The Power Publicist

Archive for September, 2009

In the previous post, I outlined the benefits of writing press releases: to get media attention, increase your search rankings, and build a powerful presence online and offline.

Today, I will share some of the important elements of a news release.

Extra! Extra! Concise, Compelling Headline Draws Readers In!

It all starts with your headline. You don’t necessarily have to write this first, but it’s how journalists and public relations professionals usually do.

There is a very good reason for this: it gives your release a focal point to start from. What your headline needs to do is to encapsulate your news release in one short sentence (like the “Extra! Extra!” headline of this article, for instance). It has to be short and to the point like the release itself and most importantly, relevant to the rest of the content.

Plus, you need to remember you have less than seven seconds to get a journalist’s attention, so you have to make sure your headline draws the reporter in, and makes them want to read more.

Think of your headline as a bit of a strip tease: you want to share enough to get the person want -and ask for- more.

News releases are also indexed by search engines just like web pages are and the title is often the only part of the release which shows up in search results. So make sure it has some relevant keywords in the headline.

I suggest concentrate at least 40% on your press release writing efforts on this one element. Remember to make it short, make it relevant, and  make it compelling.  After all, you only have a few words to work with here, so make them count!

By Michele PW, guest contributor

Want to know the secret for creating promotional materials that make sales?

It starts with the headline.

You see, people are busy. They’re only going to take a few seconds to determine if they want to spend any time with your promotional materials or not (whether that’s an email, a web site, a sales letter or something else).

How will they make that decision? A big part of it will come from reading your headline. So if your headline doesn’t pull its own weight, your prospects will most likely simply move on.

So how can you craft a headline that persuades your prospects to keep reading? Here’s a tip to get you started:

Put yourself in the mind of your prospect. Chances are, your prospect landed on your site because they have a problem. And they’re looking for a solution to that problem. And they’re impatient because they’re squeezing in searching for this solution in between taking the kids to dance class, sending a few last emails and figuring out what to throw together for dinner. (Okay, that was a very female-biased day, but men are equally as stretched.) So if they’re not feeling confident they’re going to find a solution, they WILL move on. And fast.

But, if you create a headline that embodies the solution, then they’ll probably stick around and keep reading. For instance, a headline like this:

Give me 3 days and I’ll show you how to make more money while working far less

If you’re considering writing a headline like this, then your prospects are probably completely overwhelmed, exhausted, struggling to get everything done and not making much money. See how the headline entices them to read on because it promises a solution?

Here’s another one:

Give me 3 days and I’ll show you how to lose weight without crazy fad diets, pills, hours of sweaty exhausting exercise or feeling hungry.

(Ah, don’t we all wish?)

Okay, so your prospect wants to lose weight and has tried a lot of things without success.

See how this works?

About the author:

Michele PW (Michele Pariza Wacek) is your Ka-Ching! marketing strategist. She helps entrepreneurs attract more clients, sell more products and services and boost their business. To find out how she can help you take your business to the next level, visit http://www.MichelePW.com.

One of the things I notice often in the course of my work as a public relations consultant is that businesses of all types and sizes are catching on to just how valuable of a publicity tool a news release can be.

Not only is a well written and informative news release something which can bring a business some well-deserved free publicity and exposure in the media, the proliferation of online press release distribution sites has breathed new life into this old PR standby.

Especially on the web, a news release can raise the profile of your business since not only can these items be picked up for publication or used as the basis of a news item by news sites and blogs as well as traditional media outlets – they can also be a useful element of your SEO strategy.

While there is a lot of benefit to be had from issuing a news release, there is one huge problem which I see: most people don’t have the faintest idea of how to write one.

Many seem to be confused about how a news release should be written or even what they’re meant to do. It’s something which is understandable enough; most of us, after all, did not attend journalism school or pursue a public relations degree.

There is also the problem that many business owners get their first exposure to the format through one of the many PR distribution sites that will publish basically anything, no matter how far off the mark it may be. This has lead a lot of people to believe that they can basically slap a dateline on to their sales pitch and suddenly find themselves with a publicity goldmine on their hands.

As the song says, it ain’t necessarily so.

Writing a news release is one of those things where there is definitely a right way to go – and many wrong ways which can send your news releases straight to the recycling bin or to online obscurity.

If you’d like to learn more about how to write news releases that get attention; or at the very least get read, you’ve come to the right place.

We’re going to take a whirlwind tour of how to (and how not to) write a news release. Stay tuned for the next post in this series.

Part of making a powerful presence is to have good customer service policies in place. And customer service is one of the main things one can turn a one-time customer into a loyal one who buys and recommends your product or service.

But it seems some people have forgotten the basics: common courtesy.

Recently, I sent out a personalized email to 30 potential JV partners about a promotion I am doing on behalf of a client.

What I heard back from these people was astonishing. It was nothing…  Not a thanks but no, thanks. Not a thank you for your email autoresponder. We got zero response.

Ok, I thought to myself, may be they missed it. Maybe the email gremlins did something. So I sent it again. And still nothing.

Then I did follow up calls. I left a message with everyone. (It seems everyone has voice mail on the day of he day I called.) Still no return calls or emails.

OK, so maybe they weren’t interested. But geesh! Can you just give someone the courtesy of saying so?!?

An interview with a reporter can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially if you have never done it before.

But even experienced interviewees sometimes make a flub here and there – even the president of the United States.

It was leaked by ABC News Anchor Terry Moran on Twitter that President Obama called Kanye West a j@ck@ss. (Hey I’m PG rated here. But you can read the tweet here.)

Sure, the news professional was wrong not honoring an off the record comment. And although I agree with the president’s sentiment about the singer who interrupted Taylor Swift’s VMA acceptance speech, the seasoned interviewee should have known better.

But just in case he’s reading this, here’s a rundown of the do’s and don’ts when dealing with the press.

The No-No’s

• Giving gifts: Don’t try to persuade reporters by promising or offering gifts for coverage or favorable coverage in a story they’re already doing. It will probably result in negative coverage in light of your failed attempt.
• Off the record: Don’t say anything you do not want to see or hear later. Even if you tell the reporter the information is off the record, you would be a fool to think it couldn’t end up in the paper. Reporters have other sources and can use your tip to get one of them to talk instead.
• You’ll see it when you see it: Don’t ask the reporter to show you the story before it prints. This can be considered offensive and counterproductive for journalists. How would you feel if someone asked you to look over your work before it was done? It’s just not nice.

Yes, Yes!

• I don’t know: You don’t know everything. A reporter knows this and will understand if you don’t have an answer to his or her questions. A good practice though, is to say you will find out the answer and get back to them, and actually do it. If you say you’ll do it and don’t, you’ve earned a spot on the no-no list.
• Murphy’s Law says tell the truth: This is common sense rule that often goes overlooked. If you lie to make yourself look good now, it could definitely hurt you later when you are caught. Don’t cause an unnecessary crisis.
• Be prepared: In advance, brainstorm some possible questions you are expecting to be asked and be ready to answer them. If you are asked a question you aren’t prepared for, it is fine to ask for a minute to think about it. It is better to take a minute than answer a question hastily and forget your message or point you are trying to make with the interview.