It’s widespread knowledge that one of the common ways a company receives free publicity and builds its expertise attracting media attention. Although it takes time and work to get noticed by journalists, at the base of a great public relations campaign is the press release. If you’d like to build a positive relationship with news editors, often times a press release is the most efficient way in.
However, not all press releases are created equal. In fact, most of them end up in the trash. If you want members of the media to contact you regarding stories you pitch, or for stories they are already working on, you have to send the appropriate message in your press releases. The following five elements should help you communicate your message effectively:
1. The Five W’s and that one H of Reporting – Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How
Facts are the basis of every news story, and when reporters need fundamental, facts they often turn to press releases. This is the why who, what, when, where, why, and how of the story are so important. When creating your press release, take a few minutes to organize the facts about the news you hope to communicate. This information is the basis for the entire story, and you will emphasize it in the lead paragraph of your release so news editors don’t need to read very far to get the gist of your message.
2. A Brief, but Catchy Headline
Press Release Headlines should communicate what the story is about, capture the attention of the reader, and so in ten words or less. Your headline present the news in in a catch, but informative manner, such as “Teen Smoking is On The Rise” “Despite Improves in Technology, Productivity is Down”.
3. You’ll Need a Hook
Once you’ve gotten your readers’ attention, you need to hook them. It should be something to compel the reader to continue reading, such as a startling fact or statistic, a compelling question, or a common problem. This hook often communicates a common problem and a startling statistic, such as “This year 40 percent of high school students will try tobacco” or “At least 30% of adult males have an undiagnosed learning disability.”
4. A Quotable Quote or Two
As you diver deeper into the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your story, providing as much detail as possible in the least amount of words as possible, you will start writing the main body of your press release. In doing so, you should also provide quotes that the journalist can pull right from your release. The media loves getting quotes directly from the source of the news and by giving them a quote or two, you make the journalist’s job that much easier, and better your chances of getting mentioned in the paper. If possible you should use quotes that really highlight the impact of your news.
5. A Call to Action
Even though you got your main points in, you still have to close your press release with a call to action. If you want reporters to book you for an interview, you should say so. If you want them to cover your event, make that your call to action. Don’t forget to include your contact information.
Remember the goal of your press release should be to get media mentions for your company. It’s like free advertising and it establishes you as the expert in your field. Remember, even if you don’t get written up in a full length story, media professionals may keep your information on file for when the do need your expertise. So the better your press release is, the greater your chances of getting that free publicity, everyone is seeking.
About the Author:
This article was written by http://www.wesupchurch.com. Wes Upchurch is the owner of http://www.pressdr.com, a quality http://pressdr.com/distribution/rss/article-distribution-service.php.
Article Source: ActuaFreeArticles.com
|
Current Comments
0 comments so far (post your own)