Press Releases: Mom-marketing Finesse
It seems like every mom these days is an expert at something, or is a designated leader for some project or other. And that's why press releases to secure coverage for your latest endeavor are so integral if you want to get your message out.
In this post we'll talk about what exactly press releases are, how they work and why they're useful for reaching the widest possible audience — think Moms! We'll also examine some of the best ways to make a press release stand out from the crowd, as well as provide you with a template which should be more than sufficient to get started.
What are Press Releases?
Let's start by going over the basics. Press releases are the written communiques you write to the media to announce a new product, company, or service. These documents can be used to reach out to all types of media outlets —from blogs and newspapers to TV stations and radio stations.
A press release should include information about your company, as well as tell people what you have planned for your products or services. It should include a comprehensive synopsis of its contents — from whatever is most relevant and original with regards to your product or service, which should also include detailed keywords that will make it easy for search-engines like Google and Bing to find the content once it's published on their sites.
There are three types of press releases — those that come directly from the media, those which have been approved by a media outlet after being submitted by a third party, and those which are written by third parties who have not yet been granted permission by a media outlet.
Apart from that, there are also various other types of press releases — complex schemes intended for more sophisticated use (which require extensive planning in order to succeed), sending out mass messages to major media outlets automatically with little or no effort on the part of the writer (and, sometimes, without even all the relevant data needed for the press release to be published), and a variety of other methods which can sometimes work at times.
In this post we're going to be discussing the first kind of press release —the ones intended for publication in media outlets which are chosen according to a specific set of criteria.
How Do Press Releases Work?
You write your press release, and then you submit it to a media outlet or outlets which you expect will be interested in covering your news. You also ensure that you have made sure that the information on your press release will cause the media outlet to have something worthwhile to say when they publish it on their website. This is important — as any journalist worth their salt knows that adding a tiny bit of extra information can make all the difference between an article being useful and one which is just plain filler.
A press release should also be structured in a way that is easy to read — with a clear and concise introduction, followed by a summary of the most important information which the public needs to know. Devices like lists, bold headings (preferably all capitals), and bullet points can serve to make your press release both readable and understandable. And reporters need to be able to understand what they're reading when they're sweating over their laptop in order to write an article, or getting ready for a live broadcast.
Finally, the most important thing to remember is that a press release — if done right — can be a great way to get your product or service in front of a lot of people. It can be used for advertising and for other purposes, and it's also a great way to get yourself out there. So if you're looking for more exposure in the home-based business world, or if you're looking to hire additional hands, then writing and submitting press releases is definitely one big way to do it — so long as you know what you're doing.
What's the Best Way to Write a Press Release?
A press release is sort of like a sales pitch, but instead of presenting your product or service hoping that the media will write about it, you're trying to get them to cover your news. That means that it's essential that the information in your press release is relevant, interesting, and original enough for a journalist to write about.
So here are some general tips which can help you make sure that your press release will be seen:
• Make sure that you're not sending out a duplicate of anything else which has already been published. This can be confusing to a journalist, who might not know what's already been said, and it can also make it more difficult for them to gauge your message effectively.
• Make sure that you have all the information that you need in order to use for publicity purposes on hand when you write your press release. In other words, there's no need for you to go out and trawl through various books or magazines for industry news — if you already have all of this information in your own files, then sending out a press release should be a breeze.
• Make sure that you have a catchy headline and lead before you send anything out. First, make sure that your headline is as eye-catching as possible. Then pay attention to the lead of your press release — this is what makes a journalist want to read more of your content. So use intriguing quotes, or stories, or statistics, or other things to really grab their attention.
• Make sure that you're using the right words for your press release — especially those which have been carefully chosen for their marketability and value in search engine rankings (more on this later).
• Write anything else which will help your audience to understand what it is you're trying to say.
• Make sure that you have a clear and concise message.
• Be original. Remember that you're not just trying to write a press release — you're trying to get a journalist interested enough to want to write about it, after all.
• Make sure that your information is as complete as possible — without any typos, for example. This makes it look sloppier, and journalists (along with everyone else) are notorious for picking up on the little things like this first.
• Use color if you can, or at least bold headings.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. A few pointers on how to write a press release in such a way that it will be of real interest to the media, rather than just going out and mailing copies to various people and hoping that they'll be interested enough to consider printing something about you.
The best way to make sure that your press release is read is to send it along with a link (on your own website or blog) where the full version of the article can be found. This will help the journalist see just how valuable your information is — and also make sure that they don't miss out on any juicy parts of your whole article which you might not have bothered mentioning in your own article.