You're
excited about your new product/service/opportunity and you want the
world to know. You've written down your talking points, you type them
up and before long, you've sent out your press release to everyone in
your media contact list...and you wait on the edge of your seat for Wolf
Blitzer to show up with his camera crew.
And you
wait. And wait. Finally, you realize that something is wrong and that
no one is responding. What happened? Where did you go wrong?
Businesses,
candidates for public office, non-profit organizations and individuals
face this dilemma with regularity and yes, it's frustrating. It doesn't
necessarily have to be, however, and crafting a press release that gets
attention and broadens your reach can be accomplished with relative
ease. Here are a few tips and options that may help you in your quest
for media attention.
1. Hire a professional.
Companies such as Allure are available to help you with your marketing
message and media relations and more often than not, they are more
affordable than you realize.
2. No PDF.
As tempting as it may be, never send a press release as a PDF file. It
can get caught up in spam filters and some companies even go so far as
to not accept emails with any attachments whatsoever. In addition, some
reporters "cut and paste" from press releases and it's kind of hard to
do with a PDF.
3. Write like a reporter.
Your headline/subject should read just like the opening of a newscast.
Short, attention-grabbing and hot. In order to write like a reporter,
you have to think like one. Sell your story in a manner that a reporter
would be excited to pitch your "story" to the news director, not just
be a filler.
4. Short is good. If your
press release is more than one page, you're doing it wrong. The goal of
the release is to get the recipient excited enough to contact you, to
learn more about your message, not to tell the whole story in painful
detail. Include a "call to action" in your release, and that too should
be short and concise.
5. Contact information.
You would be amazed at how many press releases go out with no telephone
numbers or contact information. If you simply put your web address and
make the recipient have to work to find out how to get in touch with
you, you can rest assured that they will not. Include a name, telephone
number, email address and once you do...
6. Be available.
Simply put, make sure that your phone is on, your email is working and
that you are more than willing to set aside some time to talk about your
message.
Press releases aren't that difficult to
prepare and do so in a way that generates response. We can help you.
contact us today. services@allurenetworks.net
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