The Press Release

Recap:  If you've been following this series on promotion you may want to scroll down to the next section "What is a Press Release?"

             Today we go a bit deeper into the topic of press releases.  What has turned into a topic series began with a challenge to the Blogging from A to Z participants.   I am encouraging all of you to try to get a story about the A to Z Challenge published in your local paper or some other special paper or newsletter, receive coverage on the airwaves (radio or television), get mentioned on an internet news or information site, and/or wherever else you can come up with.  In other words, I'd like to see our efforts get greater recognition.  I will post any efforts where you have been successful on my blog and may even give you an opportunity to do a guest post on Tossing It Out.

            Next, we talked about the reasons why you would be interested in getting press coverage for A to Z and how getting press can help you and whatever it is you are trying to do.   This post examines what news is and how you can spin your own story in order to make it news.   There is a sample press release included on this post.

              Then yesterday, we talked about getting press by talking to the right people.  This is often the easiest way since you might not even have to write anything to submit to the paper.  You've just got to make the right contacts to help you receive the coverage you need.  I gave some examples in that post.

              If you think that you will ever need to promote yourself or even if not, I encourage you to go back to these posts and read them.   Self-promotion is essential to the success of anyone who doesn't have a publicity machine behind us--and that is most of us.

What Is a Press Release?            

        A press release is an announcement of anything that someone wants to be made public by the media.   It can announce events, relationships, or the release of a new product.  Using the example of an author this could include a public appearance at a local venue, getting a contract with a major publisher, or the release of a new book.  The press release might be a combination of the above.  It can apply to anybody in any situation they deem might be of interest to some segment of the population.

         Press releases are used by individuals, businesses, organizations, or any entity that wants what they wish to convey to be treated as newsworthy.   In order to be deemed newsworthy it should have some special significance.   If you have self-published a book, the newsworthiness might not be as strong as having published the book, then appearing at the local library where a minor local celebrity will be introducing you.   You want to pack as much relevant content into the release without cluttering it with non-essential information.

       The press release should follow the standards of any news story in answering the questions of who, what, when, where, and why.   The story should be well-written with good grammatical style.  My suggestion would be to read some informational announcements in the paper and see how they are written.   A good place to find these articles is in the business, entertainment, or community news sections of the paper.   You will begin to identify a particular style of writing and presentation in articles based on a press release.

How should a press release be prepared?

        Typically a standard informational press release will be written tersely in a straight-forward manner.  If you are writing a press release you are probably better off to avoid too much creative writing and stick to reporting.  This is not to say a creatively written piece won't be accepted, but it's better to save that until  you've talked to someone beforehand and they've invited you to write one.   Often if the story is considered of enough interest, the press media will have a reporter get more info and they will embellish the story into a feature.

        It's usually very important to follow the standard rules of formatting your release.  My advice is to do a Google search for terms like "press release format" or "press release template".   A search engine will provide you with many sites that will give you the proper way to format your article for submission.

What do I do with my press release when it is ready?

         Once you've gotten your press release written, contact the places you want to send it to either via in-person visit, email, or phone.   It's a good idea to actually find out the name of the person to whom the press release should be delivered and directly communicate with that person.   You can start with the local papers.  The contact lists are usually somewhere in the front pages or on the editorial page of the paper.  I've found that now it's even better to see if the paper has a website.  The website will usually have the names of who is responsible for what and explicit information on how to submit your story.

Some real-life examples

            Now for some specific examples taken from my past experience:   For many years I managed a touring theatrical production.  Like any author or business should have, we had a press kit that was sent to whoever was promoting the show before we arrived.  The kit included 3 to 4 generic fill-in-the-blank stories that could be submitted to the local paper and radio or television stations.  Every town we visited had the same generic stories to use and the person submitting them would merely copy the stories and fill in the blanks for time, place, and name of sponsor.  The paper or media source would use them as they received them or rewrite them to be more entertaining.

           All of the examples I am using are from the 1979 tour of The Magic of Cinderella performed by "The World of Fantasy Players".  First here are two examples of stories that were put in the paper exactly as submitted according to our press release script:

Generic press release stories
click on image to enlarge

Including Photographs

           Also included in the press packet was a sheet of 4 photographs depicting scenes from the production.  These were publicity photos staged prior to the tour and taken by a professional photographer.  It is always preferable to include a photo in any press release because it attracts more attention.  If you are sending out a press release about the A to Z Challenge and including something about yourself in the story,  you should include a photo of yourself.  

           But going back to our show--sometimes the paper would use a photo and include a very condensed version of the press release to use as a caption.  Photo with press release info condensed into caption is shown below:

Publicity photo with portion of press release used in caption
click photo to enlarge

The Biggest Coup of All!

            One of the best things that can happen is that you score not only the press release story, but also an accompanying photo.   Beyond that, a feature story inspired by your submitted press release with a special photo spread is the ultimate goal.  This is very achievable if you've put the right spin on the story and made yourself accessible for an interview.  That's when you can really self-promote. 

