Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Press Release Help You Get Free Publicity

One of the most traditional ways to promote your business is through writing and submitting a press release. When considering doing this for your business a free press release service is one of the best way to go. These services will write the article for you and then distribute them to the various media.

The use of a press release is common in the field of public relations, the aim of which is to attract favorable media attention to public relations professional's client and/or provide publicity for products or events marketed by those clients.

A well-written release can dramatically increase your sales, expose your company to the masses, and greatly enhance the image of your business or products. A professionally written press release can make the difference between a successful press release and an utter failure.

Free Publicity

News releases not only reach journalists but they also capture potential customers and/or investors which means that your products and/or services can be both funded and be made more profitable simply based on the media attention your release receives. Whatever your target audience may be, free press release offer you a way to become known to the public without a significant investment. Even large corporations who spend millions of dollars on ad campaigns continue to use news releases to maintain public interest which results in higher revenue.

How to Write a Press Release

Start strong. Your headline and first paragraph should tell the story. The rest of your press release should provide the detail. You have a matter of seconds to grab your readers' attention. Do not blow it with a weak opening.

Write the press release body copy. The press release should be written as you want it to appear in a news story. The press release body copy should be compact. Avoid using very long sentences and paragraphs. Avoid repetition and over use of fancy language and jargon. A first paragraph (two to three sentences) must actually sum up the press release and the further content must elaborate it. In a fast-paced world, neither journalists nor other readers would read the entire press release if the start of the article didn't generate interest. Deal with actual facts - events, products, services, people, targets, goals, plans, projects. Try to provide maximum use of concrete facts.

Communicate the 5 Ws and the H. Who, what, when, where, why, and how. Then consider the points below if pertinent.

- What is the actual news?
- Why this is news?
- The people, products, items, dates and other things related with the news.
- The purpose behind the news.
- Your company - the source of this news.

The more newsworthy you make the press release copy, the better the chances of it being selected by a journalist or reporting. Find out what "newsworthy" means to a given market and use it to hook the editor or reporter.

Include information about the company. When a journalist picks up your press release for a story, he/she would logically have to mention the company in the news article. Journalists can then get the company information from this section.

Add the human touch. Always use real life stories about how your organization identified a problem and solved it. How did your service or product fulfil a need or help the community. Real life examples communicate the benefits of using your product or service in a powerful way.

Economics of words. Use only enough words to tell your story. Avoid using unnecessary adjectives, flowery language, or redundant expressions such as "added bonus" or "first time ever". If you can tell your story with fewer words, do it. Wordiness distracts from your story. Keep it concise. Make each word count.

Finally,Be concise and grammatically correct. Avoid adding extra fluff words that distract from the true meaning of your press release. Don't include clichés and jargon that may not be understood by the general reader. Make sure that you have permission to use any quotes or inside information. This will prevent there being any conflicts that may result in your press release being pulled. Be sure to check you release for punctuation and grammatical errors. Take a look at some other press releases to make sure that you have followed the proper format.

Self-promotion plays a big part in the success of any business. Publicity generated by free press release, and often the coverage is far more extensive than anything you could have hoped to say in an ad. Keep in mind that your goal is to attract favorable media attention while following the steps above.

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