4 Essential K.I.S.S. (Keep It SUPER Simple) Tips Before Submitting Your Next Press Release
These are essential tips any entrepreneur should consider before hitting the send button for your next press release.
- Know the publication. What does the content typically cover?; are the articles lengthy or quick one page articles?; is the pub hyper local or covering a wider area?
- Know the Editor/Writer. Whether you’re sending to an Editor or Writer for a publication, you should have at least done a quick search for them online and skimmed some of their most recent work.
- Know your story inside and out. Be prepared for a phone interview or further questions about your press release topic. Know how to convey your story in an interesting manner.
- Know that there are no guarantees your story will get printed. Many things in life are a guessing game, and PR is too. Sure if you write a compelling headline and have an amazing, one of a kind story you might get some bites. But with many small businesses it takes a lot of brainstorming and thought to develop a truly newsworthy press release. And it’s not devaluing you or your business…it’s just that Editors and Writers for publications are inundated with pitches and releases daily. They can’t possibly read and print each one.
So before you send your next press release, consider these tips and if you run into writer’s block consider getting input from peers or a professional public relations expert.
Copyright 2009 Teresa H. Berger, MBA & Innovate Services PR|Editorial
simplified, consistent public relations | copy editing
Brian Solis Puts the Public Back in Public Relations
Why Squeeze Pages Are Stupid
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I found this article by Sean D’Souza worth sharing. I’ve seen squeeze pages crop up everywhere and always wondered if anyone else felt a little disappointed or turned-off by them as I have. Don’t get me wrong, I understand their purpose…but many just seem so long-winded and impersonal or even fake; not what I would call a good marketing tactic. Read what Sean has to say and let me know your take on squeeze pages. Imagine you went for a date with a person you hadn’t met before. And your date wore a paper bag on his/her head. He/She refused to show you his/her face. That date refused to tell you anything about his/her past. Or let you into any information at all. And yet you had to give them information. Like your first name, last name, blah, blah, blah. How do you feel? Well that’s exactly how the customers feel. They feel irritated, frustrated and to choose a mild word: trapped. They know they want the information, but they can’t seem to get the any information from you without filling in that stupid form. Squeeze pages are stupid They are contrary to human nature. They force you into a corner. They force you to part with information based on some random headline and bullet points. So why do we have so many squeeze pages on the Internet? Why do people catch colds and coughs? Yes, one person has it, and then it spreads. One person put in a squeeze page, then everyone else decided to follow suit. And don’t get me wrong. Squeeze pages work. They work wonderfully. Well, so does Bruno, who’s six foot nine inches and weighs 400 pounds.Just because it works doesn’t mean you have to follow suit. Because there are other things that work. Like non-threatening, non-Bruno, no-squeeze pages. Pages that get you to sign up not through intimidation and fear. But pages that get you to sign up because you want to do so. Because persuasion is stupid. Persuasion implies that you acted against your nature. And why get customers to act against their nature when they will gladly give you information? A good opt-in page should entice. It should give you lots of details. At Psychotactics, we’ve collected names, addresses, home numbers, postal addresses, mobile numbers, city, country on our opt-in pages. All without twisting anyone’s arms. We’ve done it to entice customers to subscribe to the newsletter. Or to opt-in to a workshop. Or to buy a product or service. Our customers give us bucket loads of information, because they trust us. They believe in us. They know they’re not on a yucky blind date. I’d rather have that kind of customer, wouldn’t you? Sure beats being squeezed! |
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©2001-2009 Psychotactics Ltd. All Rights Reserved. |
How to follow up with a reporter to make them want to do a story about you.
You sent out your press release in the hopes of getting some free publicity. Now what?
Should you call and ask if the journalist got it? Should you send the media professional a reminder email? Should you leave it to the news release gods?
According to the more than 800 reporters I surveyed, the answer to ALL of these questions is a big NO! More than 79% of media professionals felt a call or email to check if they got the press release is not only inappropriate, but annoying.
A majority (nearly 86%) complained that many people call, and leave terrible messages about their releases on voicemail.
So what ARE you supposed to do?
First, be patient. Wait a few days before making your call. Then when you are ready, follow these guidelines for great phone follow up.
- The amount of time you wait after sending the release depends on the publication’s schedule and how time sensitive your release is.
- Use common sense when deciding the best time to follow up.
- Once you have the editor or reporter on the phone, get to the point without being rude. First, always check if he or she has time to talk to you. If not, ask when is a good time to call back.
- If your journalist has a few minutes (which in the news business means please keep it brief), introduce yourself.
- Summarize the news hook. (If it’s longer than a sentence, your summary is too long.)
- Ask if he or she thinks it sounds like something of interest.
- If you get a positive response, say that you sent a press release a couple of days before, but you’d be happy to resend it.
- If you get a negative response, and you sense that the journalist has a few more moments, ask either how this could be a story he or she would be more interested in or what kind of stories would he or she like to see from you in the future.
Shannon Cherry, APR, MA, is the Power Publicist. She helps entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and other professionals attract more clients and customers by harnessing the power of public relations and marketing. Get your FREE publicity power pack by visiting http://www.beheardsolutions.com.
© 2009, Shannon Cherry, APR, MA & Cherry Communications Corp.
PR Tips – 3 Big Dont’s for Any Public Relations Campaign
It’s easy to make assumptions and think you have a handle on PR, but before you leap and make any concrete decisions consider these 3 common mistakes often made by business owners:
- Public relations is regarded as a short-term solution. Like with your business and marketing plan, public relations is a long-term investment. You are investing your time, money and effort into developing buzz for your brand. Not only that, but your goal should be to develop strong, lasting, working relationships with media contacts. Don’t be a fly-by-nighter; commit to it.
- Public relations can take the place of good, ethical business practices. Okay, if you think this is the case, you are sorely mistaken. Sure public relations has helped some organizations right some wrongs, but that should be the exception, not the rule. And don’t try to cover up poor customer relations with a great news release…bad news travels far and wide so it’ll only be a matter of time before those disgruntled customers share their story with their circle of influence.
- Do your due diligence. Press releases are also called news releases for a reason…they’re meant to be newsworthy. You don’t have to have some crazy new invention or have won the Nobel Peace Prize…you just need to know how to spin your news and relate it to current events so that the media will take notice. Consider what your customers would want to know about you. Do they have questions you need to answer or problems you can solve? Make your news newsworthy; not about what you think people want to hear from you.
Copyright 2009 Teresa H. Berger, MBA & Innovate Services
Innovate Services & Client Media Mentions…
http://www.business-opportunities.biz http://blog.cristinafavreau.com http://www.ivaa.org/pdfs/latestcast.pdf http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/blog
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