Aug14
Recommending that you stop writing press releases and start writing news releases is not a play on words. It is sound advice.
In common parlance, “press release” and “news release” mean the same thing. However, the terminology people use often betrays a fundamental difference in how they put this information together and how well it is accepted by the media.
Early in my career, I was editor of a daily newspaper and later a writer with The Wall Street Journal. One of my jobs was to screen submissions to decide which ones we would print and which ones we would throw away.
Approximately 80 – 85% of submissions failed the first screening, a life or death decision usually made within 60 seconds or less. On the other hand, the vast majority of those that survived this first screening also survived the second one and were ultimately published.
What made the difference? Basically, it was in how the author of the document viewed the material being submitted.
- Losers. Information a company or organisation wanted to see printed for its own benefit.
- Winners. Information a company or organisation wanted to see printed for its own benefit and the benefit of our readers.
In both cases, the submitter had something to gain if we published the release, i.e. positive publicity. However, in the first case, the focus was on only how the submitter would benefit from publication. In the second, it was on both how the submitter and our readers would benefit.
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Aug14
Reporters are always looking for compelling stories. You can help them and, at the same time, win press coverage for your products, services, organization or cause. Every organization, including yours, has newsworthy information. Sometimes you just have to dig a bit to get to it. Here are seven suggestions that will help you find the stories within your organization that you can pitch to get positive press attention and boost your public relations:
1) Identify trends in your industry – use your organization/product/issue as an example of a trend — and pitch them as story ideas to the magazines, newsletters and Web sites your customers and prospects read.
2) A milestone: does your organization have an accomplishment or anniversary to brag about that is of public interest – a new product, service, partnership, event, contract win or hire? Find a news hook for it. Here, for example, are some commemorations that might be good news hooks for your products or services: National School Success Month, National Preparedness Month, Self Improvement Month, and Hispanic Heritage Month.
3) Take note of a “First in a Series” article. If you and your company would fit into the series as good sources, contact the reporter with reasons you might be included in the next article in the series.
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Aug14
Whether you have four employees or 40,000, the ability of every member of your team to speak in a unified voice is a very powerful business tool that will help you get higher visibility.
Effective messaging provides you and your team with a PR “codebook” to communicate with all audiences: customers, potential customers, the press, investors, partners and employees. It provides a shortcut for all of your public relations: creating speeches, marketing materials, web site text, news releases and language for proposals, contracts and other official communication. Your team will find it indispensable.
It need not be complex — 2-3 pages is standard. It includes:
1) The ID graph. This is a single paragraph, the “boilerplate,” that describes your organization. Like all of the other messages below, it should answer the question “What Can You Do For Me?” It is often used at the bottom of press releases under “About XYZCo.”
2) The Elevator Speech. Keep it to 3-4 floors! Practice a 15- second pitch on how you and your organization can help your “elevator-mate’s” organization succeed. What they want to know is “What can you do for me?” good conversation starter at networking events.
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Aug14
Your company has customers, members, vendors, board members and others who are rooting for you to succeed. You just have to ask! Wouldn’t you root for and help out an organization that you liked and provided you with good service? I call these people “champions.”
Champions may have no vested interest in your success except that they are happy with the service you provide, they like you and your team personally, they admire your drive, want to help you push ahead of the competition and would be very proud to look back one day and know that they helped an industry powerhouse when it was just a few people in a little rented office.
Champions can include:
- Customers
- Former customers
- Board members
- Colleagues in your trade association
- Colleagues in your chamber of commerce
- Employees
- Former employees
- Vendors
- Partners
- Investors
- Friends
- Family members
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Aug14
Trade shows can be a real boost not only for finding prospects but for your overall visibility as an organization. Before you go though, you need to be well prepared. Good prep means finding the right audiences, setting realistic budgets, getting high-visibility booth space and determining who and what will be in your booth. Now is the time to think about using good public relations tools to boost your visibility and build your business. Here are a few items you may want to put on your to-do list:
1) Get the attendees roster in advance. Decide what constitutes a qualified prospect. Make a list of all of the companies you want to communicate with and assign each person on your team a share of the targets to approach. Ask show organizers, current customers and colleagues to make introductions on the floor.
2) Cultivate press proactively: Get the press list a week in advance if possible. Choose the top 10 reporters (start with trade publications your prospects read most). If you have news – or at least a product or service that is newsworthy – call ahead and try to set up interviews. If you have a news release or a factsheet, put a stack in the press room – a fat press kit is not necessary.
