What’s worth more to your business than an advertisement in the Sunday paper? An actual news story. The public is much more likely to accept an assertion made by a news agency than one made by an ad agency.
But public relations firms are expensive. When cutting your budget, some things may seem easier to jettison than others. You might be looking at your public relations line item and thinking, "How hard can PR be?"
Many small businesses use their own resources to ply the media with news of their product or service. Public relations may not be rocket science, but there is an art to it. Here are the basics.
Getting it written
"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE"
These words should appear in the upper left-hand margin, just under your letterhead. You should capitalize every letter. Contact information - Include the contact person’s name, title and phone number. If the release is not on letterhead, include the company address, e-mail and URL.
Title
Write a concise title with an action verb, for example "Bunco Discovers New Genome".
Dateline
This should be the city your press release is issued from and the date you are mailing your release, immediately followed by the first line of copy; i.e., "Portland, OR, January 14, 2002 - Bunco Corp. has discovered a new genome".
Copy
Answer the questions who, what, when, where, how and why. If the release is promoting an event, don’t forget the time. Include the answer to "Who cares?" by addressing the people who will benefit from your announcement and reminding them what they’ll get out of it.
Boilerplate
End the press release with a paragraph that includes your company name, description and mission statement. You may reiterate contact information and a URL. This tells readers that they’ve reached the end of the release.
An editor who doesn’t know you will usually give your press release about 30 seconds of attention. If she can’t see beyond the self-promotion, your hard work will go straight into the recycling bin. When writing copy, avoid superlatives- don’t say, "This is the most amazing product of all time." Say why it's the most amazing product of all time. Describe in concrete terms how it will impact the newspaper’s readers.
Follow the "inverted pyramid" model that reporters use. That is, the most important information is at the top; then you can go into more detail. The title and first paragraph must contain all the bare-bones details; subsequent paragraphs can elaborate and include executive and expert testimony. Your press release should have a maximal length of two pages. For grammar and usage, refer to The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, 2001 edition, available at most bookstores.
Getting it read
The good news: Now you can write a dynamite press release. The bad news: Writing a press release is only half the battle. The key to success in the publicity game is to have someone on the receiving end do something with your press release - like write a front-page feature story. How can you make that happen?
First, contact the right people. If you work in the restaurant business, make sure you’re sending your information to the editor of the food section, not to sports (things do not get transferred in a bustling newsroom; they get tossed). And make sure it’s the current editor (while faxes never get transferred, editors do all the time), and that you’re not faxing to them when they prefer e-mail. Also be sure that you’re not sending the press release the day after their deadline.
Next, build some relationships. This is a big reason why PR firms are hired - less for their writing skills than for their personal connections. You make friends within the media the same way you do within your own industry - by taking key people out to lunch and to coffee, by phoning and "chatting them up." They are always looking for new stories, for cutting-edge innovations, and for people who are making big splashes; your goal is for them to want to do a story about your company. The trick is to communicate that you’re important and reliable, without overdoing it and annoying them.
Different types of publications to target:
- Neighborhood newspapers
- Local dailies
- Business magazines and newspapers (both regional and national)
- Industry magazines and newsletters (usually national)
- Radio interviews (usually regional)
- Television morning shows (usually regional)
There are also "alternative weeklies" in most large cities; but since they tend to look for scandals and shady deals, you probably want to avoid them.
An interesting alternative to seeking coverage about your company is to place yourself in the news as an industry expert. How much easier it is for an editor who wants to write a story about the local DSL controversy if she already knows an expert in telecommunications - you! You’re just a flip of the Rolodex away. This may also put you in the news more often than in just one feature story.
If your company is hosting a conference or a public fund-raiser, you’ll also want to secure listings in local calendars of events. Press releases to these entities should be very concise and adhere to what are typically unforgiving deadlines (if you’re late, you’re late, and you won’t be listed). If it’s a high-end event, you might try to get coverage through the society page of your local/regional newspaper.
It will take some effort, but you can put yourself on the media map. Be concise, creative and carefully persistent, and your company will be in the news - and in the black!
