-
Make your news releases newsworthy (and shareworthy)
I think the secret to making a news release newsworthy is to focus on the aspect(s) of your announcement that people will care about most and not on those that are perhaps more important to the entity releasing the news. Here’s an example. Let’s say you work at a hospital whose foundation just received a…
-
Write your news release from the reader’s viewpoint
I am reading “The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs” by Carmine Gallo who, according to the jacket bio, has a background in public relations. In the midst of his describing Jobs’ public speaking secrets, Gallo inserts a rant about PR pros who write poor news releases. “The majority of press releases are usually self-indulgent, buzzword-filled…
-
When to send both a media advisory and a news release
In my last post I explained the differences between a media advisory and a news release. There are times when you should send out only one or the other. But there are certain situations where it’s appropriate to send both. Let me explain. Let’s say you work at a nonprofit group and it’s planning to…
-
What is a media advisory?
Many people in the public relations profession confuse a news release with a media advisory. Yet there are distinct differences between the two in terms of their purpose and format. A news release is sent to the media with the hopes that they will publish the story, cover your event or write their own story.…
-
When a news release is NOT necessary
I was talking to a new communications professional the other day about two news story ideas involving the company where she works. One possible story was about a special event her company was planning to hold. Her other topic was “family-owned companies where fathers and daughters work together.” Both are potentially newsworthy topics, I told…
-
The Three Questions Every Community Newspaper Editor Asks
When an editor of a community newspaper receives your news release, he or she is going to ask three questions to determine if they’ll either publish it or discard it. The first question they’ll ask is: Is the topic of this news release really news? An editor defines “News” as something that is: • Actually…
-
Consider all factors before holding a news conference
There are a few good reasons to hold a news conference, and many reasons not to. Let me explain. It’s my belief that you should only hold a news conference when you have something of major important and/or news significance to announce. The media might come to your first news conference but if you wind…
-
Avoid the boiler plate lead
When writing a news release, too many people in the public relations profession confuse the boiler plate with the lead. Let me explain. A boiler plate is one paragraph that has background information about the entity putting out the release. The boiler plate is put at the end of the news release. Typical information in…
-
Editors love round numbers
For some strange reason, people generally gravitate towards round numbers, and that includes news editors. Look what happened last year with the 9-11 Memorial in New York City. There was a ton of focus on it and on the entire tragedy in 2011. Why? Because it was the 10th anniversary. I’m guessing we won’t see…
-
My holiday gift to you: a media placement tip
‘Tis the season for easy news media placements! This is due to a few factors: 1) Newspapers typically run “fatter” this time of year because their ad sales are up (due to the holiday retail sales season). So editors face a situation where they need to fill more pages with news content. 2) Many news…
Recent Posts
- Don’t put all your effort into just one story pitch
- When you should not send out a communication
- Maintaining consistency is a must in your business writing
- Four keys for comms pros to win the trust of senior executives
- Why effective business communications is difficult for some pros
Tags
#Olympics Apple computers Dunkin' Donuts Ebola virus Intel Mad Men Netflix Nike PRSA public relations Roseanne
Comments
I view this blog as an outlet for me as an individual to express my opinions and offer advice about…
Great advice, Unger! It's way too easy to treat writing like a task and move on to the next item…