When people see you in the media, you become familiar, even famous! And it gives you credibility. When you are written about in the newspaper, or interviewed on TV or radio, you are news; and that’s better than any advertising you can buy. Anyone can learn to write press releases. It just takes a little knowledge and a lot of practice.

One study found that as many as 90% of the stories you read every day in the newspaper came about because someone sent a press release. Why aren’t some of those stories about you?

When people see you in the media, you become familiar, even famous! And it gives you credibility. When you are written about in the newspaper, or interviewed on TV or radio, you are news; and that’s better than any advertising you can buy.

Anyone can learn to write press releases. It just takes a little knowledge and a lot of practice. To write a good press release, put your editor/producer hat on. What will the people who read this publication, watch this television program, or listen to this radio station want to know? What are their interests and concerns? The editor or producer’s job is to figure out the answers to those questions and present interesting news. Your job is to make the editor or producer’s job easier.

The headline is the most important part of your press release. Make it count! You have only a few seconds to grab the attention of an editor or producer, who may receive hundreds (or thousands) of releases every week. If the headline doesn’t interest them, they won’t read the rest.

Promise something of interest. Instead of ‘’New Book Tells How to Make a Budget and Stick to It’‘, describe the benefits of having a budget—getting out of debt, retiring comfortably, putting your kids through college, etc. Sorry, but no one cares that you wrote a book. Don’t even mention it in the headline. Describe the benefits of using your information. A hot topic is one parent quitting a job to take care of the children. Can you show the audience how to do that? There’s your headline: “You Can Stay Home With Your Kids!”

Use the inverted pyramid style of news writing: The most important information goes at the beginning, with the least important at the end. The first paragraph should deliver on the headline. Start with a question, a statistic, a provocative statement or a powerful benefit. Subsequent paragraphs back up the first by providing background information, quotes, and other relevant details. Keep it to about one page.

When I edit press releases written by clients, I usually end up rewriting the headline and taking out the first two paragraphs. That’s because the headline and first two paragraphs are usually about the person who wrote the release. If your press release is “me” centered and doesn’t promise benefits to the audience, scrap it and start over.

While there are no guarantees that your story will run, there are several things you can do to help it along:

• Make it newsworthy. This isn’t about you—it’s about the audience. What’s more important: that you know the tax code, or that you can help them save money on taxes?
• Make it timely. Media love something new and they also love tie-ins to events, holidays, other news stories, etc.
• Make it accurate. If there are typos and misspellings in your release, it will get tossed. Make sure phone numbers, dates and addresses are correct. If they can’t trust it, they won’t run it.
• Make it easy to read. The release should follow one of the standard formats for press releases. If you’re not certain of your language skills, have someone else proofread it.
• Make it objective. Don’t use hyperbole and advertising language, such as “Greatest Software Ever!” They won’t believe your inflated claims and they won’t do a story that sounds like an ad.
• Make it easy to follow up. Include a name and phone number(s) the media can call for additional information.

Don’t be discouraged if you get coverage in only a couple of places, or not at all. Keep working on your press releases, keep sending them, and you will get results.

The most important thing to remember about writing press releases is this: The press release is not about YOU; it’s about your media contact’s AUDIENCE.

Write with that in mind, and you will soon be getting lots of free publicity for yourself and your business.

Cathy Stucker, The Idea Lady(tm), can help you get your 15 minutes of fame and more! She offers a variety of publicity services.

Publicity experts will tell you that the way to getting your story in print, broadcast and online media is to create a newsworthy media release, distribute it to your targeted media and follow up with them. Or, you can hire a publicist to do those things for you. It works. A well-crafted pitch, delivered to the right media outlets at the right time, can result in great publicity for you and your business.

Of course, you can’t depend on getting publicity. No matter how good your release may be, getting publicity also requires a little luck, too.

There are other things you can do to generate what I call ‘painless publicity.’ Painless publicity occurs when you don’t contact the media—they call you. To get painless publicity, make sure that you are in as many places as you can be. An interview with a market research publication happened because as the writer was researching, my name kept coming up. He heard about me from others he interviewed, ran across my name and my book on the Web, etc. He decided he needed to talk to me to complete his article.

Journalists, editors and producers often use the Web to do research. Make sure they find you. What keywords will they search for when they are looking for an expert in your field? Optimize your Web site so that your site ranks highly for those keywords.

One of my biggest publicity hits, a feature in a national magazine, came about because the writer found my book on Amazon.com, then contacted me through my Web site. The author of a book is automatically viewed as an expert, and Amazon.com is a way for journalists to easily locate those experts. In addition to books, you can list e-docs, audio programs and other materials on Amazon.com.

An article on CNN’s web site quoted me because I am on the board of the Authors and Publishers Association. The writer found my contact information at the organization’s Web site, and interviewed me as an expert on publishing. If you belong to organizations, ask if they provide member listings on their Web sites, or if they print a member directory. Make sure your listing is current and correct.

Painless publicity can result from prior publicity successes. Someone doing research on your topic may run across an article about you and contact you for their story. An article about you in the local paper can inspire a TV or radio producer to put you on the air.

You might even call it painless publicity when you get a call months (or even years) after you sent a media release. Although your release may not get an immediate response, recipients have filed it away, and are waiting for the right time or right story to get in touch with you.

Publicity can be one of your most powerful marketing tools. Make sure you get your share of publicity by being visible in as many places, online and offline, as possible.

As the Idea Lady, Cathy Stucker helps entrepreneurs and professionals attract customers and make themselves famous. Get free marketing tips at http://www.IdeaLady.com/

Learn more about Painless Publicity here.

I recently attended two workshops where media representatives shared tips for getting your story in the news. Here are some of the best.

I recently attended two workshops where media representatives shared tips for getting your story in the news. Here are some of the best.

Be familiar with the show or publication. Your pitch should be about how your story will work for them. Don’t do a general pitch (“A story about dog training.”) but suggest the segment the story would be right for, or what makes it right for them.

Don’t take “no” personally. It may be that they have just done a similar story, or they can’t fit it in, or it just isn’t right for them. If you speak with someone, ask if they can suggest another show/publication where the story might work.

If at first you don’t succeed, pitch again. But wait at least a month or two, and come back with a different angle (not exactly the same idea that got turned down).

Many now prefer email pitches to fax. It is fast to review, and can be easily forwarded to several others. Faxes often pile up unread, but email gets looked at.

Keep your email short and to the point. DON’T send any attachments, as they will be deleted unopened (if they get through at all), but you can include a link to your web site or online media kit.

When you email, make your subject line enticing. Using “Hi!” or something else that looks like spam will get it deleted without a read. Start with QUERY: or PITCH: then give a short, punchy headline.

One national TV show producer said that you didn’t need to send tape with your initial (mail) pitch, another said if you mailed a pitch with no video you wouldn’t be considered. In either case, you will need a video of other TV appearances before you get on a national show, so be on the safe side and send it.

Local media are always looking for local experts to interview on a variety of topics. Send them your bio and credentials and they will keep you on file for the next time they need an expert in your field. Even better, send one or more Rolodex(tm) cards with your topics and contact information.

As the Idea Lady, Cathy Stucker helps entrepreneurs, professionals and authors attract customers and make themselves famous. Her report, Million Dollar Publicity, shows how you can put the power of publicity to work for you. For more information, go to Million Dollar Publicity For Free