Goodnight
Kiss Music (BMI) & Scene Stealer Music (ASCAP)
July 25, 2000 - August 16,
2000
PRESS RELEASES = Free Fame
The absolute cheapest and farthest "bang for the buck"
that
one can get promotion-wise, is releasing an article to the press.
It is AMAZING how far a story can go, compared to an ad.
Here are a couple of suggestions from the pros.
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5 Tips for a Killer Press Release
Angie Dixon MarketWrite.com
Will your press release get the media's attention? If I
could answer that question, I'd have so much money I'd be
living in Tahiti, getting a tan right now instead of
working for a living. The simple truth is it's just
impossible to know whether your press release will work.
But here are five ways to really improve the response to
your press release.
1. Send your release on a slow news day. Okay, this is hard
to predict, but if you have a release you've been planning
to send, that's not time-sensitive, watch for a day when
nothing really major (at least not much) is happening in
the world and send it then.
2. When there IS something going on in the world, link your
press release to a big news item or event. This will grab
the editor's attention and increase the odds of getting
your release used--or even getting an interview!
3. Make your release newsworthy. If it reads like a sales
letter, it will get pitched, not printed. It's okay to
mention how to find your product, even include a URL (and
maybe a phone number, depending on the type of company you
operate), but beyond that, leave out the commercialism.
4. Address the editor by name. It takes time to find out
the editors' names, and your list might be shorter if you
do this. You might have 500 names instead of 5,000
anonymous addresses. But wouldn't you rather be targeting
specific people than sending out blindly? It certainly
makes more sense.
5. Write a grabber headline. Make your headline sing. Don't
say, "Web site offers free items." Say, "New Site
Highlights Thousands of Totally Free Offers." Think of your
press release as an alternative type of sales letter, one
in which you can't use sales copy, but have to be
persuasive without sounding like you're trying to sell.
With that in mind, write a headline that persuades the
editor (and then readers of the publication) to read your
story.
So, will your press release work now? Sorry, I'm still
working for a living and I'm not living in Tahiti. But
chances are that if you follow the tips above, your release
will get the editor's attention, be printed, and get the
reader's attention.
_______________________________________________
Angie Dixon is the author of "MarketWrite: Harness
the Power of Words to Boost Your Online Sales.
" Download a free excerpt at http://www.marketwrite.com/
Contact Angie by email at angie@marketwrite.com
or by phone at 501-421-0185, anytime.
* * *
ARE YOU READY TO SEND THAT PRESS RELEASE?
by Kate Schultz
Before you send your press release, make sure that you
are properly prepared to deal with the media. Complete
this checklist before you send off your press release.
1. Did you publish the press release on your Website?
If your press release is not important enough for
you to publish on your Website, why would anybody
else be interested?
2. Do you have a plan to make sure the PR phone is
answered by the appropriate PR contacts to answer
press questions regarding your press release?
If a reporter calls, do you know what to do? Or say?
Do you have a trained staff PR person or a
professional publicist to answer those calls?
Knowing and understanding the media is key to your
success. Do you know what to expect when being
interviewed? You might need to prepare and rehearse
answering questions so that you can handle
interviews
with expertise.
3. What's the purpose of your press release?
Sales, visits to your Website, visibility? Your
response to the media should reflect your goals for
this press release.
4. Do you have an Electronic Press Center on your
Website?
Imagine that someone in the media reads your press
release and is actually interested enough to visit
your Website. Do you have enough information about
your company to provide the media with background
information to complete a story? To further
enhance
your relationship with the press, develop an online
press room. Create online copies of your print press
kit materials so that journalists interested in you
or your company can access your press kit
immediately.
A press release is generally focused on one event
and, if your company is small, the additional
information in an online press kit will allow the
reporter to the press release into context.
* * *
WHAT DO I INCLUDE IN AN ELECTRONIC PRESS CENTER?
A good Electronic Press Center is simple to use and
convenient to access. Remember that the purpose of
your online press kit is to provide immediate answers
to reporters and the media who wish to learn more about
your business so they can share the news with their
audiences.
Create a link on your navigation bar called "About Us."
Then create a web page with links to the following
information in your online press center.
1. PRESS RELEASES
Publish your press releases in reverse
chronological order.
2. CONTACT INFORMATION
Make sure the Contact Information section has all
of the contact information for your company,
including a physical address, and fax number.
3. A SHORT WELCOME LETTER
Include basic contact information: name, address
and phone number of the contact person.
4. CORPORATE BACKGROUNDER
Write this page in an executive summary style using
bulleted lists. Your goal is to make the page easy
to skim through. Company backgrounders include
information about the company, history and profiles
of key personnel.
