Archive for August, 2008

The key to getting noticed by a journalist is having a good lede (also known as a lead) in your press releases.  Without it, a reporter won’t read on, and often that means your news release won’t be used.

But there are certain rules you can follow to ensure you’ve made your lede lead.

Follow these guidelines and expect to grab the attention of more readers and expand your audience!

The lead sentence should include the most important information in less than 25 words. You want to make sure that your lead is merely a summary of what the article will include. If the lead is too long, it begins to resemble the beginning of a story instead of a short description of your article.

Don’t guess that your reader will know what you’re talking about from the headline. Although many readers may grasp the article’s content from the headline, there are still those who may need a more detailed explanation of what your piece is about.

There should be no advertising or propaganda in the lead. Any extra exaggeration in the lead just adds unnecessary length and you could lose your reader.

The lead paragraph should include the who, what, when, where and how of the story. Once you answer the main questions of who’s involved, what the event is, and when, where and how it will occur, you’ll have everything you need to write the rest of the article.

The lead needs to be bold so that it is communicated to your audience effectively. The importance in communicating your message in the lead boldly is to draw the interest of the reader and make them feel like they have enough information about the article even if they only read the lead. The key is to make them want to read the rest of your article by catching their attention early on.

When it comes to word usage, less is more. The best thing you can do to communicate effectively is cut down the jargon. If your message is hidden behind a lot of complicated terminology, you run the risk of losing your reader’s interest. Putting your information in simple terms is more successful in getting your message across than utilizing complex words, phrases and inner-circle jargon.

I’ve been seeing a ton of so-called gurus talking about how great social media is and that it’s a great way to get free publicity.

It’s not.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love the social media. I’m on Facebook, Plurk, Twitter, MySpace – and a few others.

But I’ve seen a ton of people jump on the social media and social networking bandwagon to make their fortunes, and ultimately fail.

Why?

Social media is a piece of the marketing tool box – not THE marketing toolbox. You need to integrate it with other marketing tactics.

Another issue of Be Heard!, the free weekly ezine, is available.  In this issue, check out the new programs and new prices at Penny Pinching Publicity, find out how to pitch to social media, and get contacts at Coastal Living.

Check it out here.

You have less than seven seconds to get the attention of a reporter with your press release. But often times, small business owners and entrepreneurs blow their chance for media coverage by making simple mistakes that are easily corrected.

And unfortunately, in most cases, a journalist won’t give you a second chance. That’s why that first impression really matters.

Here are some of the most common boo-boos that can easily prevent you from getting noticed by the media:

Grammatical Errors- You can be the best writer in the world but still miss grammatical errors and typos when proofreading. Look over your work when you are most alert and read your release aloud to yourself. It is also a good idea to have at least three other people review your work before submission.

Upper Case Letters- Do not write your press release in all uppercase characters as it is bad formatting. Use mixed casing when writing your press release.

Lack of Content- Be sure your release answers the five W’s (Who, What, Where, When, Why) as roughly 90% of all press release submitted to reporters are rejected. Also ask yourself if your press release is newsworthy. The main purpose of a press release is to inform a public.

Press Releases that are Really Ads- Do not write your press release like an advertisement. You are not trying to sell anything when writing a press release. Remember a reporter’s job is to inform the public, not to sell to the public.

Incorrect E-mail Use- Your best bet in submitting a press release to a reporter is to create a role account. A role account, for example, is pr@companyname.com as compared to a personal account, sexygrl77@aol.com. You want to be professional when submitting press releases to reporters.

Last night, I co-hosted a free webinar with Shama Hyder to help business owners learn how to integrate social media with traditional publicity methods to get the best return on investment.

And now, it’s available for free for a limited time.

Visit https://cc.readytalk.com/play?id=c93y7hxa to see the webinar for yourself.