Your 6-Step Plan For Press Release Placement

There's a clear way around press release failure and it's called the pitch. A lot like it sounds a pitch is a fast throw at busy editors about a possible story. If they want to find out more, then you send the press release.

That leads me to a huge pet peeve: Sending out press releases via e-mail to a list of editors. From my experience it's never - ever - worked. I no longer try it and suggest you don't either. It's a waste of your time and all of the editors. Instead:

1. Focus on a handful of your "dream publications." For me, I'd like to get into Fortune Small Business, Entrepreneur magazine and the Wall Street Journal. When picking your publications, think of your target audience. What do they read and why do they read it?

2. Pick the section you'd like to appear in. You never know, but chances are you won't appear on the cover of the publication in your first attempt at placement, instead, focus on sidebars, resource listings and short news sections. Almost all print pubs have them. Look at it as the waiting room for bigger and better stories on the unique products and/or services you offer.

3. Find out who the editor is. Once you have your section, find out who's in charge of it. You'll need the person's name, e-mail address and the most important element of successfully getting placed in the publication . . .

4. Learn what the editor needs. The number one thing you'll need to know about the editors you're targeting is the kind of information they want to publish in their sections. There are two ways to do that: You could ask, but then that could open up a can of worms if the editor doesn't want to get calls - and most don't. Or, you could compare a few back issues of the publication to find out what they've published in the past.

5. Create the pitch. You'll want to start your pitch by stating your understanding of the editor's needs. Then list - in clear bullet points - how your news fits his or her requirements. Note: Always leave your phone number in the text of the pitch e-mail to give the editor easy access to you - and your story.

6. Repeat steps 1 through 5 until you get a response. Sound tedious? Maybe. But at least the time you spend on this will reap much better results than sending one release out to thousands of editors - right along with other business people hungry for coverage.

Bottom line: It's about building relationships with editors. And the only way to build a relationship is to find the need and fill it - consistently and considerately.

Smashing the Myth of the Press Release

A musician spends years honing his craft. He writes world-class songs and performs them in a manner that moves his listeners to tears. He records a demo tape and sends it to record labels. He gets a contract and becomes rich, famous and adored.

The lesson: demo tapes are the secret of becoming a famous musician.

Wait, you say, the demo tape was just a tool, just his way of conveying his talent. It's his ability as a musician that got him the contract and made him famous.

You're right, of course. He could have become just as famous if a record executive saw him in person, or heard about him from a friend, or as a result of a variety of other events.

Which brings us to the press release.

Somehow, the press release has taken on a magical reputation as the alpha and omega of publicity. Wanna become rich? Send out a press release. Wanna become famous? Press release. Wanna get on the cover of Newsweek? Press release.

Publicity "gurus" are springing up all over the Internet touting the press release as the answer to all marketing ills. Just knock out a release, mass e-mail it to journalists, sit back and wait for Oprah to call.

It's a cruel joke.

Here's the reality: the press release is no more important to your potential of scoring free publicity than the demo tape was to our musician friend. If he had no talent, if his songs sounded like garbage, the best recorded demo tape in the world wouldn't get him signed. Ditto for the publicity seeker. If you don't have a story to tell, your press release is utterly worthless.

I'm not knocking the press release -- it's an important tool. But it's just that: a tool. It's not the first thing you need to think about when it comes time to seek publicity. In fact, it's one of the last. And it's not even absolutely necessary (I've gotten plenty of publicity with just a pitch letter, a quick e-mail or a phone call).

If you worship at the shrine of the press release, it's time to rearrange your priorities. Here, then, are the things that are MORE important than a press release in generating publicity:

1. A newsworthy story. This is the equivalent of our musician's talent. It's the very basis for your publicity efforts. Without it, your press release means nothing. To learn about how to develop a newsworthy story, take a look at publicityinsider questions.asp and scroll down to "Is my company/website/life really newsworthy?"

2. Learning to think like an editor. Oh, what an edge you'll have in scoring publicity over all those press release worshippers once you learn how to get inside the head of an editor. Give an editor what he wants in the way he wants it and you'll do great. I've got an entire article on the subject at
 publicityinsider freesecret.asp  Go there now and absorb it all. Trust me, it will make a world of difference.

3. Relevance. Tie in with a news event, make yourself part of a trend, piggyback on a larger competitor's story, but, by all means, make your story part of a picture that's bigger than just your company. Stories that exist in a vacuum quickly run out of oxygen.

4. Persistence. Sending out a press release and waiting for results is lazy and ineffective. If you really believe in your story, and you believe that it's right for a particular media outlet, you need to fight to make it happen. Call or e-mail the editor to pitch your story BEFORE sending the release. If one editor says no, try somebody else. If they all say no, come back at them with a different story angle.

