Monday, February 20, 2012

What to do with that press release


What is the best way to build a media list and issue a press release?  Here are a few tips.

Let’s start with the media list.  If your product, news, or service has a national or regional scope – or you want it to – then sign up for wire service distribution such as that offered by PR Newswire and others.  Fees are reasonable and generally are based on the size of any release.  They will see that your release is distributed to the geographic regions and to the media outlets most likely to be interested in your news.  Many of the wire service’s media outlets will post your story on their web sites, thus enhancing your SEO (search engine optimization).  However, wire services only distribute to their member outlets, so be sure to enhance the visibility of your release by utilizing the wire service e-mail service.  The wire service will maintain a list of specific reporters – and any other recipients of importance to you such as board members, stake-holders, current and prospective clients – and distribute the release to them via e-mail or, where necessary,fax. 

What if your business – and news about it – is strictly local?  Make and maintain a local list.  Develop a comprehensive list of the local media – radio,TV,print.  Phone each outlet and ask to speak to a reporter who covers your news.  If you have time, arrange for a visit to see the operation, get a sense of who is who, who does what, and what types of stories are covered.  You may learn that different reporters receive different types of news.  Some specialize in personnel announcements while others prefer activity and feature news.  In some instances you shouId send releases to more than one reporter/editor in the same newsroom.  Ask about the preferred way – e-mail, fax, or (almost extinct) hard copy. 

Once you have created your lists (e-mail, fax, and other) it’s time to plan distribution strategy.  First, create e-mail groups for those outlets that have noted this mode as preferred.  When you send an e-mail release, paste the copy in the body of the e-mail.  Reporters hate to open attachments – although you can send a related photo as an attachment – and some outlets prohibit attachments.

This all may sound complicated, and it can be time consuming at first.  But once you have established a list and a distribution procedure, it is easy – and very important.



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