Press Release!

Writing and Executing!

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When written and designed effectively, a press release can help you increase your sales, give your
business greater public exposure, and enhance your company or product image. !

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Purpose of a Press Release!
It describes what's new, different, and exciting about your
business or product. Think of a press release as a story, one
that is dedicated to highlighting all the unique features and
benefits of your business or product. !

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It gets media people interested in writing about your product or business. A press release is the
accepted and standard form of communicating information to the media. The media has to know
about you before they can write about you. !

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It builds awareness for your company and product. Media coverage can expose your product and/
or business name to hundreds, thousands, even millions of potential customers.!

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 What Kind of Media Coverage is generated By Using a Press Release? !
The answer is publicity and it can take various forms: !

Feature news articles. A feature article can be an in-depth article in a newspaper or magazine
devoted solely to the subject of your product or business. Or, you might be mentioned in an
article on a specific topic that your business or product is related to. !

Radio or television interviews. Your product or service can be talked about on a broadcast
program or you or someone representing your organization might be interviewed. !

Product reviews. Newspapers and magazines frequently print columns spotlighting new products
that might interest or benefit their readers. !

How is a Press Release Different from a Paid Advertisement? !

Advertising is a tightly controlled message and a press release is not. The greatest distinction
between the two is that the publicity generated by the media from a press release is not paid,
therefore it is more credible and often impacts on the reader or viewer more significantly than an
advertisement. !

One of the greatest benefits of a press release is that it can generate sales and interest and it's
much lower in cost to produce than other sales materials or an advertisement. !

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Popular Myths Concerning Press Releases !
The purpose of a press release is to give the media information they can reprint word-for-word in
their publication. !

Wrong. Major newspapers and magazines will never take the information on your press release
and simply reprint it. The purpose of a press release is to entice them into reporting, in their own
words, about your company or product.!

A press release can never be longer than one page. !

Not true. A press release can be as long as three pages or even longer if that's what it takes to
tell your story in a compelling fashion. You can't always flesh out a story and make it interesting
in one page. One-page press releases are fine to announce new employees and straightforward
business news, but a press release will usually be two to three pages depending on the subject.!

A press release should only be distributed to the media. !

No. The basic function of a press release is to disseminate information. Press releases can be
effective marketing tools when distributed at trade shows, mailed to associations, or released at
speaking engagements. Anyone who is a potential customer is a candidate to receive your press
release.!

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 Creating and Executing the Press Release!
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Creating and executing your press release will follow these three stages: !

• Plan !
• Write !
• Mail !
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Plan !
Before you begin writing your press release take a few minutes and answer the following
questions: !

• What am I trying to accomplish with my press release? !

• Are my expectations realistic? !
• What is my marketing message and is it newsworthy? !
• Who should receive my press release?!
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Determine Your Goals: Before you begin writing your press release, you need to know what
you hope to accomplish with it. Do you have a new product to introduce or have you improved
upon an existing one? Do you want to increase your visibility in a new market? Having a clear
understanding of your goals will help you focus the text of your press release to meet those
expectations.!

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Make Sure Your Goals Are Realistic. Many people have unrealistic expectations in terms of
what they think a press release will accomplish. Chances are your sales aren't going to triple
overnight just because you wrote and mailed a press release. A press release is one part of an
overall public relations campaign and it can be highly effective sales tool but often, you won't see
immediate results. Yes, there are amazing media success stories, but most businesses never fall
into this category. Depending on the story your press release will tell, ten phone calls from
journalists will be terrific, other times two will mean success. !

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Determine Your Marketing Message: Often referred to by journalists and PR professionals
as a "hook" or "angle, " your marketing message should make your press release newsworthy. It
should be describing what's special about your company's product or service and focusing a great
deal of attention on it. !

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 Answering These Three Questions Will Help You Establish Your Hook: !

How is my product or service really different, special, unusual from my competitors? !

What innovations has my company pioneered in our field? !

What would make people want to read or hear about us?!

Write down what is most unique about your product or service, what it does that none of your
competitors can do. You should write and execute a press release campaign only if you can answer
the above questions in a compelling, meaningful fashion. !

