Sixty bucks doesn’t go far for advertising space. goal yes
spend it creatively, you can get more than ten times that value in
newspaper or magazine lineage. And it’s easy if you know how. Here it is
excuse me.
You’re familiar with press releases, right? A press release is a single
information page about your product or service that is sent to a
magazine or a newspaper. If selected to be published, it prints as a
story and it appears as if the magazine or newspaper wrote it. There
there is no charge to publish your press release in a magazine or
Newspaper.
So stick around – find out how you can get your press release
posted (and your chances are pretty good) even if you can’t write
worth a hockey puck.
There are certain criteria for publishing your press release, not
It doesn’t matter who writes it. First of all, it may not sound like an advertisement for your product or
Service. No, no adjectives. If it sounds like an ad, it will be discarded.
While most editors will make minor corrections to make a press release fit
your editorial style, few if any will rewrite your release just to publish it.
Editors pick press releases every day, and those who
draw your attention to the publication are the closest to your exact needs –
requires the least amount of editing and rewriting. Most editors know a
good when they see it.
Second, your press release should conform to the standard design style of
Press releases. This tells the editor that you know what you are doing in
media relations and shows that your day-to-day business practices do the same.
So when your release is published, editors will feel comfortable with it.
knowledge, your readers will get good literature and, if they ask for it, a
good product. They may assume that their readers will be faced with a
professional company on a professional level. If your press release
lands on your desktop with lots of typos and misspellings, you will land on the
garbage below.
The correct design style means a large header that says “Press Release” on the
above, followed by a contact name and phone number for editors to call
for more information. Next, you need a disposal date after which the press
the version should not run. If there is no deletion date, indicate “No deletion date” so that
It doesn’t seem like you forgot. Also, don’t forget to include a 5″ x 7″
black and white photo to increase interest, improve readership and
more credibility.
The title of your release is centered and bold. write your
holder carefully; it is this line that will make or break your shot. Yew
is a great headline, people will read it, and the rest of the release. Yew
is a poor headline, people will read it – and the other articles in the
magazine. It’s your choice. My recomendation? The Jeff Dobkin 100
Back to Rule 1: Write 100 headlines, then go back and pick the best one.
The body of the statement follows. Double spaced, allowing an editor
Easily make corrections between lines. Leave space around the
margins, too. Make it look easy to read, even if it isn’t. wear shorts,
descriptive sentences without fluff or excess verbiage. use a pyramid
writing style – the most important parts in the first paragraph or two –
because editors know how to cut from the bottom.
Brief and concise writing as a newspaper reporter would do.
works better. Holy smokes! Did I just say “as a reporter for a
write the newspaper”? What an idea!
How is this? Suppose you are not a good writer or are too busy with
other activities to write your own release. What do you do for a living? Call to
local newspaper and ask to speak to a reporter. Now I don’t know
about your area, but the newspaper reporters here in Philly don’t
they usually make as much money as they would like. When you have a reporter in the
phone, ask them if they know of any reporters who would like a
writing assignment and would consider writing a press release – for a fee.
Most likely the same reporter you’re talking to
with will go for the easy money opportunity. If not, they will recommend a
associate on staff.
Go over your product information with the reporter and add enough
benefits summary so they can write a quality release. ask them to
they recommend several different angles and what they think is best
the tone would be Then ask what their hourly rate is (usually around $20/
hours). Your release should take about two to three hours of writing time,
if that – and it should cost around $60.
Now for the best part. Your reporter can send your release to the
editor for you. Think about it. The newspaper reporter himself writes a press
release – in the exact style of newspaper writing – and then hands it over to
the editor with his own personal recommendation. Nice package.
So, without typing a stitch, you get the release written and then delivered.
to the editor on a silver platter by a trusted staff member. your chances
to publish it are… you guessed it. When it’s printed, just
received $1,000 in advertising for $60. As promised.
©2004 Jeffrey Dobkin