relaxed, open

pinching nose bridge: negative evaluation

locked ankles: apprehension

patting hair: insecurity

tapping fingers: impatience

During television interviews, be sure to look at the reporter not at the camera. This is the most commonly asked question during media training workshops. Also, try to be expressive and open with your hands. Lean forward in the seat to project enthusiasm. And most of all, be positive – smile regularly to convey confidence and sincerity.

Media Trainer Greg Ward is a freelance journalist and media consultant. Greg’s website offers a variety of tips, articles and links aimed at anyone preparing for a news interview or presentation.

Article Source

Tags: body language, tips, news, interviews, skills

New developments always have a tough time convincing people that they should be allowed to put them in their cities. People do not like change and some are against growth. Yet in the end both change and growth will prevail. But what can a contractor building or attempting to build a new housing or business development do to promote community goodwill, open communication lines and create positive public relations?

Well one smart thing to do is to build several models and put them around town such as in the Library, town hall or local bank financing the project. Additionally, at the job side should be a giant sign with visual graphics of the artist’s renderings, so passers by can look at it. This public relations strategy has been used many times. Perhaps you will remember the movie; Back the Future. With the sign for the development that was just being built that McFly Jr. lived in.

With proper advanced warnings and public relations you can set the public at ease. Yes, there will still be the NIMBY affect as it is as common today as it ever was. But if you will use these strategies and also have a website, which all matches, you will find fewer people complaining and many more supporters. Consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance’s Web. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

Article Source

Tags: public relations, tips, strategy, future, business

When pitching your expertise to the media, the tools you present to them are of up most importance. In sales, it’s often said you only have one chance to make a good impression. Why would this be different with the media?

Once you have their attention, wow them with your professionalism and understanding of how to make their job as easy as possible.

First, start with a communications plan that lays the road map for your coming PR & media efforts. You would not start a business without a business plan…why would you start a PR campaign without a plan?

Develop a press page on your website. So often we refer clients to our website but when the media visit, what’s there to entice them? Develop a section on your site that lists off press releases, previous stories, possible story lines, or even downloadable images. A fantastic example of a press page can be found on North Carolina’s Tourism website.

Develop a press kit that includes photos, story lines, releases or even a memorable gizmo that gets the media thinking of you in the months to come. In the press kits I have developed, MP3s of client interviews have even been included.

Thoroughly develop and work your media list. With every campaign, a customized media list is essential. Beware of easy made media lists from many of the newswire services out there. While they serve as an excellent starting point, these lists are rarely accurate in terms of the specific bests various journalists cover. In some occasions, the contacts themselves may be outdated as turnover rates in journalism are notoriously high. Above all, avoid the syndrome of ”carpet bombing”. In other words, avoid simply sending a release on mass to a large unfocused list. Five well targeted journalists are worth twice their weight in gold as opposed to one hundred unfocused contacts.

Mark Buzan is the owner of Action Strategies, a public affairs & marketing communications consultancy. You can subscribe now to his monthly PR tips newsletter by visiting and dropping down the “newsletter” menu. You can also subscribe to his blog.

Article Source

Tags: media, relations, communications, tools, tips

In my discussions with many entrepreneurs, the question inevitably arises of ”why should a story on my business in the local media matter?” It is a valid question. Most think of dealing with the media and public relations as in the realm of big corporations and politicians. The fact is public relations has a very commercial application. When promoting your business, you need to consider all the possible marketing methods and advertising efforts.

In any successful organization, PR is in fact an integral part of the marketing mix. Imagine if the local newspaper or radio station offered you a free advertisement or even a series of free advertising. What effect could that have on your marketing efforts?

Properly developed media relations and a well crafted story can do the same!

Left with that thought, what is a small business owner to do? How can you get your business in the news? With some careful thought on how you can apply a few suggestions to your situation, here are a few ideas to consider:

# Ever made a mistake? Of course you have! Tell the world about it and how you overcame it. If it’s timely enough, it may make the news and position yourself in a light with which most can relate. If you don’t feel comfortable talking about your mistakes, talk about some of the common mistakes made in your industry or those made by your customers. Be certain not to be too self-serving however. You run the risk that your story will be dropped like a hot potato.