3) The “Show Daily.” Most big conferences distribute a daily newspaper or newsletter to attendees. If you have news, give the information to editors at least week ahead of time so they can publish it on the day you make the announcement.
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Aug14
Good business writing can boost your company’s profitability and reputation. The more your customers and prospects understand the value you provide, the more likely they are to make the “right” buying decision. Good writing is critical to your public relations efforts.
Whether it be in the form of emails, Web sites, presentations, exhibits or print materials such as marketing kits, letters, contracts, speeches, press releases, or case studies — clear, concise business writing is part of your communication mix, so make it work for you.
Here are a few steps to get your organization’s writing into shape and keep it that way.
1) Make sure you have a set of 5-6 clear messages that tell customers “Here is what we can do for you (and why).” Those will be the core of your written communications.
2) Step back and look at the big picture. Who is your audience? What actions do you want them to take? Which writing most directly touches your customers? For many companies, it’s the Web site and product/service brochures. Tackle those first.
3) Fall out of love with outdated material. Send old Web pages and soggy sales materials to the right staffers to update and get back into print. Revamping a whole Web site is daunting; not so much if each person is responsible for only 2-3 pages.
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Aug14
Are you making customers, prospects, the news media and other visitors work too hard to get information they need from your Web site? They’re only going to give you a couple of minutes to make your case, so make it easy.
Here’s how: Put all the good stuff just a click or two away from the home page by creating an online “Newsroom.” You’ll make a good first — and lasting — impression.
Paste a “Newsroom” button onto your home page. Have it take visitors to a special page that includes contact information (nothing worse than having to search all over for a company’s address and phone number) and links to product and service brochures, bios, press releases, news clips, testimonials, speeches, event information, white papers, FAQs, newsletters and case studies. Also, make the documents downloadable as .pdf files where possible.
Too often, organizations — even large ones with plenty of resources — put off creating a central information page until “we finish redesigning the Web site.” No need to wait. Everything you need is probably already there. If, for example, product sheets and executive bios are featured somewhere on the site, just link to them from the press page. In no more than a couple of clicks, visitors should be able get to the information from the newsroom. That makes it easy and inviting. Your online newsroom may also function as a sales and marketing kit.
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Aug14
Comedian Bob Newhart — in his TV sitcom ages ago — did what I consider to be the best routine ever about a hapless guy being interviewed on TV for the first time.
Before the interview, the female host assures him that he’ll get softball questions about how he helps people as a psychiatrist. They joke around and make small talk before the show. But once the cameras are on, the interviewer fires off one blistering question after another, leaving Newhart confused, defensive, blushing and, finally, speechless.
It’s hilarious when Newhart does it. Not so funny if it happens to you. Executives who want exposure on television — but who have not had much experience in front of the camera — should first consider landing a radio interview or two as a way to hone their voices and practice answering questions effectively live on the air. Radio should be part of your public relations activities.
There are two reasons. First, of course, radio is great exposure. Nothing has diminished the impact of radio as a means of delivering message. Particularly in drive time (radiospeak for “traffic jams), you have a captive audience.
Give them a reason to listen and they’ll stick with you. Also, radio is an intimate medium that allows you to speak directly to the listener — and paint a picture in their imagination about your issue, product or service — with little distraction from visual images.
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Aug14
Now, you need to follow a few easy steps before and during the interview to make it a great public relations win: Are your story pitches to reporters working? If you succeed in landing an interview, congratulations!
Before the Interview
- Never do an interview cold. Prepare yourself.
- Learn what you can about the publication, audience, interviewer and story. Read the reporter’s last couple of stories.
- Start with a goal. Visualize the “headline.” What would you like the story to say?
- Review your 5-6 “must-say” message points that make your case.
- Practice answers to all potential questions. Have your staff grill you. They will enjoy it. You probably won’t, but it will make your answers more potent.
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Aug14
Clichés are like spies lurking in our copy (was that a cliché?), often unrecognizable from the rest of our writing. We say them so often that they become part of the language, slang expressions that, at first, seems clever and descriptive, but after a few tellings become stale and gray. When you see clichés in your writing, take them out and substitute plain English words that convey the same meaning and your writing will become brighter, more readable and help boost your visibility. This is especially important in your public relations, media and marketing efforts. Here are some examples of hackneyed business clichés (and more reader-friendly replacements in plain English):
- Drill down (look for more detail)
- Like drinking out of a firehouse (getting too much information at one time)
- A new paradigm (a new model or pattern)
- Think outside the box (try something new, a fresh approach)
- Herding cats (getting everyone to work together)
- Perpetrator (wrongdoer)
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