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PR Tips from the Pro’s – How to Get Your News Noticed (and Covered)

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Earlier this week, social media author Chris Brogan wrote a blog post about how to get your press release/news noticed by influential bloggers titled “Improve Your Pitch’s Chance of Success.” Brogan’s blog concludes with this thought:  “PR isn’t bad. Bad PR is bad. You’re probably doing it right. Unless you’re doing it wrong.  For more classic examples of bad PR, check out the Bad Pitch Blog.

There are many effective ways to generate media coverage.  Often, a targeted pitch (preferably after you’ve done your homework about what the reporter covers, likes, etc.) is the most effective tactic.  However, when you’re trying to reach a broad audience, a press release can be a very effective vehicle, if it’s crafted correctly.

It’s a common mistake to be thinking of newspaper and magazine readers when composing a press release. The only true audience for a press release is the reporters and editors who decide if the information ever sees the light of day. Here are some unfiltered tips:

  • Let writers do the writing, not the executive secretary, not the director of development, not someone from IT.  Communicating with the media is too important to be left to the amateurs.
  • The reporter isn’t interested in helping you make money. He could care less about your great selection and super customer service. He only wants the info that will help him get a good story. Take your inclination to sell, sell, sell out of it. Marketing-speak offends reporters.
  • Say something is first, most, fastest, tallest – that’s likely to get attention. Use words like money, fat, cancer or sex and you’re likely to get some ink.
  • No good whatsoever are words like solutions, leading edge, mission critical, end-to-end and turnkey.
  • Avoid the temptation to clutter your lead with a glowing generalization about your company, such as: XYZ Corp., a global leader in the manufacture of high-end widgets for the royalty of Europe. Many releases are written this way, despite the fact that editors delete this kind of fluff. Everybody says they’re the leader. Don’t waste the editor’s time.
  • Don’t tease them. Get the most important information out at the top of your release and then give more details. Don’t forget the specifics, such as numbers.
  • No more than three pages. Two pages are good, but one is better. No more than one page… you get the point.
  • Create a small text box with bulleted content that adds relevancy to the story.
  • Take William Safire’s advice and “avoid clichés like the plague.”
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