Creating Publicity for Your Business

Every morning, journalists are inundated with thousands of press releases. The vast majority are quickly scanned and rejected, usually on the strength of the opening paragraph. So what makes a news release genuinely newsy?

One problem is that many press releases are written with an eye to the client than to provide a genuinely interesting story for a journalist to run. Once you stick your neck out and see things with a different eye, you will start to write as a journalist and provide usable copy and improve your hit rate.

Reflect on what your company does that is newsworthy. Look at what you do from a different angle. Brainstorm your ideas with friends, family and colleagues.

Decide on your target audience. Are you aiming for national coverage, will your angle be of interest to local people, or people working within a specialised area of the market? An angle of interest to the local community could be the creation of employment in your area. You could catch the attention of the national press by linking your release to a topical issue, eg surviving the credit crunch, or launching a new product aimed at childhood obesity.

You are not writing an advert. Your article must contain information of interest to your target audience.

Once you have written one release you can adapt the story for each of your target audiences.

Keep your press release to one side of A$ and write it in an email, it’s easier for journalists to cut and paste key sections.

Keep language plain, jargon free and not flowery.

Your headline is vital; it is what first catches the journo’s attention. Should be a minimum of 10 words long and be a summary of the piece, and relevant to the publication. For example, if you were sending the release to a local paper, I would start with “Doncaster agency wins national award..” But for a Regional paper with a radio station the headline would be more effective with “Yorkshire agency wins national award..”

The first paragraph is important. Tell the audience the key information and why they should be interested in reading it.

Make sure that the date on your release is the day that you are sending it. An old date makes it look like stale news.

Try to include some quotes in your release. Using a quote you can introduce an element of subjectivity and persuasion. Always get permission for the quotes you use.

At the end of the copy, write the word “Ends”. This indicates that everything below the line is for the journalist’s information only and will not be published.

Include two telephone numbers for contacts, and make sure your phone is on!

Then send it out. Through years of practice I’ve found that the best time for a release is between 9am and 2pm.

Don’t follow up your story unless you are offering an exclusive.

If a journalist phones you for more information answer as fully as you can. Make a note of questions you can’t answer, then follow this up. If there is a significant point that you wish to make, slow down and emphasise the point. This is particularly important when it comes to statistics or price. Try to equate price with something tangible, for example £10 is equivalent to 2 bottles of wine, or £8,000 the cost of a new hatchback.

Why should you bother with press releases?

Being seen in the newspapers or on websites will help to build your company’s credibility, keep prospects warm, build up the trust of a prospect and cheer up your workforce. Now is the time to start making a habit of doing more to gain PR coverage for your company and do more with it once it has been generated.