You have the story of a lifetime. Editors are going to drop their jaws in
amazement. You just can’t wait to get the press release on their desk. You fire up
the fax machine, hit the go button and then rush over to your phone to wait for the
calls. And nothing happens. You check your confirmation sheet, 500 faxes sent out
successfully, but still nothing happens. Chances are you’ve made one of the 3 fatal
mistakes people often make when sending out a press release.
The first mistake many people make in writing a press release is they allow their
own biases to taint their story. Who cares what you think? It may be important to
you, but what really matters is what the editor and the audience he sells to believes.
Andrew Carnegie explains that he loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but he
discovered a long time ago that when he goes fishing the fish much prefer worms,
not peanut and butter. As you write the headline to your press release, be sure it
pulls at the needs, wants or interests of your intended audience. Every press release
needs to be either fascinating, shocking or relevant.
Some stories may seem hard to frame for the general public, but it’s usually just a
matter of looking for the proper spin to frame it in. The fact that the city mall
installed an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) may sound incredibly important
to you, but most of the general public will only wonder how much of their tax
money was wasted keeping some doctor happy. If, on the other hand, your headline
read “20 Lives Could Have Been Saved If We Had Installed The Automatic External
Defibrillator A Year Earlier”, now you have the world’s attention. Which lives? Could
it
save my life? What is it? Suddenly the “common folk” see a purpose for it.
The second deadly mistake many beginners make in sending press releases is to
package them in flowery color. They want to catch the editors attention. They hire a
graphic artist to draw incredible artwork along the borders, they mold their type
into the shape of a tree. Anything you do to set you apart from the crowd will do
just that, set you apart from the crowd. Editors will realize before even reading your
release that you’re a beginner. The old timers know better. The very fact that it’s
being faxed as a news story gets the editors attention. He’s in the news business.
He has to sort though what’s going on to find the information they need during
their news breaks. The headline on your news release needs to be in larger bold
type, something that gets their attention. Everything else needs to look simple and
tidy. Delivering your release along with a dozen long stemmed roses will probably
get a smile out of the editor, but chances are she won’t bother reading it.
The final mistake many make in composing press releases is to say too much.
They’re worried the editor won’t find the story interesting enough unless they get all
the details. If you can’t make the story interesting in 150 words or less, then you
probably need to go back to point number one and reframe the story. A
professional press release always fits entirely on one, single spaced page. And that
includes contact information and a bold headline on top. A cardinal rule that’ll keep
you out of a lot of problems is to remember always that THE ONLY goal of a press
release is to get the editor to call you. You just need to convince him or her that
there may be something worth looking into here. If they’re at all interested, they’ll
pick up the phone and find out more.
Avoid these three deadly mistakes, and you’ll be well on your way. As you write your
release, be sure you:
1. Give them what they’re looking for, and not necessarily what you think is
important.
2. Keep it simple, don’t use gimmicks,
3. Keep it short and to the point.
And then go sit by your phone and wait for the calls.
Author’s Bio
Paul Hartunian is widely considered the world’s leading authority on writing press
releases and getting publicity for any product, service, cause or issue.
Subscribe to Paul’s free publicity ezine “Million Dollar Publicity Tactics”. By going to http://www.Hartunian.com/ezine.
Also be sure to check out all the great free
publicity
resources at his website http://www.Hartunian.com
Also be sure to read the story of how Paul used press releases and publicity to become the first person in history to really sell the world famous Brooklyn Bridge. You can read the story at http://www.Hartunian.com/bridge.html
You can reach Paul at (973) 857-4142 or by email at href="mailto:Paul@Hartunian.com">Paul@Hartunian.com.
