There is nothing like a good positive news story to put a business on the map. Done right; it will create more attention and have more credibility than thousands of dollars worth of paid-for advertising. But how do you achieve that?
Start by writing a press release. Keep it short and to the point. Don’t ramble. Use short sentences and paragraphs. Concentrate on the news angle you’ve come up with.
Write a good attention-grabbing headline. The purpose of the press release is not to tell your story. Its sole purpose is to attract the attention of whichever journalist is assigned the task of going through that day’s pile of press releases. You’ve got to make that journalist stop and read your release. You have to realize that the journalist is not just sitting there waiting for your press release to arrive. The fact is that most press releases don’t get read.
The headline and first paragraph must not be boring. If it doesn’t immediately scream “I’m newsworthy!” …then your press release will get thrown in the bin without another glance. Journalists are busy people and have deadlines to meet.
If your press release grabs a journalist’s attention, they’ll most likely pass it on to another journalist and tell them to phone you. So you’d better be by your phone waiting for the call. As I said, they are busy people. More news comes up all the time and if you’re not home they might not phone again. Something else may crop up that appears more newsworthy.
Here’s what I’d do. Send a great press release telling them why they’d be crazy not to interview you. Tell them when and where you’ll be available for a photo and story. Not something alike “I’ll expect you at 63 Brown Street at 4pm Wednesday… please bring a photographer.”
It would be better to say “America’s biggest ever pizza will be crane lifted onto a truck at 4pm Tuesday before being delivered to feed poor families in South Dakota. Please phone me urgently to arrange a time and place for an interview”
To feed poor families…? By a crane…on a truck? It’s a newsworthy gimmick. It’s unusual, it’s visual and it has “warm fuzzies” attached to the story. It will make the journalist think “photo opportunity… this is worth covering. I’d better phone now.”
So, the first step to getting your news story published is to put yourself in the shoes of the journalist reading your release. The journo is looking to read something that will capture the attention and interest of their readers (or listeners in the case of a radio station). He or she doesn’t want to read an advertisement for your business.
The trick therefore, is to involve your business in the resulting publicity, without giving the appearance of it being the result of blatant advertising.
Noel Peebles, Market Leaders Limited.
Noel Peebles, Market Leaders Limited. Get Your 100% FREE mini-course “17 Powerful Secrets That Have Made Business Owners Into Millionaires.” 100% FREE! Simply send a blank email to instantsellbusiness@ReportsNetwork.com
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