Dear Friend,
Happy Labor
Day!
And to
celebrate, I’m laboring away cooking up some ribs, veggies over the hot coals
on the grill and cool brews by my side. It’s all good!
Hey,
speaking of delectable grill treats, you want some icing to go with your cake? Whelp
. . . almighty then . . . grab a cold
one and follow me to the PR factory and let’s see what we can spin up, OK?
Before we
dig in, however, let me clear up a few myths about using public relations in your
marketing mix.
A popular
myth is that “any ink is good ink.”
Yeah right. I really hate to burst your bubble, but sorry Jo Jo, just getting
your name out there or your ‘big break’ is NOT always an advantage that
over-shadows negative stories. Bad press can kill your otherwise good image.
Not to mention it’s irreversible.
Another
common myth is that publicity is easy
and free. Hold on there bucko . . . it seems as though PR is free . . . and
it’s easy. Yeah, most of us use computers. But that doesn’t mean you should
take your PC to the next door neighbor to fix the damn thing when it breaks.
Smart
business owners hire full time PR professionals or invest the time to study up
on the subject before jumping in.
On the other
hand you need to hire an expensive PR
firm. This may not be an option for you if you’re just starting out. You do
have other options—lots of them. We’ll explore a few in this article.
There’s more
myths I could bust, but heck it’s Labor Day and I don’t really feel like it.
Besides, there’s some cool stuff I want to dish out for ya so you can master
your PR like a pro.
Ready? OK.
Starting a
PR campaign doesn’t have to be expensive or overly complicated. In fact you can
get started with a simple press release. And I’ll explain how to put together a
simple but effective press release that’s sure to get picked up by your local
editor.
Side Note. As with any targeted market effort,
decide upfront who you are targeting. You’ll have plenty of media to go after.
So a little skull sweat in defining your target market beforehand goes a long
way. Then you’ll know exactly what publications to approach. Also spend some
time getting to know the publication, what type of articles are published,
style, etc.
Step one is to understand that
editors want and need your PR materials. These guys work under the gun of a tight deadline each
and every day . . . talk about ‘Labor Day’ stress—there you go. They cannot
possibly all the news by themselves.
Another
great piece of advice is to understand editors are bombarded with PR materials.
With this in mind, you will be constantly be facing a lot of competition at any
given time.
So, what
gives?
The goal is simple: Become a reliable source of
information the editor can use. This is easiest done by following the rules
of content and format. Do this and you’ll be a hero—it makes the editor’s job
easier and you’ll get free press more often. It’s what we call a “win-win”
situation.
How to get
your press release published? I was hoping you’d ask.
First you need a hook. You know something that gains the
editor’s attention. And one of the best ways to do this is by putting news in your press release.
Maybe your
company has developed a new product or added a new service—this
would certainly qualify as news.
Since I’m a
writer, it’s fairly easy for me to come up with newsworthy items. My basic
strategy is to come up with free reports dealing with marketing, sales, or
advertising.
I have found
editors find these reports useful to their readers and I am able to get free
coverage. There is no reason you couldn’t do the same. I cannot think of a
single industry that couldn’t come up with a “new report benefits readers of
target media.” Put on your thinking apparatus and see what you can come up
with.
Hey, why don’t I give you an example
. . .
Several
years ago I wrote a book about real estate investing. My basic marketing
strategy included publicity. I devised a
“mini course” various reports all taken from the book and offered to give them
away to readers of publications I targeted. This worked very well. I received
write-ups from nearly every editor I targeted.
Another hook is to provide advice. Here again you could write a short
booklet, preferably something related to your business, and offer this to your
target market. Send your releases to editors of local newspapers plus send them
to magazines your prospects are most likely to read. A trip to the library will
help you locate target publications.
It’s worth
mentioning again that editors respond well to these types of press releases.
Again, it is a win-win situation for both you and the editor.
Here are a few headlines to give you
booklet ideas:
- Free yourself from clutter—20 No-Brainer Ideas That Organize You Fast!
- 7 Ways To Increase Your Advertising Response
- Free Report For Direct Marketers Presents 12 New Ways To Collect Old Bills
- New Magalog Offers Small Business Owners Tips For Better Marketing
The beauty
of this type of publicity is you position yourself as an expert in the field.
We will more about this later.
The last hook I’ll discuss is human
interest. It’s fair
to say these are not the only appeals you can use to hook the editor; rather
these I talk about in this report demonstrate the greatest appeal.
If you doubt
the power of the human-interest appeal just consider magazines such as People
or take a good look in your daily newspaper. You’ll find numerous articles
about people who have overcome huge personal obstacles. Whether these people
have overcome illness, poverty, invented something to help save the world or
whatever, we all love to read these stories.
