Think of a press release as your ticket to publicity–one thatcan get your company coverage in publications or on TV and radiostations. Editors and reporters get hundreds of press releases aday. So how can you make yours stand out?
First, be sure you have a reason for sending a press release. Agrand opening, a new product or a special event are all goodreasons.
Second, make sure your press release is targeted for thepublication or broadcast you’re sending it to. The editor of Road& Track is not going to be interested in the baby pacifier youinvented. It sounds obvious, but many entrepreneurs make themistake of sending press releases without considering apublication’s audience.
To ensure readability, your press release should follow thestandard format: typed, double-spaced, on white letterhead with acontact person’s name, title, company, address and phone number inthe upper right-hand corner. Below this information, put a brief,eye-catching headline in bold type. A dateline–for example, “LosAngeles, California, April 10, 2006”–follows, leading into thefirst sentence of the release.
Limit your press release to one or two pages at most. It shouldbe just long enough to cover the six basic elements: who, what,when, where, why and how. The answers to these six questions shouldbe mentioned in order of their importance to the story.
Don’t embellish or hype the information. Remember, you are notwriting the article; you are merely presenting the information andshowing why it’s relevant to that publication in hopes they’llwrite about it. Pay close attention to grammar and spelling.Competition is intense, and a press release full of typos is morelikely to get tossed aside.
ome business owners use gimmicks to get their press releasesnoticed. In most cases, this is a waste of money. If you release iswell-written and relevant, you don’t need a singing telegram to getyour message across.
If you have the money to invest, you may want to send out apress kit, a folder containing a cover letter, press release, yourbusiness card and photos. You can also include any otherinformation that will convince reporters your business isnewsworthy: reprints of articles other publications have writtenabout your business, product reviews or background information onthe company and its principals. If you send out a press kit, makesure it’s sharp and professional-looking and that all graphicelements tie in with your company’s logo and image.