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Determine Who Should Receive Your Press Release: Whoever would realistically be most
interested in the information outlined in your press release should receive a copy. For example,
the fat-burning yogurt with a new breakthrough ingredient is likely to pique the interest of many
different kinds of media people at newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. Food editors,
health and fitness writers, lifestyle editors, and science editors (they'll want to know about the
secret ingredient) are all good candidates to be on your mailing list. !

You should tailor your press release to interest your main target group. If, you mail a press release
about Yogurt Dream to food editors you want to highlight taste and nutrition. Lifestyle editors
will seize on the trendy aspect of wanting to lose weight. Science editors will be more interested
in learning about the special chemical compounds your product contains. !

Even if you were going to mail your press release to a technically oriented publication or editor,
you cannot be guaranteed that the person who initially reads it has the same technical expertise
as you. Also, editors and reporters tend to share information with their colleagues so a science
editor may pass your press release along to a business editor. Therefore, avoid highly technical
language and detail except when absolutely necessary. !

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Before You Write, Research: One of the best ways to determine if it's possible and likely to
generate coverage for yourself in any of the magazines is to read these publications. You can visit
your local library and get several back issues of newspapers and magazines. Doing this will
increase your understanding of the media and save you from mailing press releases unnecessarily.
It will also give you a better sense of the journalistic style you should write to the media. !

As you read various publications, pay careful attention to the following: !

The other types of similar products or services that have been reported on. !

Reporters who seem to regularly cover your business or product area and the style they report in
— are they strictly hard news or is their writing humorous? !

Notice headlines that attract your attention and write them down. Copy or clip articles in a
similar subject area that you find interesting and well written. !

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There are seven basic elements that every press release should have in terms of content and how
it appears: !

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: These words appear in the upper left hand margin, just
under your letter head. You can place them on the right if that fits in more easily with the
positioning of your letterhead, but placement on the left side is more traditional. To make the
statement stand out, always boldface and capitalize every letter and make it a slightly larger font
size. !

Contact Information: Skip a line or two after release statement and list the name, title,
telephone, and fax numbers of your company spokesperson (the person with the most
information). It is important to give your home number since reporters often work on deadlines
and may not be available until after hours. !

Headline: Skip two lines after contact information and list in boldface type your main headline. !

Dateline: The city your press release is issued from and the date you are mailing your release
will begin your first sentence. !

Lead Paragraph: The first paragraph needs to grab the readers attention but also quickly
impart the relevant information key to your message such as the five Ws … who, what, when,
where, why. !

Text: The main body of your press release should thoroughly develop your angle. !

Concluding Recap: At the bottom left hand corner of your last page restate your products
specifications, highlight a product release date, and indicate if a free sample or review copy is
available to the media. Don't forget to list your booth number if you'll be attending a trade show.!

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Beyond Your Mailing !
You may want to follow-up via telephone to your press release. Often this is what separates those
who get publicity from those who don't. In many cases, your press release may be sitting in a pile
of 200 and you have to telephone to get it noticed. A phone call may at least prompt the media
person to read and remember your press release. !

You can't personally telephone every person on your mailing list. Pick the top ten or twenty
major journalists from your list and try contacting them via telephone. Remember that the media
works on tight deadlines and may not have time to speak with you. !

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 CHECKLIST !
Plan !

___ Have you established your goals? !

___ Are they realistic? !

___ What is your hook? Is it newsworthy? !

___ Have you researched the media? !

Write !

___ Do you have the seven basic elements? !

___ Do you have a headline that will get attention? !

___ Does your lead paragraph encompass the 5 Ws? !

___Is the main body of your text conveying the relevant product benefits or most interesting
story details? !

___ Are you using the proper format? !

Mail !

___ Is your mailing list the right size? !

___ Have you used all the best possible sources to create your mailing list? !

___ Are you keeping your mailing list up-to-date? !

___ Have you determined if you will mail or fax? !

___ Have you evaluated your response? Do you need to increase your mailing? Change your hook? !

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