Question: Why when your business issue a press release? Answer: because you have something to say, you need to say it in public areas and a news release encourages the press to say this for you personally. And because you need to show your business in a favourable light from the outset and begin the longer-term process of building awareness and understanding of your service or product. There's plenty of research showing that young companies - weighed down by the business enterprise of simply owning a home based business - pay scant focus on PR, yet that's exactly what they should be doing from the start to get their names and products known. For most businesses, PR isn't about spin or the abstract maintaining of good relations with the press and public; it's simply about telling individuals who you and your services or products are there and letting them know why they must be interested. It's about getting column inches in newspapers and magazines and fulfilling the adage that an inch of good editorial is worth a page of advertising. It's about making your sales easier. Issuing press releases is really a mainstay of basic PR. It's the method that you start the ball rolling with the press. The good thing is, if approached in the right way (whether you do it yourself or use an affordable professional, this activity do not need to cost the earth). But do remember you are presenting your organization to the public. A release that's poorly written, with grammatical or spelling mistakes, or full of jargon, or long-winded and unfocused, can do you more harm than good. Given the importance of PR, there's something to be said towards paying for professional writing skills. PR writers don't just come out good English: they learn how to structure a news release and present facts in a manner that appeals to busy journalists and grabs their attention. Another question is: When should I issue a news release? Certainly, issuing releases willy-nilly, at whim, is no good. The time to produce a business announcement is once you have something topical and newsworthy to state (but remember: what you consider topical may not be of interest to the wider world or even to journalists). All releases require a strong 'hook' - quite simply, an angle which will appeal to editors and give your story an excellent potential for gaining coverage. So, what will be considered newsworthy? For starters, perhaps you're launching a new service or product? Or opening a new branch? Or you're launching a spin-off venture from scratch? Whatever it is, it must be presented as offering something reasonably new and interesting, not only as a me too. Hopefully, your service or product has particular benefits and applications that will interest your market segment and generate interest. If whatever you're launching is technically innovative or it's being marketed in an unusual or visible way, you could have the basis of a release. In cases like this, make sure you don't fill your release with unnecessary jargon or marketing-speak that could alienate journalists, such as for example the price effective, integrated, seamless, one-stop-shop treatment for meet all your business needs. Tell people what it is you're actually offering. The aforementioned example is filled with hype but what's the merchandise? An accountancy service? A stationers? An abattoir? Other company activities could be newsworthy. Have you appointed any new members of senior staff who have a reputation in your industry? Won a big contract or client? Become involved in a sponsorship deal? Have you received an accolade or won an industry award? If that's the case, the trade press might be interested. Forthcoming events can offer ideal material for announcements. Are you currently holding any open days, speakers' panels, rallies or debates? Charity events or donations from your own organisation to good causes are worth highlighting, as are initiatives that benefit the wider community. If celebrities or public figures are participating, your newsworthiness increase. The amount of interest will relate to the stature of one's company and the type of your event. If get more info held an open day with plenty of freebies, it would be of national press interest. If Bloggs the Grocers held an identical event, the local paper will be the main target. When you're seeking newsworthy stories, remember one of your very best assets - your personnel. Have any employees been recognised for outstanding achievements? Do they will have unusual hobbies? Have they received any unusual requests or orders from customers your company has fulfilled? The local press might decide on a quirky human-interest story. Whatever the reason behind your announcement, remember this guideline: another pizzeria on a high street full of pizzerias won't gain many column inches, no matter how good the pizzas. But a pizzeria offering the hottest jalapenos in the UK, singing waiters, Italian cocktails with every meal or three for the price of two (or something!) just might. Sometimes it's even worth coming up with an offer of some sort (particularly in retailing) only to garner press interest. Remember to monitor the news for events to hook into. Is it possible to associate your organization with upcoming holidays, public projects, or fads? Statements that may seem controversial, such as for example stating your organisation's stance on a volatile public issue, might gain coverage. Perhaps you have conducted research that provides you statistics you can release? Finally, if you are targeting different press sectors with exactly the same story, write multiple releases rather than issuing one generic release. An announcement concentrating on the metallurgy used to create your new selection of stainless cooking pans will be of interest to the trade press. However, it wouldn't be considered too thrilling by the approach to life press and women's magazines. You need to be cautious in what you're announcing and who it's targeted at, rather than using the 'scattergun' approach and sending untargeted releases to whichever journalists you happen to find. Professional PR distributors retain up-to-date lists of all the journalists in each industrial sector and geographical region, and take a lot of care to target the proper journalists with the proper releases. If you're distributing your release yourself, several hours' homework can pay enormous dividends. By Press Dispensary http://www.pressdispensary.co.uk Press Dispensary is a professional UK-based news release writing and distribution service that delivers news to the media and other opinion formers quickly and affordably.
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