Whether you consider writing a press release an easy task you can take care of at any hour of the day or something very hard to do since no one seems to notice your efforts, in order to get your small business’ press release seen by the right people you have to respect three simple rules: write an effective press release, send it to the right journalists and personalize your pitch.
Sounds simple, right? The process is actually a little bit complicated but with our writing and distribution tips your small business’ press release will surely be seen by the right people and by that we mean your target audience.
Tips To Writing An Effective Press Release
The first thing you have to consider before writing and sending a press release is your reason. A press release has to be news worthy so it has to be related to the opening of a new location, to releasing a new product, to important financial information for your business or special events organized by your small business.
After you decided on a main subject for the press released based on the reasons we mentioned above or other reasons that media can find important, make lists with journalists and publications that can be interested in what you want to announce.
For example, a financial publication can be interested in your financial information if you had record selling in a short period of time but it will definitely not be interested in a press release that talks about the launching of a clothing line. Sure, this example is a bit exaggerated but you get the idea. You have to consider the publication’s audience as much as you consider your audience. Find the things your audiences have in common and write a personalized press release.
In order to gain more media coverage, you can write a personalized press release for different publications. You can have one talking about finance for a financial publication, one talking about your small business’ strategies for a publication dedicated to entrepreneurs, one about your new product line for publications that write articles about your industry.
Every single press release should answer five questions: who, what, when, where and why so no matter your topic or reason for writing a press release make sure these questions are answered. In order to make the editor’s job easier, the answers to the first four questions should be written in the first paragraph of the press release. This paragraph has to offer all the important information. In the next paragraphs you can focus on the why question and to provide additional information the editor can use to make an article out of your press release.
When writing the press release make sure you do not exaggerate the information, be honest and do not use pretentious words.
Press Release Distribution Tips
Since you chose your subject(s) for the press release based on your audience and the audience of the publications you want to reach, all you have to do now is to write a personalized pitch for every publication you plan to contact.
This may sound like a waste of time but writing a personalized pitch can lead to more published articles so take the time to read articles written by the journalist you want to contact, find articles similar to your subject and offer some angles the writer can consider for your story. Be sure you let the editor/writer know that you can be contacted for additional information or for an interview.
After you sent your pitch via email, allow a couple of days and call the editor if possible. Sending emails can be enough in some cases but most journalists are very busy and they do not get the chance to check all their emails. A phone conversation can help you create a connection with journalists and this will allow you to understand what they like to write about and when is the best time to pitch them a story.
Work on the relationships you have with the media. Make sure the journalists you contact know you are available for interviews, discussions and similar things. Offer your help and be a credible source of information for them.