Becoming Your Own Publicist

When big businesses develop products or services, they hire publicists to promote them. The publicists’ job is to organize a promotional camping. They provide a report or story to journalists in various forms of online and offline media. They’re hired to promote and creating mass public interest. Making a small business perform on a grand scale is simple. By becoming your own publicist, you can promote the same way, leaving you competition in the dust.

First, make a list of potential contacts in forms media you’ll target. In other words, find journalists. Good journalists are always hungrily looking for a unique story to write about. When you present them with one, they’re more than happy to listen. You’re making their job easier bringing a story to them and cutting their research time down. They often spend more time looking for a story to write about, than dong what they love, interviewing people and writing stories to publish!

You can find many find journalists working for local newspapers nation wide. Simply call local newspapers and ask to speak to the appropriate reporter. Then, fill them in on your story. However, don’t give the complete story away at that moment. Create interest and schedule an appointment for the reporter to get your complete story.

You’re actually setting up a press conference. When you spoke to each reporter, you gave then a convenient way to get your full story without leaving their office. How? By inviting them to your press conference that will take place on a teleconference call line. This way, you can invite hundreds of reporters to hear your story and interview you at once. You can find teleconference lines on the Internet at no cost. Just do a search for them.

When the press knows your story, it will create a buzz about your business and be printed in newspapers as a feature for people to read. Your business contact information will also be included in the newspaper article so people can contact your business. If 50 newspapers with a circulation of 30,000 readers per day print your story, 1,500,000 people will receive it in their newspaper. Of the 1,500,000 people, let’s say that only 50,000 read your story. If of 50,000, only 2,000 contact your business, totaling 2,000 excellent quality leads, that’s not bad.

This same technique used for exposure in magazines and other forms of media. Most have online and offline editions. When news is considered legitimate, it’s taken more seriously that any advertisement you can buy.

Did I mention this would not cost one dime?

How to Create a Better News Release

Many organizations and businesses want media coverage of their activities, and at the same time many newsrooms are looking for local (or even national and international) topics to cover. If you’re belong to an organization that wants coverage, you can increase the odds of getting it by following a few simple news release (or press release) conventions.

First, you must have something new or different to say. As the name News implies, the media want information that’s new or at least updated. At the same time, reporters and editors want information that’s relevant to their readers; choose your media targets carefully, and tailor the content of the release to their audience).

Second, your headline should be as interesting as a newspaper headline. It should promise something new, dramatic, or timely. Make the editor or reporter want to know more. Remember, though, the claim should be credible and relevant.

Third, in the first paragraph of the body, get in what journalists call the Five Ws: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. In fact, try to get them into the first sentence, and if you can’t, at least start with a clear concise statement that summarizes the story.

Traditionally, reporters have tried to get the essence of every story into the first paragraph because they didn’t know where, or whether, their stories would be cut. So, they start with the most important information and end with the least important. That way, no matter where the story was cut, the best material stayed.

Fourth, write and rewrite your news release many times before ‘releasing’ it. Use active verbs and transitions (from sentence to sentence, and paragraph to paragraph). Boil down the content as much as you can; two pages is acceptable, but one is better.

Fifth, follow this standard format:
At the top of the page, write this, in all caps:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Usually this will be left-justified)

Or, if you want the release to be held until specific date/time, write something like this:
FOR RELEASE AT 10 A.M., AUGUST 23
(But don’t necessarily expect the embargo to be honored)

Skip a line and then put in contact information, as in:
Contact: Robert Abbott
Telephone: 403 555-1234
Email: robertabbott@anycompany.com

Skip another line and add your headline (centered, and use title case or all-caps):
Perpetual Motion Machine Unveiled

Now, the body of your news release, which should not exceed two pages.

At the end of the body, add three number marks with single spaces between them, as in:
# # #

Repeat your contact information at the end , as in:
Robert Abbott welcomes your inquiries at 403 555-1234 or by email at: robertabbott@anycompany.com

Sixth, prepare yourself for reporters’ questions
It goes without saying, of course, that you would prepare yourself for questions from reporters if you send out a release. I would recommend you write out a list of questions that seem likely and prepare bullet-point answers for each of them. That way you’ll be ready for most of the questions. However, don’t read the answers back to reporters; just use them as a guide. At the same time, assume you’ll get questions you simply can’t predict. Answer them as well as you can; and if you can’t answer, your best bet is to tell the interviewer you’ll need to get more information, and will call back after you do.