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Steps
to a Writing an Effective Press Releases
by: Diana Ennen
Want to get
the most media attention and spotlight for your business? Then the first
place to start is with a GREAT press release. Now I can almost see half
of you leaving now, dreading the thought of having to write one of these.
But wait!! I'm going to show you easy methods to make your press release
work for you and get the attention it deserves. Ready? Let's go.
We'll briefly
go over the basics because of their importance. Editors want to see
things done the RIGHT way. I would bet that a lot of good releases simply
get tossed out just because they aren't set up properly. To a busy editor,
that all too familiar "10 second glance" says a lot for you and your
business; it let's them know if you've done your research enough to
warrant that release to be placed in their newspaper or magazine.
Here are your
essentials:
"FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE" on the top left of the page.
Your contact
name, phone number, e-mail address, and website follows.
Headline is
next, normally in bold and centered on the page. Summarize what the
release is about and capture their attention. Spend almost as much time
on your headline as you do writing the release. It's that important.
The press release
body starts with the location of the release and the date (Margate,
Florida, May 5, .)
Most press releases
are between 200-500 words, and no more than a page. The first paragraph
has the most important information. Don't save the best for last, it
won't get read. In this paragraph answer the questions, who, what, when,
where and why?
It is recommended
that you write press releases in the 3rd person and use short sentences
and paragraphs. Do not go over board, trying to dazzle the editor, it
won't work.
Target your
release. You will be sending your release to a specific audience so
make sure that in your release you keep to what would appeal to that
audience. What don't they know that you can add? Nothing works better
than getting an "AAH HAA" when an editor is reviewing your release.
Provide statistics.
Do some research and find some relevant information that applies. You
can easily do this through Google. Once you find your quote, do a Google
search or Yahoo quote on that particular topic. However, don't stop
on the first Google link and take that for gospel. Research it a bit
further. Have it come from a respectable company or magazine.
Include relevant
quotes from experts in your field that will reinforce what you are saying.
Approach authors, leaders in your Industry, and other experts that back
up the facts you are stating in your release. They will normally appreciate
the added publicity and you get the quote you're looking for. For example,
as an author I'll often get asked to provide a quote for an article
on home-based businesses or the virtual assistant industry. I welcome
the opportunity as it provides me more publicity.
Also, if you
have a satisfied client that you feel will add credibility to your Release,
add a quote from them as well. The first time you mention the expert,
write out their full name. Then list them by last name or Mr. and Mrs.
Smith only. I normally prefer the last name.
The last paragraph
should be your call to action. You've talked the whole release about
your business or product, now tell them what to do with the knowledge
they just acquired.
At the bottom
of the release include ### to indicate you are done, followed by a short
bio. Make sure if you include your website that you include http://
in front of it for search engine recognition.
Your bio should
include your information, any books authored, etc. Double check this
for accuracy. At this point, you're tired and done with the Release.
But if it goes out to the world with the wrong web address, the valuable
time spent even writing the Release has been wasted.
That's it; the
basics for writing a press release! Now one other thing I'd like to
add in, they work! They truly work. I've had a recent release get accepted
by PRWeb (and yes they do reject bad ones!), and then go on to hit several
other major newspapers and media outlines and the Google alert, which
resulted in our paper in the area contacting me. You want to set up
a Google news alert for your name so that you can follow the path and
see when you make the news so you can follow up. Also, PRWeb at http://www.prweb.com
has complete guidelines for setting up a good press release. Go with
the extra money and spend $20.00. It's worth it to get the additional
exposure.
About The
Author
Diana Ennen
is the author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant: the Series,
Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA, Words From Home, Start,
Run and Profit from a Home-Based Word Processing Business & the
Home Office Recovery Plan. She specializes in publicity and book marketing
and is president of Virtual Word Publishing
http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com and
http://www.Publicity-VA.com. Articles are free to be reprinted as
long as the author's bio remains intact
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