              Below you can see where the paper has used the complete press release story and included a publicity photo (the guard in the funny hat and the beard is me):

Complete press release with publicity photo

A Final Thought for You

          I keep hearing hints from some of you that you don't feel comfortable self-promoting.  My question is "Why?".   Don't think of it as bragging or anything like that.   Believe in yourself and what you have to offer.  Then be ready and willing to share it with the world.   If you have a book or some product that you want people to buy, then you need to have total confidence and believe that people need what you have.  If you are at that level of thinking, it shouldn't take much more to be excited about wanting to tell others about it. 

          If it's rejection you are afraid of then get over it.  You've already been rejected plenty in your life and there will be more rejection to come.  Get over it and just keep pressing forward.  If you've got some big things coming up that you fear may be rejected, like book queries and the like, trying to get some press on how you are participating in the A to Z Challenge and how other bloggers might like to join us should be small potatoes.   If you've put together your press release the right way, your press release shouldn't be rejected and even if it is you haven't lost anything over it.  You will have overcome some fear and that should help you in the things you do in the future.

        Just try it to see if you can do it.  I'm anxious to hear some of your stories about what you encountered.  If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me.   One of the reasons I've been stretching this story out into this series is that I've had more direct emails regarding this than for anything else that has appeared previously on my blog.  A lot of you are interested in this topic of promotion and for good reason.  I'm looking forward to seeing some of the stories you get in the public eye.

         Tomorrow I'll conclude the series with some examples of how to spin your story to make it more interesting to the reading audience. 

         Have you tried writing a press release yet?   Have you made any attempts at submitting a story? 

             

Making the News: Why You Should Be Promoting Yourself

Warning! -- this is a somewhat long post with some very useful information

            On yesterday's post I extended a challenge to each of you to do something that will not only help the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge become something bigger and better, but also help you in whatever it is that you do in your own life.   If you have not read my previous post I hope you will go back to see what I have to say.

             Some may have run away from my Saturday post with an "I'm scared" or an "I can't do that" attitude.   Others may be pooh-poohing the idea as something that won't work or is nonviable.  The ones I'll be addressing in this post are those who believe in themselves and what they can do.   I'm talking to those of you who seek success and want the best for themselves.

              There are essentially three kinds of people in life.  There are those who watch other people achieve their dreams and marvel at their successes or deride those accomplishments.   Then there are those who dream dreams and wonder, "This is a great idea--somebody should do this."   And finally, there are those who latch on to an idea and run with it, despite any discouragement directed toward their efforts, and they either succeed or they try again until they do.  My new challenge to you is directed to those who are part of this last group.

              There are many ways to promote something.  Those of you who are Tweeting about the Challenge or posting on FaceBook or spreading the word via your blog or some other social media venue are doing a great job and I encourage you to keep this up.  However, today I want to address using news media to get the message to the public and what some of the repercussions are in doing this.  

Is the Blogging from A to Z Challenge news?  

Consider the following:

J.M. who has been confined to a wheelchair since childhood has made friends throughout the world via his ham radio hobby.

Mr. and Mrs. E.J.  have cared for eleven different foster children over the past twenty years.

Mr. and Mrs. H.C. celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a trip to Myrtle Beach, NC.

The S. family recently returned from a two week vacation to New York City where they visited many famous attractions and saw a Broadway show. 

A wallet lost by W.W. was found by his dog.

Eight students from M. High School will be participating in a Junior Achievement conference to be held in N. in February.

         What do the above have in common?  They are all actual stories I have seen in a local paper.  Were they important?  To the people involved, perhaps.  Were they interesting?  Debatable. 

Now what about these:

Local author joins worldwide blogging challenge.

Student bloggers at M. High School join challenge to Blog through the alphabet.

Popular poetess composes a poem per day during the month of April.

Long lost friends are reunited through blogging challenge.

          Would you be interested in these stories?   Do you think others might like reading about these as much as they would someone's vacation?   If the stories were well presented, they would certainly get someone's attention. 

What is news anyway?


          A newspaper delivers what is termed "hard news" and "soft news".   Hard news is the major stuff that reporters are busy digging up.  These are the events that effect us or other people in potentially big ways.  This is the news that appears on the front pages and oftentimes receives extensive coverage.

          Much of the rest of the paper uses filler material in the form of soft news.   A lot of this soft news comes from press releases that people send in to reporters or news desks.  Newspapers rely on these press releases to give added content to the newspaper.

           If accepted, the story will often go into the paper as it has been received or with minor revisions.  Occasionally, a reporter may find the story to be interesting enough to follow up and get more information.  It may be expanded into a feature which can oftentimes include photographs.  Newspapers welcome press releases.  They are part of what is news.

What do press releases cover?
      
Community news --- The things that people, businesses or organizations in the community are doing.


Upcoming events -- Things that are going to be happening that people will want to be watching for.


Human interest-- Personalized stories about individuals or groups that are inspiring or entertaining.

             Any of these could potentially relate to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  You can put your own personal spin on the story of the Challenge.  In the third person, tell the readers who you are and what you do.  Connect this information about you to the grander scope of this Challenge that involves participants from throughout the world.

