My web stats are telling me that I need to re-post the PR Tips from my old site. Even though the old PR Tips page is not linked to my new home page, it’s still the second most popular entry page of all my old and new pages.
Press Release Tips Even if your department or company puts out only a few press releases a year, you’re taking steps to establish a rewarding relationship with the press. Well-written, effectively distributed press releases get your message out to a broad audience at a small fraction of the cost of equivalent advertising exposure.
Tip #1. Consider Your Audience
Perhaps the most common press release writing error is forgetting that the first audience is composed of news editors, and they must be won over if your press release is going to do any good. Editors need news and will show their appreciation for a well-written, newsworthy press release by running yours in their publications.Tip #2. Use Press Releases for News
Press releases are effective only when an editor at one of the publications read by your target audience believes that the information in your press release will be of interest to his or her readers. A press release trumpeting the publication of your latest application note or the marketing release of a ninety-dollar consumable item is not going to stop the presses. Paid advertising for your literature and small items can be a very effective lead-generating device, but we’re unlikely to see a news article entitled “GreatBigBio Inc. Releases App Note 93″ in BioCentury, or Forbes, or on GenomeWeb. Non-newsworthy press releases are chaff to news editors, who might become too accustomed to overlooking submissions from certain companies. PR plans that stipulate artificial production schedules (“I want us to be putting out press releases every week!”) can be counterproductive.Tip #3. Find the News Angle
Instead of sending out an easily overlooked press release about the publication of a new application note, think about why your company produced the data for that note and wrote it in the first place. If you did it so you and your instrument system could barge in on an unlikable competitor’s formerly exclusive market position, send out a press release about how your company will be providing scientists with an alternative to the “currently limited options” for addressing that application. An editor can easily turn that into a “Market for (Target Application) Heats Up,” or “GreatBigBio Enters (Target Application) Fray,” or “GreatBigBio Leverages (Instrument Name) Technology to Take On (Unlikable Competitor).” Don’t forget to mention in your press release that your company is making a write-up of all the supporting data (the application note) available by request.Tip #4. Start in the Middle
Editors work on tight production schedules. They cannot delay the time or date of their publications just because they are not ready with their stories, so they cannot take time to extract the newsworthy information, if there is any, from a badly written press release. Go straight to the heart of your news item in the headline and in the first two sentences. Consider the journalist’s inquiries (who, what, when, where, how, and why), and answer them as directly as possible. If your press release begins with a lengthy prelude covering the fact of your established leadership of some market sub-category, your expert application of proprietary, patented, state-of-the-art technologies to the development of solutions that help research scientists accelerate the discovery of medicines that may someday address the unmet medical needs of the sick, and information on how pleased you are to be announcing the news that you are preparing the reader to encounter, then the time, money and effort you put into your press release will be wasted.Tip #5. Do Not Write an Advertisement
Have you produced an exciting breakthrough in enhanced performance utilizing proprietary, state-of-the-art technology that optimizes your application solution? I hope so, but you must try to leave all of that out of your press release. Do not bore or insult a news editor with promotional copy. Remove words and phrases such as “exciting,” “enhanced,” “state-of-the-art,” and “unparalleled,” and stick to the facts. If you want to run an ad, you will probably have to pay for it.Tip #6. Target Your Distribution
Your company probably already has an account with PR Newswire or Business Wire, and when you put out a press release, you spend one- to two-thousand dollars distributing it to general media outlets in major markets and to an additional list of pharmaceutical and biotech trades. The wire services provide broad, simultaneous distribution and satisfy fair disclosure requirements. But in the newsroom, your press release is only on even footing with dozens of press releases put out by other companies at the same time. To help your press release get noticed, e-mail it or fax it directly to the news rooms of publications where you think your news ought to appear. Address it to the reporter who covers your beat, or to the publication’s editor.Tip #7. Follow Up With a Phone Call.
If you think you have an especially worthwhile story for one or more publications, you’ll do some editors and yourself a service by following up your press release with a few phone calls. Let key contacts know that you’ve just released news, what it’s about, and why you think it would be of interest to the publication’s readers. Offer to answer questions or send the press release again if needed. Your press release will have a better chance of leading to some positive coverage than all the others that arrive without any support.Tip #8. Be Available.
If you’re the listed “media contact,” do not leave on holiday or even go into a long meeting right after you put out a press release, unless you’re willing to be interrupted for calls from journalists. If a journalist calls for more information, clarification, or comment, and the listed contact person is not available, you will have lost a key opportunity to influence an article and gain credibility with the press. Help journalists meet their deadlines, and they will help you get your news out.Tip #9. Measure Your PR
Assess the reach of your PR program and the quality of your media coverage by using a clipping service. Clipping services scour the media for stories bearing your company name, product names, and related terms. You can assign a clipping service to review print publications, on-line news sources, and broadcast programming for certain terms that you provide. Various levels of service are available, with pricing based on the number and type of media outlets covered, number of terms searched, and reporting frequency.Tip #10. Form Your Own Press Relationships
Each press release, phone call with a journalist, or direct meeting with a reporter or editor is an opportunity to gain credibility and exposure. The more well-known you and your company are, the more likely it is that you will receive good, consistent coverage. Becoming a reliable source of information and comment on industry trends and events gives you an opportunity to frame public discussion to your advantage. And if you have your own relationships with the press, the goodwill and level of coverage you’ve won become your own assets, so you won’t have to rely on outside agencies for help reaching journalists.
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