Writing Tips

What can you do to get your press release noticed?

The skillful professionals at Community Public Relations (CPR) - Media & Marketing help you attain your desired success through applying a multitude of strategies. First, by ensuring your release is delivered direct to editors and writers reporting on your industry. Second, our experienced writers and editors will create dynamic headlines and enticing, engaging copy designed to capture the full attention of the media and initiate an active response.

We are driven to providing you with extraordinary services and exceed your expectations.

Every release distributed by CPR - Community Public Relations, Media & Marketing receives a thorough review before distribution to provide you with a measure of comfort that your release meets the expectations of AP style journalists for appropriate editorial style and formatting. We even use spell check!

If after you wrote your own copy and you're still not sure your press release meets the goals below, contact us for an affordable $45 comprehensive release review. CPR - Community Public Relations, Media & Marketing nominal fees for release review are just enough to cover our copywriters' time to read and make suggestions, and provide revisions.

Visuals

How many times have you stopped to read an article or advertisement because the picture spoke to you? More than 60 percent of journalists are searching for photos to accompany a story. Including photos in a press release and making photos available on your website better positions your press release when it reach the hands of the writers and editors.

Publications are always looking for visuals. Your logos, charts and photos are perfect for visuals: make these items available for the journalists, either on your site or by some other means.

People are visual.

They also like to touch, feel and smell. Studies reflect that the more senses you stimulate, by using pictures, sound or video clips and animation, you increase readers' response rates and reactions - by over 40%. (One of the most obvious places you see this transfer is in online advertising: advertisers have learned that increased click-through rates occur when using animation, and they incorporate it in every successful online advertising campaign.)

Repeat your message.

Repeat your message. Repeat your message. Effective marketing campaigns put variations of the same theme in front of the target audience.
Include the most significant points of your release upfront. A strong opening or leading paragraph, the "hook" - contains a concise but strong summary of what your release is about. This is a critical element to your distribution's success.

The opening paragraph should answer the who, what, where and why - clearly and quickly. Use the first paragraph to illustrate and emphasize to editors and writers why your release is important to their readers. You may be tempted to provide a history of your company or the industry at the beginning of your release; journalists that are educated about the industry most likely already have this information.

If your release is about a new treatment for the common cold, only send your release to health and medical writers and editors. Avoid spamming your distribution with a general blanket affect- try to avoid headlines such as, "Everyone gets colds so this affects everyone." Sending your release to non-relevant media can work very negatively for you. It can be considered spam and a waste of time, and it discourages the people you want to read your release from reading it. Negative publicity erodes the credibility of your publicity campaign and your reputation.

How does writing for journalists differ from writing for consumers?

In our everyday lives, we are already overburdened by emails, faxes and phone calls - imagine that compounded by being the focal point for people who want to have news written about their products or services.

It's not just important - it's critical to make sure your release provides the information a journalist needs - at the quickest of glances.

Clearly companies you readily recognize the names of are those which have done an effective job with their marketing strategies.

Marketing is a process.

While everyone would like to think their releases are read all the way through, understand that the first time relevant journalists see your company name, they are unlikely to recognize it. Depending on your topic, its timeliness and relationship to other stories, journalists may contact you immediately upon receipt of your release or a period of time may elapse.

The second time may bring recognition of your company's name, product or service. The third or fourth time may elicit curiosity. Maybe thereafter you may receive some type of response.

Receiving results from your marketing efforts and release distribution requires concentrated effort, and that translates into regularly directing releases covering a variety of angles or focus to the media. Repeated sightings of your company name through comprehensive, concentrated efforts over time will develop brand awareness.

Evaluate your release by truly focusing and re-reading what you have written. Ask yourself a few simple questions:

What creates a newsworthy story? Have you answered the who, what, when, where and why?

• Have you received significant recognition in your field?
• Has a member of your company or organization spoken or presented in front of a noteworthy audience, or been mentioned in a book or article?
• Have you testified as an expert witness at a trial or been involved in legislation?
• Are you running for office, not just politically for government but for a civic or business organization such as the local Chamber of Commerce or the National Association of Women Business Owners?
• Has your business or organization won an award or contest or been granted ISO 9000 certification?
• Do you offer an apprenticeship or internship to local students?
• Do you have a unique product or service, or do you have a unique way of selling it? Would most people agree it's unique?;
• Have you got a great testimonial to tell?
• Do you offer free advice or a low- cost service to the public?
• Are you opening a new physical or virtual branch location or launching a website?

