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| - Quick Tips Departments - |
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| Getting Press Releases into Press |
Press releases represent that holy grail of marketing: seeing your product viewed as news in the editorial pages, rather than relegated to the less-read, more expensive ad spaces. Competition for such limited slots, however, is usually stiffer than getting your first, unsolicited novel onto the best sellers list. To tip the odds a little more in your favor, listen to these seven points editors suggest.
1. Remember your reader. You are sending this to an editor/reporter who is hunting for easily readable information that he can swiftly translate into a story. He wants to find the pieces quickly, listed logically, and with enough flare that he can easily adopt phrases into his copy and make it sound interesting for his readers.
2. Frame your meat. Though various formats work, one frequent winner is to place the company name, web, and phone in color in the upper right, and “For Release” underlined at the top left. (Never say “immediate.”) Place the Headline - maximum 12 words - in bold, larger type, just below, in the center. (Underlining headlines makes reading them more difficult.)
Then at the page bottom list all the contact information. This focuses the attention to your central text - your message.
3. Lead with a hook. Start with a terse, startling sentence, then a somewhat longer one that leads into an explanation of the first. It can be an amazing statistic, or a fact about the product, without actually naming the product. e.g. “Zero to sixty in 4.2 seconds. Not bad for a family wagon...” Another trick is to imply a question and not immediately answer it. e.g. “The first two generations almost answered the need. Now...”
Feed the reader some first phrase that will catch his eye and keep him reading.
4. Text enticements. Break your write up into sensible segments, starting each part with a bold lead that moves right into the ensuing sentence. e.g.
“Dr. Smith is the man experts seek when they...” to begin his biography paragraph
“The New Blood Lust Video Game has been voted best use of gore...” when you are giving the product description.
5. Bullet event info. If the press release refers to an event, place the following listing just under the initial hook paragraph.
Event Title
Title of Speaker’s talk (if any)
Name of Speaker, his title
Day, Date, and Time
Place
The Sponsor
The Cost
The Contact
Then continue to elaborate on the event in the following text segments.
6. Definitely Do: use statistics, quotations and comparisons, controversial thought and opposing views. One of the most successful publicists always includes a list of interesting stats and quotes at the end as a handy editor’s reference. They love him - and they publish him.
7. For Heaven’s Sake Avoid: Leading with “The XYZ Corporation announced today that...” Remember, an editor is primarily trying to interest his readers. If the news in intriguing, he doesn’t care a fig about which company is involved. Show him first the interesting tidbit.
Also, avoid gushy, self-laudatory adjectives. Editors won’t tell readers how marvelously fabulously innovative your new software is. Rather, tell him how the product or the event is unique and timely.
Biz4 |
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