5. WHITE PAPERS, TECHNICAL PAPERS AND CASE HISTORIES
In the case histories, include a specific customer's
problem, how your company's product or service
helped to solve the problem, and a quote showing how
your products or services can help anyone else with
a similar problem.
6. REPRINTS
Include reprints or reviews about your products.
When possible, include links to online news stories
about your company.
To make it easier for reporters to use your material,
make your press releases and company backgrounders
available via email autoresponders or downloadable
Microsoft Word or PDF documents. These are much easier
to edit than to cut and paste text from Websites.
More mainstream media are looking at Web sites for story
ideas. Reporters get hundreds of press releases each day.
If a press release catches the eye of a reporter who is
unfamiliar with your company, having additional
information available in the form of an online press kit
will make it easier for the reporter to work on a story
idea, which can make it more likely your release will be
picked up and generate the extra promotion for which it
was designed.
Kate Schultz is the founder of E-ZineZ and EzineUniversity.
Provided by EZ News Wire at http://www.e-zinez.com.
_________________________________________
Press Release
by Deborah Anderson
I was reluctant to try it at first. I mean, isn't it
egotistical, to say the least? Who would read my
little press release?
Then, I was offered the opportunity to distribute my
press release for free through Digital Work at
http://www.DigitalWork.com. I figured I didn't have
anything to lose, so I tried it. And, you know,
to this day, it was the most successful promotion
that I have ever done, short of search engines.
Ok, enough about me - here are some resources to
help you prepare and distribute your press release:
http://www.digitalwork.com
http://www.webwire.com/
http://www.canadaone.com/promote/pressrelease.html
http://www.gebbieinc.com/
http://internetwriters.com/
http://www.gapent.com/pr/
http://www.prweb.com
http://www.newsbureau.com
http://www.medialink.com
http://www.imediafax.com
http://www.mediapost.com
http://www.webcom.com/impulse/resource.html
http://www.edunet.com/english/grammar
Deborah Anderson, of AndersonCreations.com,
teaches web design and internet marketing in
addition to publishing Webmaster Tips Weekly.
http://webmaster-tips-weekly.com/webtips
_________________________________________
Press Releases
by Patrick Tan
1) IDENTIFY YOUR READERS
Do you understand your consumers well? As marketers,
it is important for you to recognize the profile and
buying behavior of your consumers. Information such as
their age groups, interests and preferred media would
come in handy when you want to reach out to them
effectively.
The key to an effective communication, whether verbal
or written, lies in presenting your messages to an
interested audience or readers. Whenever possible, you
should only send your press releases to those media
whose readers' profile matches that of your target
consumers.
You must send your press release to the right persons
in order to increase the chance of having your story
published. Look through the chosen newspapers and
identify those reporters who cover events or activities
that share the same theme as your products or services.
You can identify the reporters by the articles' byline.
2) PRIORITIZE YOUR MESSAGES
Before you start writing a press release, you should
list down all the relevant facts and details on a
piece of paper. This is a good writing practice. It
helps you organize your story better. I encourage every
writer to make it a habit to do so.
How should we go about collating all the information
and facts surrounding a particular event? A simple
rule of thumb is to find answers to questions
pertaining to who, what, when, where, why or 5 Ws of
the event. And we do not stop at just the absolute
facts and figures. These must be presented in the
right perspective relative to some industry norms,
trends and statistics. You may have to undertake some
research by going through past industry and newspaper's
reports.
The next step is to evaluate and prioritize the facts
according to their relative importance in conveying
your intended message to the media. The most important
fact will form the basis for your story's angle.
3) RELATE MESSAGE TO READERS
What you want to say about your product or service may
not be the same as what your readers want to know. What
this means is that you and your readers may look at the
same event from totally different perspectives.
To kindle your readers' interest, you must present your
intended message from their perspective. If you have
done a good job in understanding your readers, you
should have no problem in empathizing with their view
and interest. This is widely known in journalism as
having "a nose for news". It all boils down to having
a sharp sensitivity to factors that make a person tick!
For example:
A non-profit organization may want to rally the
community to support its vision of increasing the
number of foster care homes for homeless cats and
dogs in the neighborhoods.
This message may go down well with pet lovers whose
love for pets would be sufficient motivation for
them to provide a home for the homeless cats and
dogs. But it may not necessary touch the heart of
the majority.
The organization could, however, increase its chance
of getting support from the community by focusing on
how it could help alleviate the problems caused by
having too many stray cats and dogs in the
neighborhoods.
