| Steps
to a Writing an Effective Press Releases
by: Diana
Ennen
Want to get the most media attention
and spotlight for your business? Then the first
place to start is with a GREAT press release.
Now I can almost see half of you leaving now,
dreading the thought of having to write one of
these. But wait!! I'm going to show you easy methods
to make your press release work for you and get
the attention it deserves. Ready? Let's go.
We'll briefly go over the basics
because of their importance. Editors want to see
things done the RIGHT way. I would bet that a
lot of good releases simply get tossed out just
because they aren't set up properly. To a busy
editor, that all too familiar "10 second glance"
says a lot for you and your business; it let's
them know if you've done your research enough
to warrant that release to be placed in their
newspaper or magazine.
Here are your essentials:
"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE"
on the top left of the page.
Your contact name, phone number,
e-mail address, and website follows.
Headline is next, normally in bold
and centered on the page. Summarize what the release
is about and capture their attention. Spend almost
as much time on your headline as you do writing
the release. It's that important.
The press release body starts with
the location of the release and the date (Margate,
Florida, May 5, 2005.)
Most press releases are between
200-500 words, and no more than a page. The first
paragraph has the most important information.
Don't save the best for last, it won't get read.
In this paragraph answer the questions, who, what,
when, where and why?
It is recommended that you write
press releases in the 3rd person and use short
sentences and paragraphs. Do not go over board,
trying to dazzle the editor, it won't work.
Target your release. You will be
sending your release to a specific audience so
make sure that in your release you keep to what
would appeal to that audience. What don't they
know that you can add? Nothing works better than
getting an "AAH HAA" when an editor is reviewing
your release.
Provide statistics. Do some research
and find some relevant information that applies.
You can easily do this through Google. Once you
find your quote, do a Google search or Yahoo quote
on that particular topic. However, don't stop
on the first Google link and take that for gospel.
Research it a bit further. Have it come from a
respectable company or magazine.
Include relevant quotes from experts
in your field that will reinforce what you are
saying. Approach authors, leaders in your Industry,
and other experts that back up the facts you are
stating in your release. They will normally appreciate
the added publicity and you get the quote you're
looking for. For example, as an author I'll often
get asked to provide a quote for an article on
home-based businesses or the virtual assistant
industry. I welcome the opportunity as it provides
me more publicity.
Also, if you have a satisfied client
that you feel will add credibility to your Release,
add a quote from them as well. The first time
you mention the expert, write out their full name.
Then list them by last name or Mr. and Mrs. Smith
only. I normally prefer the last name.
The last paragraph should be your
call to action. You've talked the whole release
about your business or product, now tell them
what to do with the knowledge they just acquired.
At the bottom of the release include
### to indicate you are done, followed by a short
bio. Make sure if you include your website that
you include http:// in front of it for search
engine recognition.
Your bio should include your information,
any books authored, etc. Double check this for
accuracy. At this point, you're tired and done
with the Release. But if it goes out to the world
with the wrong web address, the valuable time
spent even writing the Release has been wasted.
That's it; the basics for writing
a press release! Now one other thing I'd like
to add in, they work! They truly work. I've had
a recent release get accepted by PRWeb (and yes
they do reject bad ones!), and then go on to hit
several other major newspapers and media outlines
and the Google alert, which resulted in our paper
in the area contacting me. You want to set up
a Google news alert for your name so that you
can follow the path and see when you make the
news so you can follow up. Also, PRWeb at http://www.prweb.com
has complete guidelines for setting up a good
press release. Go with the extra money and spend
$20.00. It's worth it to get the additional exposure.
About The Author
Diana Ennen is the author of numerous
books including Virtual Assistant: the Series,
Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA, Words
From Home, Start, Run and Profit from a Home-Based
Word Processing Business & the Home Office
Recovery Plan. She specializes in publicity and
book marketing and is president of Virtual Word
Publishing
http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com and
http://www.Publicity-VA.com. Articles are
free to be reprinted as long as the author's bio
remains intact
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