7 Publicity Tips for Press Release Writers

By Viqi French

I won't say exactly how long, but I've worked in public relations for quite a while. This has given me an interesting perspective on how the Internet is revolutionizing press release writing as well as press release distribution.

What's different is that publicists, public relations consultants and D-I-Y media seekers such as small business bloggers, ezine publishers and ebook authors no longer have to pray that media reps bless them with media coverage. Everyone now has the power to build traffic for their establishment or website without traditional media's consent.

Thanks to the web, you can put your press release directly in front of your targeted audiences.
The Internet makes it increasingly easy for anyone to write a press release and upload it various places in cyberspace, where many potential customers can find it.

But if you want your information taken seriously and actually acted on, you'll want to be much more strategic than just slapping it up...

What follows are 7 key tools, techniques and tips that today's press release writers can use to secure Internet (and other) media coverage.

1. One best practice for press release writers involves SEO (search engine optimization). Little sets the course for making your information findable like the use a keyword search tool such as the one at Google AdWords. It helps you identify which phrases your target audience searches for the most. Choose, say, three or four of your strongest, related terms -- those which your potential customers are likely to search to hire someone like you or shop for what you sell.

2. Write your press release draft plainly, as if you were just talking. One-and-a-half pages long is a good average (approximately 500 words, single spaced). Vary your sentence lengths; some short, some longer. Sprinkle your key terms five or six times throughout your press release, including in your document's title. Include links to your website or blog in at least three different sections -- in your lead paragraph, last paragraph and contact section.

3. Proofread your press release and in the process, add your key terms a few more times. This really helps your SEO strategy, strongly telling Google and other services what your information focuses on. (For example, my main keywords for this article are the terms press release, press releases, press release writers, how to write a press release and press release distribution.)

4. Sorry, but you should proofread it again. This time, you're focusing on writing style. Go for some type of drama in your lead paragraph. You need a compelling angle or sentence upfront that'll engage readers and keep them. Sometimes simply rearranging the order of paragraphs (or sentences) makes a stronger lead-in. Now Spellcheck what you've written to catch any typos.

5. Next, implement your press release distribution. PRWeb.com is one of the best, most affordable paid press release distribution services available. Not only do countless people visit PRWeb to read what's new (and sometimes post those press releases to their blogs or otherwise contact you), the service also has an RSS feed system which delivers press releases to those who've subscribed to your keywords. This includes major media, online and offline.

6. Also take advantage of some of the free press release distribution services online. Work smarter, not harder here... If you're short on time, just pick those offering your social bookmark support for free. Some of the free sites also allow you to include a graphic image or photograph.
Almost all of the sites, for a fee, provide additional visibility for press release writers, though. (Note: We rarely use the free sites that aren't picked up by Google or those which bury new press releases waaay in the back of their listings.)

7. Commit to commenting on a number of sizable websites, zines and blogs. Choose these smartly and on each leave a thoughtful, relevant comment with a link to your press release. If you've used a paid service such as PRWeb, use this as your link in comments, as PRWeb lends more credibility than the free services.

If these steps on how to write a press release and get publicity seem like more work than you have time for, find an affordable PR consultant or freelance ghostwriter to get you on track.
Choose a committed service that will provide you a customized plan designed to meet your budget -- not one that treats you in a run-of-the-mill factory fashion. We're here for you and may be right under your nose!

Viqi French is the principal consultant for PetLeopard.com, an innnovative virtual marketing communications boutique.

Pet Leopard provides affordable publicity, marketing and ghostwriting services that specifically meet the budget needs of today's small business and Internet marketers.

For service details, visit: http://petleopard.com or subscribe to the blog at http://fiercelystrategic.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Viqi_French

Stop Writing Press Releases - Start Writing News Releases

By Philip Yaffe

Recommending that you stop writing press releases and start writing news releases is not a play on words. It is sound advice.

In common parlance, "press release" and "news release" mean the same thing. However, the terminology people use often betrays a fundamental difference in how they put this information together and how well it is accepted by the media.

Early in my career, I was editor of a daily newspaper and later a writer with The Wall Street Journal. One of my jobs was to screen submissions to decide which ones we would print and which ones we would print and we would throw away.
Approximately 80 - 85% of submissions failed the first screening, a
life or death decision usually made within 60 seconds or less. On the other hand, the vast majority of those that survived this first screening also survived the second one and were ultimately published.

