|
|
| Public Relations Information |
|
This Information Brought to you by TopWebProducts, knowledge is power. |
|
|
How to Write News Releases that Get Noticed
What do you do with junk mail? Are you like me? I toss this stuff without opening it ? unless I see some benefit. Publication editors do the same. They toss news releases that don't demonstrate a benefit to their audience. What's the difference between a release that gets used and one that hits the editor's circular file? Here are seven easy tips for writing releases that get picked up rather than thrown out. 1. Make sure it's newsworthy. What's newsworthy, you ask. To be newsworthy your topic needs to be timely, of interest to the publication's audience, benefit-oriented, and substantive (that is, not self-serving, hype or fluff.) 2. Write a powerful headline. The headline is what will pull in the editor or leave her/him cold. Keep it short and descriptive, but make it interesting. 3. Use journalist style. Editors are looking for the facts, not fluff. Be sure to include the essentials: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. 4. Keep it brief. Editors are pressed for time and inundated with releases. Keep yours to one page, 300-800 words. The headline and first two paragraphs are the most important parts of your release. 5. Avoid jargon. Even if you're sending a release on a technical topic to a technical journal, resist the temptation to use acronyms. Spell it out! Use common language. It will make your releases more readable and accessible. 6. Proof it. The accuracy of your release ? including spelling and grammar ? reflects on your company. If you aren't good at proofreading your own stuff, enlist someone else to do it. 7. Include a photo. Okay. This isn't a writing tip, but it's good advice anyway. Publications are looking for good quality visuals, so including a photo, illustration, chart or graph (with a caption, please) increases your chance of getting picked up. Follow these tips to improve your news release writing. But remember that the keys to a successful news release program are a good list of publications and a regular mailing schedule of newsworthy items. Persistence WILL pay off. ©Copyright 2005 Clairvoyant Communications, Inc. About the author Claire Cunningham, president of Clairvoyant Communications, Inc., has 25 years' experience developing and implementing successful marketing and communications programs. Sign up for Claire's monthly e-newsletter, Communiqué, at http://www.clairvoyantcommunications.com Claire can be reached at 763-479-3499 (claire@claircomm.com)
Check out the many ways to use this and learn about all the aspects of each form of this that is available. Explore and learn from all that is given here. There are many uses for this in all of it's forms. For your use from TopWebProducts. |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
A Guide to Optimizing Public Relations Content This guide to "SEOing" your PR efforts can help you get high-ranking search results for your press releases, marketing white papers and ezine newsletter content. Whether you are managing PR efforts for several online companies or just one website, you've probably wondered how you can increase your sites (more importantly, your work) overall impact in the Web community. While the answer lies less and less on traditional forms of promotion such as press releases, learning the tricks of the trade to qualifying for top search engine placement could be the most important thing you ever do for your company. What Some Pros Know About PR They know they had better do something positive about those outside audiences that MOST affect their organizations. Especially business, non-profit or association managers, who also know they must persuade those key external "publics" to the manager's way of thinking, then move those people to actions that allow that manager's department, division or subsidiary to succeed. The Power of Radio - Tips for Great Radio Interviews Many people are intimidated by radio interviews, whether live or pre-recorded and often spoil great promotion and branding opportunity in less then effective interviews. Why PR Can be Effective Medicine When properly applied by business, non-profit and association managers, public relations "medicine" does something positive about the behaviors of those important external audiences of theirs that MOST affect their operations. Add Some Firepower to your PR Sure, as tactics usually presented to business, non-profit and association managers, special events, brochures and news releases are fine. Managers, Start Your PR There'll never be a better time for a manager working for a business, non-profit or association to ask this question: "Am I getting the public relations results I'm paying for -- the really important external audience behaviors I need to achieve my department, division or subsidiary objectives?" Custom Reasons for Custom Publishing Once considered the stepchild of the publishing industry, custom publishing now claims a legitimate slice of the B-to-B MarCom pie. Publicity for Financial Planners--Eight Tips For Success Individual financial planners can outscore bigger competitors and gain market share with publicity. The key to doing it well: don't mimic the big guys and gals. Do it smartly, but on your scale. How? Here are eight rules: What? You Havent Got a Capability Statement? What's a Capability Statement? Think Like a Reader, Viewer, or Listener to Get Great Publicity About a year ago I read a feature story in the Wall Street Journal. It was about a new trend -- baby showers that were being thrown for grandmothers. How To Write More Powerfully For PR, Offline And Online Years ago when my Dad owned a group of local newspapers I spent my school and college vacations working in the editorial office. We used to amuse ourselves over our sandwiches at lunchtime looking through and trashing the endless press releases that would arrive in the mail each day, all beautifully produced with glossy photographs (this was in pre-internet days). Publicity - How To Get Your Story on Television A press release telling about "Stevie, the Water-Skiing Squirrel" will never get that talented mammal on the TV news. Imagine PR Like This Helping You As the kids say, how cool is this? The Truth About Public Relations The truth is, you CAN attract the support of those external audiences whose behaviors have the most effect on your enterprise. But you must do it by first achieving the positive changes you need in their perceptions and, thus, behaviors. GETTING YOUR MESSAGE ACROSS You have a story to tell. Your company has developed a revolutionary new product, or an improved version of one that is known and respected in the marketplace. Most companies are media-savvy enough to take a proactive approach to publicity. Yet there are many firms that instead sit on a new development, waiting for the press to come to them because they are unsure of how to "break the news." Press Kit Elements That Work Considering how fundamental they are to the publicist's trade,it's always amazed me how lousy almost all press kits truly are.Your typical press kit is a bloated folder filled with puffery,hype, irrelevant information and worse. The vast majority ofthese monstrosities do little besides kill trees and clognewsroom trash baskets. Want to Light a Fire Under Your PR? Yes? Then do something positive about the behaviors of those important external audiences of yours that MOST affect your operation. Make Sure Your Media Room Rocks If a reporter was writing a story about you and your company and she visited your website, could she find anything useful and interesting about you to use in her story? And could she find it quickly? Or would she immediately abandon your site and look for one of your competitors to write about? Some Cool P.R. Tips for These Dog Days of Summer Yup -- it's hot and sticky and you don't feel like doing much of anything -- let alone working on publicity for your business. Your Financial Planning Clients May Hold the Key to Free Publicity Every reporter, from the cub at the small town paper to the high-paid anchor on 60 Minutes, dreams of finding a lead to that news story that everyone will want to read.
|
| home | main | site map |
| TopWebProducts © 2006 |