Getting publicity involves so much more than just sending out a press release. Treat it as seriously and with as much respect as our newly minted rock star treats his craft and you'll be well on your way to success.

PR's Only True Measure

Sure, you could measure the rather narrow results achieved by tactical subsets of your public relations program like special events, brochures, broadcast plugs or press releases. On the other hand, you as a business, non-profit or association manager might better measure the results of your strategic efforts to alter individual perception among your key outside audiences leading to changed behaviors, which then help you achieve your managerial objectives.

I mean, can we agree that managers MUST plan to do something positive about the behaviors of those important external audiences of theirs that most affect their operation?

And especially so when they persuade those key outside folks to their way of thinking by helping to move them to take actions that allow their department, division or subsidiary to succeed?

But it takes more than good intentions for any manager to alter individual, key-audience perception leading to changed behaviors, something of profound importance to ALL business, non-profit and association managers.

He or she needs a plan dedicated to getting every member of the public relations team working towards the same external audience behaviors which insures that the organization’s public relations effort stays sharply focused.

The plan could be based on a foundation that looks like this: people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.

Results can materialize faster than you might suspect.For example, bounces in showroom visits; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; customers making repeat purchases; prospects starting to work with them;membership applications on the rise, and capital givers or specifying sources looking their way.

Watch the real performers at work. They find out whoamong their key external audiences is behaving in ways that help or hinder the achievement of their objectives. Then, they list them according to how severely their behaviors affect their organization.

Next they must determine how most members of that key outside audience perceive the organization. If the resources to pay for what could be costly professional survey counsel aren’t there, Ms. or Mr. manager and his or her PR colleagues will have to monitor those perceptions themselves. Actually, the PR folks should already be quite familiar with how to gather and assess perception and behavior data.

Doing so means meeting with members of that outside audience and asking questions like "Are you familiar with our services or products?" "Have you ever had contact with anyone from our organization? Was it a satisfactory experience?" And if you are that manager, you must be sensitive to negative statements, especially evasive or hesitant replies. Watch carefully for false assumptions, untruths, misconceptions, inaccuracies and potentially damaging rumors. When you find such, you will need to take steps to correct them, as they inevitably lead to negative behaviors.

Now comes the challenge of selecting the specific perception to be altered which then becomes your public relations goal. You obviously want to correct those untruths, inaccuracies, misconceptions or false assumptions.

The core reality of the whole drill is that a PR goal without a strategy to show you how to get there, is like corned beef and cabbage without the cabbage. It’s justnot the same. So, as you select one of three strategies (especially constructed to create perception or opinion where there may be none, or change or reinforce it,) what you must do is insure that the goal and its strategy match each other. You wouldn’t want to select "change existing perception" when current perception is just right suggesting a "reinforce" strategy.

Now the time has come when you must create a compelling message carefully constructed to alter your key target audience’s perception, as specified by your public relations goal.

Remember that you can always combine your corrective message with another news announcement or presentation which may give it more credibility by downplaying the apparent need for such a correction.

The content of the message must be compelling and quite clear about what perception needs clarification or correction, and why. Naturally you must be truthful and your position logically explained and believable if it is to hold the attention of members of that target audience, and actually move perception in your direction.

Occasionally, folks in the PR business will allude to the communications tactics necessary to move your message to the attention of that key external audience, as "beasts of burden" because they must carry your persuasive new thoughts to the eyes and ears of those important outside people.

Luckily, there is a wide choice because the list of tactics is lengthy. It includes letters-to-the-editor, brochures, press releases and speeches. Or, you might choose radio and newspaper interviews, personal contacts, facility tours or customer briefings. There are scores available and the only selection requirement is that the communications tactics you choose have a record of reaching people just like the members of your key target audience.

Of course, you can always move things along by adding more communications tactics, AND by increasing their frequencies.

Right about now, the subject of progress reports will arise,but you will already be hard at work remonitoring perceptions among your target audience members to test the effectiveness of your communications tactics. Using questions similar to those used during your earlier monitoring session, you’ll now be on sharp alert for signs that audience perceptions are beginning to move in your general direction.

Throughout, keep your eye on the core of this approach: persuade your most important outside audiences with the greatest impacts on your organization to your way of thinking. Then move them to take actions that help your department, division or subsidiary prevail.

Thus, instead of measuring the rather narrow results achieved by the tactical subsets of your public relations program like special events, brochures, broadcast plugs or press releases, you will have discovered the only true measure of public relations: the results of your strategic efforts to alter individual perception among your key outside audiences leading to changed behaviors, helping you achieve your managerial objectives.

Managers: Should Your PR Budget Stress Tactics or Strategy?

