You need a good story to tell.
If you go to Google you will find any number of templates to use for your press release writing. However, the most important parts are the headline and the first paragraph. Before you put pen to paper, you need to understand what it is that you’re trying to achieve.
If you are the editor of a newspaper, what sort of stories are you looking for? Would you be interested in telling the story of a sandwich shop giving away a free coffee with every sandwich? No you wouldn’t. How about the world’s most expensive cheese sandwich? That’s more like it. (This is actually a true story and you can read it on – http://bit.ly/bU431d) This is a catchy and intriguing story with a good angle.
Writing your press release involves creating a story which will immediately excite the reporter. It should have a good headline which stimulates the reader’s interest. You can go two ways. You can perform a publicity stunt related to your business or you can take an everyday aspect of your business and create an interesting angle to it.
You might think that the first option would be a lot of work. It doesn’t have to be. Simply look at stories that are already popular and create an interesting angle. Recently I created a parody of the Old Spice advertisement and then wrote a press release about the power of viral videos (http://bit.ly/fft5ba). A press release simply about viral videos would not have been particularly noteworthy, but I rode on the coast tails of the Old Spice commercial and gave it a twist.
The first time you do this, you will be sending your press releases out to as many people and places as you can think of. Over time, you will start to form relationships with some of these people. Once you have made a friend of a reporter, this can be very helpful. Not only will they take notice of whatever you send them, soon they will be contacting you for comments and opinions about various topics associated with your industry.
One easy step to take is go to www.helpareporter.com. Give your details and you will be added to a list of people who are available to give comments and quotes to reporters who are looking to do articles in your niche. When you are contacted, be as helpful as you can so that you will be asked more often.
After you have done this, start your press release writing and distribute it as widely as you can. PRWeb.com is a good start, but then you can continue by doing your own research. Find websites of local radio stations and newspapers and other media outlets relevant to your industry and find out how you go about sending stories to them.
Reporters and researchers are often struggling for content because all they get is the same old boring pieces sent to them. If you come up with an innovative angle and submit a well-written piece, they will be very glad to publish it. You will soon build up a name for yourself and these reporters will remember you when you continue to send them good material they can use. Write your press releases carefully, just as you would a sales page, and you will soon have as much publicity as you want.
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