The reason
these stories are so often read is they are about regular, everyday people like
you and me. Sure we like to read about celebrities but the stories about locals
doing something spectacular are even more appealing. Along these same lines are
individuals that do good deeds or take up a good cause.
Here’s a Press Release Example You
Can Use
This comes
from a few years back when I published a magalog offering various, books and manuals of which I
published and resources I sold from other suppliers. The magalog was designed
to promote my own products and services plus offer timely articles that would
benefit my market. In case you are not familiar with a magalog, it’s basically
a combination magazine and catalog rolled together
.
To publicize
my new magalog I developed a list of local and regional newspapers to test the
waters. My media reception went over very well. But unfortunately I received
very few requests for the guide so I decided to stop publishing it.
Despite my
lack of success in generating leads, the media apparently thought my press
release was newsworthy. This doesn’t mean you couldn’t adapt this press release
you’re your own use.
Here is the release:
Contact: Emette Massey, 828-270-9438
For
Immediate Release
NEW MAGALOG REVEALS FIVE REASONS YOUR ADVERTISING DOSEN’T PAY
A new magalog called Entrepreneur’s Opportunity Press,
published by independent copywriter and small business consultant Emette
Massey, reveals 5 reasons most small business advertising doesn’t pay.
The magalog is published for entrepreneurs, small business
owners, advertising manager and individual wanting to start a business.
“Many small businesses spend thousands of dollars each year
on advertising that produces poor or no results,” says Massey. “Money is always
a concern and cash flow is important. You shouldn’t have to lose money on
advertising. Many small business owners can’t afford the luxury of having a
full time advertising firm handling their advertising, so they are forced to do
it themselves. I designed Entrepreneur’s Opportunity Press to provide business
owner and managers with an affordable alternative.”
A few of the reasons your ads do not pay included in the
magalog are:
- Your copy in not specific. Provide as much detail as possible. The old saying “the more you tell, the more you sell” rings true.
- Your offer is not right. The basic key is to test, test, and test. You should be testing all components of your ad.
- Your copy is deadly dull. You will not bore your prospects into buying. Make your copy interesting. Tell your story in a news fashion.
- Your copy contains too many big words. Do not use jargon of any kind in your copy.
- You talk about features but not about benefits. Benefits sell. Your prospects want to know how your product or service will solve their problems.
Says Massey, “By using the tips outlined in this new magalog,
business owners can increase their ad response from 25—100 percent, without
changing their theme or message. The business owner will also appreciate the
many other helpful resources inside EOP.”
To receive a free copy of EOP, send your name and address to:
Emette Massey, Dept. 24, 5633 Charlie Little Road, Granite Falls, NC 28630.
Emette Massey is a freelance copywriter specializing in
direct response and business-to-business advertising.
###
A
few items to note.
First, notice that this press release
follows the proven industry standard
style. It’s properly formatted and
is one page long, and should be double spaced (although our example is not double spaced). Remember Editors are very busy folks—so a one
or two page release is ample.
The basic parts to a traditionally accepted
format press release are the header, headline and body copy.
As you can see in the above example, the
header information is located at the top of the release. The header should
include the contact information including name and phone number. Obviously
you’d put in the contact’s name and phone.
The release is written in a newsy,
journalistic style of who, what, when, where and how. Remember you are not
writing an ad. If your release sounds too much like an ad or requires rewriting
then the editor trashes it . . . quickly!
You’ll also notice there is a headline at
the top of the page. Write a brief, catchy headline describing your product (or
service). Put your biggest benefit and the name of your product in the
headline. For example: “New book helps real estate investors sell more
property.” Or “New car care product
keeps windshields clear in bad weather.” You get the idea.
Body copy should be crisp keeping with the
facts. The biggest, most important facts are presented first, then explained
and the second biggest facts and so on.
At the end of the body copy put your company
name, address and phone number. Traditionally the press release will end with
the number sign typed three times (###). This is standard format and editors
will appreciate this courtesy. If you release goes beyond one page type “MORE”
at the bottom right so editors will know to look for another page.
I hope this article whets your appetite on
how you can use PR to help get the good word out about your biz. Use these basic
guidelines to get more free press. Keep in mind this article just scrapes the
surface on using the media to promote your products and services.
Warmly,
Emette Massey
Copywriter/Consultant
P.S. Want more info about using Power PR to
more your goods and services? I’m in the process of putting together a complete
‘how-to’ guide called Power PR. If you want to be on the early bird list and be
notified when it’s ready email me at eemassey@yahoo.com
Put the words “Power PR” in the subject line and I’ll put you on the list.
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