If public relations tactics like special events, brochures, broadcast plugs and press releases dominate your answer, you’re missing the best PR has to offer.

Such a budget would tell us that you believe tactics ARE public relations. And that would be too bad, becauseit means you are not effectively planning to alterindividual perception among your key outside audienceswhich then would help you achieve your managerialobjectives.

It would also tell us that, even as a business, non-profit orassociation manager, you’re not planning to do anything positive about the behaviors of those important external audiences of yours that MOST affect your operation. Nor are you preparing to persuade those key outside folks to your way of thinking by helping to move them to take actions that allow your department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

So, it takes more than good intentions for you as a manager to alter individual, key-audience perception leading to changed behaviors. It takes a carefully structured plan dedicated to getting every member of the PR team working towards the same external audience behaviors insuring that the organization’s public relations effort stays sharply focused.

The absence of such a plan is always unfortunate because the right public relations planning really CAN alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors among key outside audiences.

If this sounds vaguely familiar, try to remember that your PR effort must require more than special events, news releases and talk show tactics if you are to receive the quality public relations results you deserve.

The payoff can materialize faster than you may think in the form of welcome bounces in show room visits; customers beginning to make repeat purchases; capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way; membership applications on the rise; the appearance of new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures;politicians and legislators beginning to look at you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities; prospects actually starting to do business with you; and community leaders begin to seek you out.

It’s always nice to simply hire a survey firm to handle the opinion monitoring/data gathering phase of your effort. But that can cost real money. Luckily, your public relations professionals can often fill that bill because they are already in the perception and behavior business. But satisfy yourself that the PR staff really accepts why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. And be doubly certain they believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

Share your plans with them for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Ask questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

But whether it’s your people or a survey firm asking the questions, the objective remains the same: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

It’s goal-setting time during which you will establish a goal calling for action on the most serious problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. You’ll want to straighten out that dangerous misconception? Correct that gross inaccuracy? Or, stop that potentially painful rumor cold?

Of course, setting your PR goal requires an equally specific strategy that tells you how to get there. Only three strategic options are available to you when it comes to doing something about perception and opinion. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. The wrong strategy pick will taste like onion gravy on your rhubarb pie. So be sure your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. You certainly don’t want to select "change" when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement.

It’s always time for good writing, but never as now. You must prepare a persuasive message that will help move your key audience to your way of thinking. It must be a carefully-written message targeted directly at your key external audience. Select your very best writer because s/he must come up with really corrective language that is not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if they are to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind.

Here’s where you need the communications tactics certain to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. There are many available. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be certain that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

How you communicate, however, is always a major concern. The credibility of any message is always fragile. Which is why you’ll probably want to unveil your corrective message before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases.

When the need for a progress report appears, you’ll want to begin a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. You’ll certainly use many of the same questions used in the benchmark session. But now, you will be watchingclosely for signs that the bad news perception is finally moving positively in your direction.

Fortunately, if things slow down, you can always speed things up by adding more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies.

Allow the tacticians a free hand in selecting whether this tactic or that tactic should be used as the beast of burden needed to carry your message to your target audience.

You take a broader view of public relations and stress the strategic approach because it requires you as the manager to effectively plan to alter individual perception among your key outside audiences, thus helping you achieve your managerial objectives.

Incredible results of well-written press release

Press releases are one of the most important elements in the marketing strategy that provides for the maximum exposure of your company and reminds your clients about important developments in your company. The most important aim of the press release is to win the trust of your steadfast clients and inform new customers about your company and its activities. Each of the press releases should contain some indispensable elements such as intriguing and attractive headline, the body of the press release that should describe the developments of your company (for instance you company starts providing new services, it might start manufacturing new products or it launches some new projects). Remember that the most efficient press release must attract the attention of your reader immediately-only few of your potential readers have the time to read numerous press releases submitted to the desk.

The issuing of your pres release should be timely. That is why it is important to cooperate with your marketing professionals who should evaluate and research the market before your press release is issued. The press release should reveal what you are trying to accomplish and why you are publishing it. Your headline is one of the most important elements of your press release; it should be appealing, attracting and interesting; however it must in several words tell whole story. One should try to avoid generalization; press release should communicate with your reader in easy-to-read, coherent and logical style. The text must impress your reader and should not exaggerate, one should remember that the press release is issued to the mass media representatives, who are highly skeptical and are used to treat the information cautiously.

There are just of several tips on how the press release can be completed. Certainly there is plenty of information in the internet on how the press release can be completed. One might read it and try to complete the press release by oneself, however it is advisable to hire experienced professional who has several years of experience and is well-skilled to complete your task. Press release service will guide through this complicated and difficult process. Once the press releases have been completed by press release services you can use press release written by them as a guide.