Why do I want a press release?
If you have a business you should be thinking about press releases. Why? Well, don't you want folks to find out about your products or services? They certainly won't discover you by divine intervention.
Have you just created a new product? Are you expanding your services? How will prospective customers find out about your business' tenth birthday? Who is going to find out about your 10% off sale? Perhaps you've only just set up in business and want to get your sales kick started with a special promotion, you need to get the word out.
While a Squidoo lens is a great way to tell customers in detail about your business, you have to get them here first before they can read all that detail about you, your business, the ethics under which you operate etc etc.
Put together a press release and add into it a link to your business relevant Squidoo lens and see what happens.
Choosing where to submit
Take a little time to research the various places where you can submit your press release online, don't just blanket them all with your release, some will be more appropriate than others.It's no use submitting your release to a site which is mainly interested in techy stuff if your store is full of antiques and it's no use telling the antiques world about your techy store or your hand made crafts, so be picky. There are plenty of sites out there to submit to.
As an example, Pheebay.com invites submissions from businesses and individuals, not only press releases but articles as well, however, these should be tailored for the online auction community or related interests. In fact, that's one of the reasons I was prompted to put this lens together.
For various press release outlets, grab yourself a cup of coffee and check out this Google search - what, you thought I was going to do it all for you ... now where would be the point in that?
You'll immediately recognise that some of the returns are for sites which will charge you a fee. It's entirely up to you whether you want to pay for such a service, there are plenty of free press release submission sites and I know from experience that releases are picked up well online and have, at times, attracted the attention of the mainstream press in the real world, including television news programmes.
Oh, ok, I will direct you to one site. This is not a recommendation of a site but I do suggest you pop along to prlog and read some of the press releases which are on their front page (you might want to freshen up that coffee) and when you're done looking, carry on reading here.
Read up on submission rules
Most press release sites have rules for submissions and you need to ensure that you have complied with these or your release will end up in the trash, never to be seen again.Interesting content, presented properly will extend your reach as it's picked up by writers and journalists all over the net.
Remember that your press release will be read by people who are busy, are looking for some extra content for their newsfeeds, blogs or articles or perhaps are seeking out that elusive main story. You need the opening to make an impact, get straight to the point. You also need to make sure that your contact details (or the details of whoever will be available to field any questions) are accurate and complete.
And never forget to state whether it's for immediate release or to be released on a specific date.
Constructing a press release
In the main, you want a catchy title, something which will make the reader click on your release, again, take a look at some of the sites, you are naturally drawn to click on some releases rather than others. Why is that? Analyse for yourself the reasons which led you to click that particular press release. Was it simply the title or was it what you saw in the first 20 or so words?Here's one I picked out ...
Service Measure predicts a polite 2009
A Scottish company which delivers "Mystery Shopper" reports for retailers and hospitality providers says Christmas 2008 proved to be an unusual season of great service, despite the effects of the credit crunch.
So what caught my eye? Scottish - that word jumped out at me because I am Scottish, I'm not especially interested in Mystery Shoppers but I did find the prediction of a 'polite 2009' an interesting one and the article provides an interesting slant on the 'effects of the credit crunch', I also happen to think that customer service is more than a little important, no-matter what business you are in.
It's a well written release with all the appropriate keywords in the title and opening sentence to make me want to read more. It might not quite do it for you, different keywords might have. You'll notice that the opening of this press release has everything you really need to know in it, the rest of the written work is filling out the flesh on those bones with some wonderful examples of that 'polite service'. This is what you need to look at emulating.
Have a clear idea of the precise subject of your release, be certain about your target market (who are you speaking directly to?) and leave out any unnecessary waffle. If a journalist wants to know more, (s)he will contact you direct.
And remember you are trying to woo your customer.
Spelling and grammar
We all have our blind spots with spelling and grammar and I cannot stress enough how important it is to make sure that your spelling and grammar in a press release are accurate, this is going to be the first impression most folks will have of your business.Of course, if they then visit your site and find a thousand careless errors on the pages, they will not be impressed at all. It's just plain laziness, I'm afraid. Everyone has a spell checker on their computer, most computers have a grammar checking facility as well, so what's the excuse? In case you hadn't realised it, you'll find the appropriate tools in Microsoft Word under the tab 'tools' ... there is no excuse for the horrendous gaffes I see all the time when I'm browsing lenses.
Don't get me wrong, in day to day writing we all make mistakes, many of mine come from hitting two keys at the same time or from one hand reacting faster when typing, that why we ALL need to use spellcheckers before submitting a press release and it takes only a few seconds to do so.
The difference between their and there, its and it's, affect and effect and the various other similar sounding words which confuse people should really be the subject of another lens but if you are in any doubt about the usage of words, try running them through the Thesaurus you'll find under that same 'tools' tab to see if it's really what you mean.
Then there is the use of the apostrophe! How many times have I seen taxi's when what was meant was taxis, or ladies when really the writer meant lady's or even ladies'.
If you have difficulty with punctuation, grammar and spelling then maybe you should be looking to ask someone to proofread your press release before you submit it.
A release which is full of the most basic mistakes will harm your business more than help it. If you really are hopeless with spelling and grammar then it's well worth paying someone else to put together your publicity material.
And, yes, I would do it for a fee.
Promoting your press release
Once your press release is submitted, accepted and published by your chosen press release site, you should then go and promote it in appropriate places.Now, there's a fine line between spamming and promoting, promoting is the appropriate use of links to draw the attention of people who will be interested, spamming is putting that link anywhere and everywhere regardless of whether it's of interest to those receiving it.
For example, if you send out a quarterly newsletter it's fine to draw attention the press release in that but do not email your entire database of clients with a link to 'your latest press release' - that will probably ensure that you have a flood of emails from irate people asking to be removed from that list.
Don't annoy people, only target those people (and forums / chat rooms) who are likely to be interested in your promotion.
Think about the amount of spam you recieve daily ... get my point?
Woo your customer, don't hit them over the head with your info.
And, good luck.
Have you used press releases before?
Did you find this lens helpful? Let me know if there is anything else about press releases you need to know.
If you have any tips or hints to share then please do so here.
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Tipi
Nov 12, 2010 @ 10:47 am | delete
- Very informative. Thank you for the information.
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JaguarJulie Sep 14, 2010 @ 6:14 am | delete
- OMG, I have been doing press releases for so many years -- I think I actually have a few ancient ones in my sample portfolio. The challenge I think is the distribution.
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OhMe Feb 26, 2009 @ 5:18 am | delete
- I have to write press releases all the time for events and this will be so helpful. Lensrollng to my Friends of the Park lens. Thank you.
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rainbowseeker
Feb 13, 2009 @ 7:38 am | delete
- I'm sending this to a friend who is doing a press release for an antiques show. It should be very helpful! Thanks 00 for another great lens!
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businessblossom
Feb 5, 2009 @ 3:22 pm | delete
- Found you on Squid U . . . this is a very informative site, and one which I shall personally refer back to in the near future.
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LindaW
Feb 5, 2009 @ 1:55 pm | delete
- I have never used one, but I have been thinking about it. This lens was very helpful. Cute graphics and humor.
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