In other words, the organization is providing a
solution to a problem, which if left unchecked,
could grow to become a menace to the community.
For example, stray cats and dogs running loose on
busy streets may lead to traffic accidents. To
highlight the severity of the problem, a statement
of this kind must be supported with statistics.
The above example illustrates how we can present the
same event - provide foster care homes for cats and
dogs - from two different perspectives - a love for
pets (organization) and a concern that stray cats and
dogs could become a menace (community).
4) PRESENT STORY IN RIGHT CONTEXT
The above example also demonstrates the importance of
presenting your story in the right context. It is a
fact that there are many homeless cats and dogs in the
neighborhoods. But can you establish the claim that
stray cats and dogs could become a menace to the
community. You may have to undertake some research by
going through past community and newspaper's reports.
If necessary, you may consider conducting an opinion's
poll at your website or in your neighborhood to gauge
public response.
You are now ready to present the headline or angle of
your story. Using the above example, the headline
could go like this:
Say "NO" to stray cats and dogs!
Sub-headline:
[Name of organization] offers solution to clear up the
streets.
Opening paragraph:
Giving stray cats and dogs a home may be the answer to
our long-standing problem, which if left unchecked,
could grow to become a menace to our community.
Follow by statistics:
. . . . . to illustrate the severity of the problems.
Follow by details and merits of increasing the number
of foster care homes for homeless cats and dogs in the
neighborhood.
The above writing tips should help you get started on
writing a press release yourself. Remember that prac-
tice makes perfect and the best way to learn how to
write an effective press release is to observe how
business news is reported in the business section of
your newspapers.
Patrick Tan, a former journalist and entrepreneur,
offers a complete range of e-commerce solutions,
services and free resources to help you build a
successful career online. Visit his site at
http://www.aloha-city.com for more information.
He publishes a free newsletter to share his
experience and business know-how. Subscribe Now!
mailto:basics@aloha-city.com.
_________________________________________
Three Sure-Fire Ways To Get $1,000s
in Free
Media Coverage For Your Business
by Earl B. Hall * PowerPub.com
Media advertising can be expensive. Radio ads cost
hundreds, TV spots run into the thousands, and a big
newspaper ad can eat up two month's pay in a hurry.
Should your small business give up on ever getting
promoted by big media? Absolutely not! Thousands of
media firms are looking for businesses to promote for
free. Everyone from major news magazines to your
local radio station to your industry's newsletter are
looking for good stories to tell.
Here are three of the top ways to get this free
advertising for your business.
1. Send out a press release with tips or helpful
information that the media audience will appreciate.
Editors can't resist good info they know their
readers will love. In exchange for you letting them
use your good ideas, media will mention your
business in the story.
The best way to get this kind of coverage is to
send out your own press release. Put your contact
info at the top followed by a headline that tells
editors what the release covers and why they should
read it.
2. Create a VISUAL event TV news won't be able to
resist. Use a giant check to donate funds to a
local charity. Have customers wrestle in a pool
of Jell-O for the key to a free car.
TV uses pictures to tell its stories. Express your
story in a very visual way and you will immediately
interest TV producers. Send your press release to
local stations. Call the newsroom with info on your
upcoming visual event.
3. Get on radio talk shows. There are thousands of
local and national talk shows that are constantly
looking for people who can entertain their audiences
with good information.
If your area of expertise matches a topic that is
in the news, you can easily be a guest on a talk
show. Send radio your press release along with a
sample list of questions to ask you.
You can stage your own national talk show tour
using the telephone in your office.
Earl B. Hall is an expert on using press
releases to get free media coverage. Use his
NetPower Media Magnet to send your release to
11,000 media contacts. It takes just minutes
to insure your business gets in the news and
stays there. See http://PowerPub.com/
In a
hurry? Discover the latest tips and trends of
web marketing with a FREE subscription to his
"NetPower New-World Gazette".
Mailto:subscribe@powerpub.com Get ideas and promote your own press release
after visiting these sites:
http://www.BusinessWire.com
http://www.XpressPress.com
http://www.pressflash.com/
http://www.PRnewswire.com
http://www.newsrocket.com/
http://www.ideasiteforbusiness.com/cpress1.htm
http://www.comitatusgroup.com/pr/index.htm
http://www1.internetwire.com/iwire/home
http://www.m2.com/
http://www.mrsmithmedia.com/
http://emedia1.mediainfo.com/emedia/
http://www.baygo.com/press/
http://www.urlwire.com/
_________________________________________
(C)2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Janet Fisher, Goodnight Kiss Music, no reprints without permission.
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