What made the difference? Basically, it was in how the author of the document viewed the material being submitted.

• Losers. Information a company or organisation wanted to see printed for its own benefit.

• Winners. Information a company or organisation wanted to see printed for its own benefit and the benefit of our readers.

In both cases, the submitter had something to gain if we published the release, i.e. positive publicity. However, in the first case, the focus was on only how the submitter would benefit from publication. In the second, it was on both how the submitter and our readers would benefit.

A Concrete Example

If all this sounds a bit theoretical, here is an example to make it more concrete.

After leaving The Wall Street Journal, I was an account executive with a major international press relations agency. One of my subordinates presented me with a typically self-serving press release he wanted to distribute on behalf of his client.

The headline was something like: Egotistical Industries gains major new contract. The first paragraph said something like:

Tom Bighead today announced that Egotistical Industries has won a $350,000 contract to supply window sealants for the new sports centre currently under construction in Baden-Baden, Germany. Egotistical Industries was founded in 1989 by Mr. Bighead and his brother George, and is now considered to be the leading company in its field. Last year the company's sales were . . . ."

In the fifth paragraph, if anyone would read that far, we learned that the sealant the company would supply had the property of not freezing in cold weather, so work on the sports centre could be carried out in December, rather than waiting for warmer weather in March or April.

This of course was the true story. If you are a reader of a professional construction magazine, you couldn't care less that Egotistical Industries has a new contract. By contrast, you could be vitally interested in knowing that you could possibly gain three months on your construction schedule by using Egotistical's product.

More importantly, editors of professional construction magazines would view the release this way.

Remember: Editors are vitally concerned about what their readers want to read, because if they lose readership, they lose their jobs. The real target of your release must be the editors. They are the gatekeepers. If they value the release, it gets published; if they don't, it doesn't.

We therefore rewrote the information into a news release with the headline: Windows in Baden-Baden Sports Centre will be sealed in the dead of winter, saving the contractor approximately $30,000 in labour costs. The first paragraph, and as many additional paragraphs as necessary, elaborated on this very attractive theme. The background information about the company came at the end of the release where it justifiably belonged.

The Short Road to Nowhere
Here's another example. As a marketing communication consultant, I was asked by a client to write a release announcing an important new service. I was told to limit the release to 400 words. "Why 400 words?" I asked. "Well, it's our policy to keep our releases short. Journalists like that."

The problem was, I couldn't find a way of saying everything that needed to be said in only 400 words. The client was insistent. I finally produced something at 400 words which the client felt was exactly what was wanted. But when the release was issued, no one published it.

The client called a few newspapers and magazines to find out why. The answer was, they just didn't see anything that would be of interest to their readers. I then called a couple of these newspapers and magazines and asked, "Do you think you readers would be interested in X."
"Yes, why didn't you put that in the release?"

Well, I had. But under the stricture of the 400-word limit, it had become so severely condensed as to be cryptic. It was there-if you knew what to look for. The function of an effective release is to give information, not challenge journalists to find it.

I rewrote the release. This time it came out to 650 words and was widely published. Why? Because it had been transformed from a press release, i.e. what the client wanted to say, into a news release-what journalists believed their readers wanted and needed to know.

Each time you start tapping at the keyboard, keep uppermost in mind the aspects that make a release a "news release".

• First, a release gets published only if editors feel that it offers something their readers want and need to know. So make certain that it does.

• Second, there is no "correct" length for a news release. To paraphrase a sexist joke (I apologise, but it is just too pertinent), a news release should be like a miniskirt: short enough to be interesting, and long enough to cover the subject.

Philip Yaffe is a former reporter/feature writer with The Wall Street Journal and a marketing communication consultant. He currently teaches a course in good writing and good speaking in Brussels, Belgium. In the "I" of the Storm: the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like A professional, his recently published book, is available from Story Publishers in Ghent, Belgium ( http://www.storypublishers.be ) and Amazon ( http://www.amazon.com ).

Now semi-retired, he teaches courses in persuasive communication in Brussels, Belgium.
Because his clients use English as a second or third language, his approach to writing and public speaking is somewhat different from other communication coaches. He is the author of In the "I" of the Storm: the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like a Professional.

For further information, contact:

Philip Yaffe
61, avenue des Noisetiers
B-1170 Brussels, Belgium
Tel : 32 (0)2 330 0405
phil.yaffe@yahoo.com