Does your release sound like marketing hype or as if you are trying to sell something?

Of course, your primary goal may be to sell your product or service, or to bring attention to your group or organization - but does your release sound more like a radio commercial than a news story?

Experienced journalists can identify that your release is a sales piece intended to garner new customers. Distributing a release along those lines can do more harm than good - well into the future. With subsequent releases, your company is likely to be ignored, even if the next release is truly news worthy.

• Would a press release be valuable if it contained information about a half price sale that you are having, or would it be more appropriate as a release about a new product you have developed that will save people time, affect their health or make life easier?
• Do you have any community value that you can tell about?
• Does your release include something good that was accomplished for the community by your expansion?
• What is the timeliness of your release? Is there a pending date, as with a scheduled event, or is it an ongoing activity, service or offering?
• Is this a one-time offer?

How can the media contact you?

If you met a potential employer for the first time, would you forgo providing that person with your resume?
Make sure this critical, key information is in your release. Provide as many avenues as possible for journalists to contact you or research information about your company as possible.

Today's releases require much more than a daytime phone number.
Example:
• Alternate Phone Numbers. Do you also have an evening number that they can contact you on? How about a cell- phone, beeper or toll- free number? If journalists are interested in getting more information but cannot reach you easily and quickly, it's likely they will disregard your release altogether and move on to the next story idea.
• E-mail. Don't forget your e-mail address. E-mail provides writers with a simple way to receive a written response from you, which they can retrieve and use at their convenience while having an added benefit of being easy for them to work with. Since most journalists also compose their stories on a computer, they can cut, copy and paste content to save them time and effort.
• Website Address / URL. What about a URL/web site address? Is there a specific location set aside for members of the media, or do you have an CPR - Community Public Relations, Media & MarketingOnline Newsroom with corporate profile and logo? By designating a centralized location for information, writers can quickly and easily access your company's information 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week.

Website Accessibility

The media is using the Internet more or just as much as other sources for news and information.

If you don't have a Web site, use the complimentary features that come with your account activation - post your company's background and information, including your logo, on the CPR - Community Public Relations, Media & Marketing site in your Online NewsRoom - a simple, easy and affordable way to make your information available to the media at all times. Your HTML press release posting address and Online Newsroom, if included in your distribution option, is clearly identified with every release you send out.

If you do have a Web site, remember journalists may be looking for more information about your company and its background - not what your special of the month is. Don't forget to include details about your company in your Online NewsRoom in the form of a brief two or three sentence summary.

Using a "hook."

Include the most salient points of your release upfront. A strong opening or leading paragraph, the "hook" - contains a concise but strong summary of what your release is about. This is a critical element to your distribution's success. The opening paragraph should answer the who, what, where and why - clearly and quickly.
Use the first paragraph to illustrate and emphasize to editors and writers why your release is important to their readers.

You may be tempted to provide a history of your company or the industry at the beginning of your release - resist the urge. The media covering your industry most likely already has this information.

Target.

If your release is about a new treatment for the common cold, only send your release to health and medical writers and editors.
Avoid sending your release to non-relevant media, trying to justify sending your release to them with statements like, "Everyone gets colds so this affects everyone." Sending your release to non-relevant media can work very negatively for you. It can be considered spam and a waste of time, and it discourages the people you want to read your release from reading it. Negative publicity erodes the credibility of your publicity campaign and your reputation.

What does your headline say?
Write a headline that gets to the point and includes your company name. A focused headline leads journalists to read on. A vague or confusing headline is most likely to direct your release to the nearest recycle bin.

Avoid marketing hype.
That bears repeating: AVOID MARKETING HYPE. That means even if your [fill in life-changing product or service here] is the greatest thing since sliced bread, the worst action you could ever take that would discount your credibility right off the bat is to include fluff words such as "revolutionary," "unique," "free" and the like.

Avoid lengthy releases.
Include the material that's needed to make your point and leave out the rest. Journalists don't have the time to read volumes about your company and may ignore those releases. Be concise, direct and to the point. If they want more information, they will contact you.

Are you sure you can afford to spend hours of your valuable time writing a release that may leave out critical points and information, aside from keeping you from conducting your business? Contact us for more information about copywriting service options - either writing your release in whole or in part, or in conducting a comprehensive review.

Call us today at 602-492-1ONE (663), write us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  to find out more about how CPR – Community Public Relations Media & Marketing can help you meet your goals for relevant media contact.