 | Good publicity can give your business a real boost and PR can be a cost effective way of getting coverage. It isn’t always easy to know what makes news, so read these tips to help you do your own PR |
News has got to be new! This may seem obvious but the media only want to cover items that are of the moment. Old news is no news.
Spend a couple of hours writing down all the possible ideas you can think of for a press release. It could be something new about your business, a new product, a new service … but look for ideas that highlight something new and unique about you and your business.
Research your target publications. Reading the publications you would like your news to appear in is a step that many people forget. Look at the sort of news that it covers. Do your ideas for press releases match up?
Get to know your target journalists. You can always call them up and ask what sort of stories they are looking for. If your idea matches, great – send your press release over. If not, send them something once you have come up with a relevant idea.
If you have ‘hard news’ about your business, send it out straight away. This could be something like a flood at your premises – something that your local paper might cover that very week.
Plan in your press release ideas for ‘soft news’ so you are sending something out on a regular basis. Soft news is something that a publication could slot in at any time. Send news of your products, sales, staff news etc at least once a month.
If you are short on ideas, think about creating some news. Can you hold an event, join in with a local initiative, or launch something new? Planning your press releases in advance makes it easier to spot when you need to do this.
Just because you think something is interesting, it might not be newsworthy. As the business owner you are inevitably more interested in what is happening in your business than anyone else.
You may not be the best person to evaluate your press release idea. Ask someone independent who you know is ‘media savvy’ if they think it is the sort of news your target publication might cover.
Something that is news for one publication might not be news for another, so always choose who you send each press release to carefully.
Conclusion
Sending great press releases with relevant news every time is the best way to build up a relationship with your target publications and get regular coverage. Follow these tips and you will soon find your business is getting regular exposure and reaching more customers.
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