Free Publicity
Do you want exposure without spending a dime? An effectively written and distributed press release can generate quite a bit of attention for your products or services, and it costs you nothing but your time. Of course, there are ways to save time on press releases by spending money–it all depends on which you would rather invest.
When it comes to writing press releases, you can’t simply write what you would for your website. The people who read press releases are journalists and reporters. They are looking for stories that will sell newspapers or magazines, or get people to tune in to their radio or television show. You will want to make your product or service compelling to reporters and journalists.
How do you do this? First, stick to the accepted style for press releases. Ideally, your entire press release should fit on a single page. The components of a standard press release are:
• Headline
• Date of release
• Summary paragraph
• Body text
• Company information
• Contact information
Second, make sure that the information you include is compelling and newsworthy, particularly your headline and summary paragraph. Develop a hook or an angle for your products or services that ties in to current events, or to subjects with universal appeal. If you don’t feel comfortable writing a press release or do not have time to spare, you may want to consider hiring a professional copywriter to write one for you.
Visit the tips page of PRWebs.com here for more tips on writing press releases and a template: http://www.prweb.com/pressreleasetips.php
Once you have written your press release, the next step is distribution. There are several ways to go about distributing your press release:
• Use the Internet or the Yellow Pages to research media outlets in your area (newspapers, magazine, radio, and television stations). Identify the appropriate person to direct press releases to, and either fax or e-mail your releases in. Be sure to allow plenty of lead time for seasonal story ideas and holiday promotions.
• Make your press release campaign even more targeted by identifying individual reporters or journalists and contacting them directly with your press release. For local newspapers, you can scan articles to collect the names of the reporters and then find their contact information on the newspaper’s website.
• Sign up with a press release distribution service and gain the advantage of reaching a large number of media outlets with one submission. You can use a free wide-range distribution service such as PR Web (www.prweb.com) or invest a small amount in a paid service (usually $10 to $20) to reach a more targeted media base.
• Call up local radio stations and pitch your topic verbally, using your press release as a guideline for your speech. Radio stations constantly need guests to fill their time slots, and many will be happy to have you on if you can talk about something that will interest their listeners.