# Has your business or someone in your organization backed a charity or community initiative recently? If you put the focus on the initiative and what it’s looking to achieve, the indirect attention your company recieves as a backer of this cause could mean very direct and positive publicity.

# What’s currently going on in pop culture or even in the news? Think carefully. Is there anywhere or any how that you could provide your two cents as an expert? If your input is credible enough or provides input that is a little off the wall, you may get yourself posted in the media’s rolodex or regularly sought experts. I have seen numerous examples of professionals who have built a practice from the publicity they gain by being regularly in the news.

The options really are endless when it comes to getting your small business in the news. The key to success is formulating a real story. Whatever you try to formulate and present to the media in gaining publicity, approach your strategy from the angle of ”What would make me stop and watch this on the 6 o’clock news?”.

Most importantly, understand that this is not a chance to directly sell but rather, a chance to profile.

Mark Buzan is the owner of action-strategies, a public affairs & marketing communications consultancy. You can subscribe now to his monthly PR tips newsletter by visiting and dropping down the “newsletter” menu. You can also subscribe to his RSS feed on his blog.

Article source.

Tags: public relations, firm, tips, business, job

Writing for machines may seem a strange way to proceed with the preparation of a press release – but it is one component to writing a successful press release that can result in a massive PR-payoff.

There are certain basics that anyone wanting to achieve high search engine rankings need to fulfill. But there is also one secret component that many search engine optimizers forget when preparing their releases – of which, more later.

First, let’s consider what you must do to optimize your news release? The answer is two words: Key Words.

Key words are the essential words that your clients or customers will use to find you – or your competitor. They are the search terms, the words that describe the product or service you offer. They are also something else: Gold in the right hands.

Let’s say the media are looking for your business. What is the word or search term they would use?
Ask yourself (and your staff, friends and customers) what they use to find a product or service like yours. Do they search under your brand, or your service/product type, or generically in some manner? Do they search using geographical factors?

Are these issues that you have seriously considered? Have you tried to ‘break down’ your business into a few, critical key words?

There are a number of useful tools available that can help your search – Google search terms, Overture’s search tool, Wordtracker and others – but you can simply search the major search engines to find what words surfers are using to find your business.

Then work out what others, like the media, would use to find your business. It may be a different set of words or word. For instance, your business in auto repairs might use that term by customers, but media interest may be more focused on a search term like ‘auto repair service provider’ or ‘auto services’. You need to check and find out the key words that your target audience is using to find you.

Once you’ve located the ‘gold’, you need to mine it. You need to use those words in your company reports, company statements, announcements and – of course – press releases. Focus just on a few key words so as to not lose the momentum and impact that they create. But use them in your content and, where possible, hotlink them to your content.

When search engine “spiders” hunt for text items and key words they particularly like links to the words you have used, rather than to something that could mean anything – such as a generalized link to an information service.

There’s lots more to this, but the first step for anyone writing for search engines is to hunt down those key words. And mine them.

And the secret? Well, it’s like this. Writing using key words is writing for the search engine spiders who place your item into the engines – which in turn permits your business to increase its exposure. But then what? You need to convert surfers into clients or customers.

How do you best do that? Obviously if your business is providing the required product or service you’re ahead of the game, but in a competitive marketplace you have to be noticed as well. You need to “engage” the Web surfer with your content. Infusing your copy with key words is fundamental. But so too is writing in a manner that will engage with the reader in a way that they want to use your product or service. Get emotional (without being sappy) about your product, service or business. Build in humor and humanity, whenever appropriate. If you seem to be a real person, rather than a robotic, PR type writing for machines then you may get the rankings, but you won’t get the business.

Go to it. Get emotional. And use the right words.

