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When should you send out a press release? You want to know
my acid test? If it's newsworthy and if it's useful to the reader. It's
that simple. There are many factors to weigh when considering the need to
send out a press release. As a publicist I have sent thousands of
releases over the years and while there are no hard and fast rules, the
most important factor is that you've got to make sure it's newsworthy and
useful to the reader. Any thing else and it's just a waste of time for the
members of the media.A good press release can accomplish a lot of things
too. It can be used to announce information to the public, your investors,
the media, your customers and even your competitors about you and your
activities. To help my clients determine whether something is newsworthy I
compiled a list of fifty-five press release ideas I give to them to get
their ideas flowing about their own businesses. Some are for general
consumer media and some may not apply to all business types. 1. Announce a
new service.2. Announce a new product.3. Tie in with a national holiday, a
birthday or anniversary. 4. Report a new study of your own and your
analysis or forecast. 5. Tie in with a controversy by commenting on it.6.
Co-op an event with the media. 7. Utilize a national survey or study to
your benefit. 8. Announce your exhibit at a trade show or convention. 9.
Commission a survey and report the results.10. Write a white paper and
announce its availability at your web site. 11. Create and promote a
special event. 12. Use a current news event to frame your release.13. Host
a seminar and announce the information discussed.14. Announce an upcoming
speaking engagement.15. Schedule a speaking engagement at the local
library for free.16. Make reprints of speeches available at your
website.17. Create a contest and offer a prize that's newsworthy.18.
Pricing and policy changes. 19. Patents and trademarks. 20. Litigation
won.21. Announce the results of a new study. 22. The number of hours your
employees donate volunteering in your community. 23. Involvement in
various community events and activities.24. Innovative use for your
products. 25. First person stories about people using your product or
services. 26. New clients you've obtained.27. New testimonials. 28.
Celebrities that use your product or service.29. Financial projections and
forecasts. 30. Announce a public appearance. 31. Appointments by
government officials to offices.32. Retirement of well respected and
revered employees.33. Recognition of long-time employees with 25 years of
service or more.34. Internal promotion of key staff members.35. Send a
letter to the editor and CC the media and your audience, in case they miss
it. 36. New members of important committees. 37. Results of an election.
38. The passage of an important resolution. 39. Anniversary of the
founding date of the organization or company.40. Charitable donations by
your organization. 41. ISO 9001certification of your company.42. New
awards won.43. Association membership.44. Publicly release a letter from a
soldier or someone with poignant thoughts.45. Report on a public project
and offer insight to the problem. 46. Protest an activity or issue.47. The
sponsorship of a community event.48. How to apply for internships in your
company. 49. How to apply for scholarships offered by your company.50.
Open house where people can tour your plant, office etc.51. Create an
award to honor individuals in the community.52. The appearance in front of
a public entity, i.e. testimony before the US Senate.53. Host a public
debate. 54. Announce a fact finding trip and then report your findings.55.
Host a celebrity event and tie in your company.Once you get the release
written now what? How do you put it in the hands of the media? How can a
company or individual know if it can handle media relations themselves or
if it needs to hire a public relations firm, an independent publicist or a
full fledged marketing firm? If you aren't completely certain after
debating the pros and cons, ask these questions: * Are we getting all the
PR we deserve? * Is our competition getting more than their fair share of
media coverage? * Would media coverage bring more business to the firm? *
Do we have a PR strategy for continuous year round media coverage? * Is
our in-house "PR person or department" overburdened with "in-house" work
like the company newsletter? First of all, let's define a PR firm. Some
people interchange a PR firm with a marketing firm, or marketing agency,
or even an ad agency. Basically a public relations firm handles media
relations and is the interface between a company and the news media.A
public relations firm or publicist will "pitch" the media on a story idea
involving a company, invention or author. A good pitch about a story that
would interest the people who read, watch or listen to a particular media
outlet gets coverage.Many larger companies rely on in-house staff trained
in public relations or marketing while others hire PR consultants or
publicists to handle their PR campaigns. Joe Nicassio, author of Guerrilla
PR Brand Manager, says whether a company should conduct its public
relations, marketing or advertising campaigns internally or externally
should be determined by these factors" Do you NEED solid, consistent media
exposure week after week, or are you satisfied with "occasional" exposure?
Do you have the internal staff and expertise to commit the internal
resources to your public relations, marketing, advertising efforts? If you
have the internal staff, and they understand Guerrilla PR principles, then
there may be no reason to hire an outside agency. Paradoxically, the
busier you get, the easier it is to parlay, or "set aside" consistent,
important PR activities. Don't get caught in that trap! "Public Relations
is a craft that requires PASSION," says Nicassio. "You may need PR, and
you may even have the people to conduct your public relations, marketing,
advertising campaigns but that's not enough. To be truly effective, your
PR campaigns must be conducted with PASSIONATE CONSISTENCY."
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