What to include in your press release:

              Make sure you drop in a few things about what you want to make known about yourself.  If you've recently written a book or have one soon to be released, mention it.  Or if you are involved with a particular cause or charity, include something about that.  This can even be a time to discreetly give a plug to your business or a product.  Just be sure it somehow fits in with the Challenge news so that your press release doesn't sound like a blatant advertising promotion for you and your products. A newspaper would prefer that you buy advertising for that.   Include the address to your blog so readers can come to see what you've been talking about.   Feel free to leave mine as well if you want readers to be directed to the information about the challenge and the list of participants.

             Remember that when writing a press release about yourself you should make it sound like it has been written by someone other than you.  Give the vital information without going into too much detail.  Put a good spin on your own story and connect it with something larger than just you so readers can better identify and feel that they are a part of your story.

         You're a writer--make the story seem interesting and relevant.    However a press release should also be fairly short--maybe 200 to 400 words.  Leave a contact so they can reach you if they want more information.  This is how feature stories start.   A feature writer hears a story and decides if it's worth expanding upon or even adding pictures.

Why would you want to be in the news:

          As I've already said, most of you have something that you are involved with that you want people to know about.  A news story can start that ball rolling.   You will often gain added search engine presence with the story.   If you are trying to build a platform or even a resume, it doesn't hurt to have news stories about you circulating--if they're about something good of course.   And a news story looks good in a scrapbook or even framed on your wall.

        Connecting yourself to something bigger like Blogging from A to Z makes your presence a little more significant and adds interest to your story.   There is something fun and uplifting about seeing your name in print and knowing that others will be reading it.  If you are blogging, you are probably trying to have your name recognized in some way.  Being in the news is another way of being noticed.

        More awareness of the Challenge will provide incentive to do our best if we know more people may be watching us. Our writing may improve and gain more exposure.   We will expand our potential for making connections with others who don't normally see our blogs.   This will increase our networking opportunities for the future.

        In upcoming posts I will talk more about the press release and how to get it into the right hands.  You can do the research yourself as well.   Google "press releases" and you can find plenty of information on how to format and compose your release.   If you do a search of the newspaper or other media that you'd like to submit to, you can find out about what procedures they require and who to contact.  It's all out there and it doesn't take long to find the most pertinent information.

         Try it--it's a writing exercise that will help hone your skills.  And if you haven't had to send out press releases already, someday you might need to.   That is, of course, unless your press agent does that for you.
Can I see a show of hands of everyone who has a press agent?

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Addendum:  sample press release--
          This has already been a very long post, but Alex J. Cavanaugh asked me to include a sample press release which I will add here.  I may include additional samples in the future.   I am not formatting it like it should be--you can find formatting information if you look up "press release format" on Google.

              Local Author Joins Worldwide Blog Event


         Alex J. Cavanaugh, author of the novel CassaStar which is now enjoying a successful release, is going to take a break from writing his next book to participate in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge with hundreds of other bloggers from around the world.



The local author began blogging a year ago at the advice of his publisher Dancing Lemur Press. Since starting his blog, he has accumulated a legion of fans he affectionately refers to as “Alex’s Army”.


The turning point in amassing his army of blog followers was in April of 2010 when he joined in the A to Z Blogging Challenge that was started by fellow blogger Arlee Bird from Los Angeles.


“Last April, I was a new blogger,” says Cavanaugh. “It was the best thing I could've done for my blog. I got to know so many awesome people and those of us who participated became like family. We grew and stretched together. And we had a blast in the process!”


Poetess and blogger Yvonne Lewis from England is also sold on the concept. She will be returning again this April to match last year’s feat of twenty-six poems during the month with each one themed with a letter of the alphabet.


“I am so pleased that there is to be another A to Z,” said Yvonne. “Through last years challenge I gained more fans. It was fun and it brought a lot of people together via our computers. I wouldn't have missed it for the world and I will be doing it again this year.”


Due to Alex Cavanaugh’s enthusiasm for the A to Z Challenge and his rapport with so many other bloggers, he was invited this year along with six other bloggers from throughout the United States and England to co-host the event.


“Last year the Challenge was so popular that I knew that 2011 would be more than I could handle by myself,” said Arlee Bird. “I asked some of the best bloggers I knew if they would help me out this year—the response was an enthusiastic ‘Yes!’”


Cavanaugh expects that 2012 will be even bigger, but first they’ll have to make it through this April.  All bloggers are invited to join in and anyone is welcome to read through the progress of the Challenge.  You can visit Alex J. Cavanaugh’s blog and find out more about the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge at alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com.

         I am not a professional copywriter.  Some of you may have a better grasp of writing these things than I do.  I welcome any corrections or comments concerning the above sample.   I will say that from my experience, something like the above is usually adequate enough copy to be accepted by a newspaper.  Just make sure you include contact information in case they want to take it a step further and do a feature article.
Also it's not a bad idea to include a publicity photo of yourself (sorry Alex).  Just like it's suggested for blogs, newspapers often like to have a picture to go with the story.
 
          I sincerely hope that some of you will consider putting something together today and try to get it submitted somewhere this week.   I will be posting more on this topic in the next few days.  Good luck!
 
 
 
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