John Bowie founded http://www.LawFuel.com , the legal news network and one of the largest law news release websites on the Net. He has also been an author of the free, 5-step to high traffic report available from Web Traffic Rules which also provides a discounted copy of the ‘guru traffic advice’ ebook on generating high, free web traffic fast. See this website

Article Source

Tags: public relations, tips, management, business

1. Start strong: Your title and initial lines should briefly and directly convey what you want to say. Include the “who, what, where, when and why” in the lead of your press release. The remaining part of your press release should include supporting facts and examples.

2. Make it easy for the media: Some media agencies and journalists will grab your press release and carry it in their publications with slight editing or no alteration. But even if it’s not used word for word, journalists may use it as fodder for other stories or to create their own story ideas. The more information and details you include, the less work the media has to do.

3. Think like the reader: Your press release should be able to keep the reader’s interest. Put yourself in the reader’s shoes. Would you want to read your press release?

4. Make it relevant: Try to point out real examples to support the message you want to communicate. Show why your information is important and how it benefits the reader. If your release isn’t newsworthy, don’t expect anyone to read it.

5. Support your story with real facts: Facts make your point stronger and tell the journalist you’ve already done much of the research for them. If you pull facts from other sources, make sure you attribute them. Avoid fluff and add-ons. And never make anything up. If content seems too good to be true, tone it down or you could hurt your credibility.

6. Include company information: The press release should conclude with a short description of your company, including where your company is based, what products and service it provides and a brief history If you are creating a press release for more than one company, provide information for all the companies at the end of the release. Also include contact information, both phone number and e-mail, for each company’s spokesperson.

7. Be concise: Avoid using superfluous adjectives, extravagant language, or unnecessary clichés. Get to the point and tell your story as directly as possible.

8. Get permission: Companies can be defensive about their name and image. Get written permission before including information or quotes from officials or associates of other companies/organizations.

9. Avoid exclamation points: The use of exclamation points may hurt your credibility by creating unnecessary hype. However, if you have to use an exclamation point, use only one! Not several!!!

10. Avoid industry jargon: The harder your press release is to understand for journalists and laymen, the less likely it is to be picked up. A limited use of industry terminology is ok, if you’re trying to optimize the news release for internet search engines.

Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for this Website, the premier website to Submit Free Press Release for any announcements including launching of new product or services, new website, announcing new hires, sponsoring a special event or seminar and more. His articles can be found here.

Article Source

Tags: public, relation, tips, news, training

Would you like to be the next Dr. Phil, Suze Orman or Guy Kawasaki?

When I ask people that question, they usually say something like, “I’d be happy to be able to reach $100,000 in revenues,” or “Hey, I’d settle for being able to take a week-long vacation.”

My challenge to you is to Think Big.

Because if you don’t Think Big, you will always be running in place, never able to catch up.

Now, I don’t mean that you have to have a huge office building, or many employees, or a number of locations. What I mean is, you need to think about the big picture.

For instance, do you want to be known as an expert in your field? Do you make the best barbecue sauce in America? Do you want to have the degree of success in your business or career that allows you to take off two months every summer?

To do any of these things, you need to Think Big. Then you need to work on making things happen.

One of the best ways to accomplish this is through a targeted publicity plan that takes you to a whole new level. Why not take a Giant Step into the realm of national media?

But why, you may ask, would I need national media if my customers/clients are from my home area? Why would a candy maker in Kansas City, or a marriage counselor in Miami, or a financial advisor in Los Angeles want national publicity? My answer is this: Because they Think Big. They want to be viewed as the trailblazers in their fields . the experts people seek out . the ones who have a national reputation.

In other words, when you’re a small business or professional featured in the Wall Street Journal or on Good Morning America, you appear bigger than you are. And when you are mentioned in several publications, people think, “Wow — this person is everywhere. He/she is obviously successful.” And, as we all know, people want to do business with successful people.

So, if you want to be the next Oprah, start Thinking Big.

Copyright 2008 Margie Fisher All Rights Reserved

Margie Fisher, President of Zable Fisher Public Relations, is the author of the Do-It-Yourself Public Relations Kit. For more information on the Kit, the Pay for Results Publicity Program, and to sign up for the complimentary PRactical P.R. newsletter, visit this site.

Article source.

Tags: public, relations, tips, interview, company