It’s
all about showing value and helping
the reporter to get the elements
of the story they need.
Too
many public relations professionals
are literally throwing garbage out
there. This erodes the credibility
of the PR profession. Reporters
are inundated and overwhelmed with
news releases that have no real
news value. Translated, this means
you are sending out press releases
that are not newsworthy. Most releases
and pitches that are sent to reporters
are tossed out before the reporter
even reads the first few lines.
That’s because the writer
failed to communicate to them the
value of their story. Conversely,
when you do send out a newsworthy
release, you are building the relationship
based on the premise of "how
can I help you to get the story
that you want and need?". Reporters
will come to trust you and even
respond to your e-mails and calls.
You will work together as a team.
One
way to help reporters and show value
is to write for the audience. Do
not write for the reporter but instead
keep their audience and demographics
in the front of your brain. People
who write press releases to fill
a quota but don’t really have
a newsworthy story are doing an
injustice for all of us who are
pitching stories. It drags down
credibility of the entire public
relations profession when releases
show no value and lack the key components
of what is news: a compelling, crisp,
exciting story that affects people.
So
the next time you sit down to draft
a press release, before you even
start to write, ask yourself the
following questions:
| 1
- |
 |
What
is the #1 reason I am writing
this release (in other words,
what’s the news) ? |
| |
| 2
- |
|
Aside
from me, who will care about
my release? |
| |
| 3
- |
|
Who
do I want to care about my release? |
| |
| 4
- |
|
Who
does this news impact or affect? |
| |
| 5
- |
|
What
is new about this that has not
been announced or unveiled before? |
|
6
- |
|
If someone sent me this release,
would I want to read it or follow-up? |
|
Many
times after you go through
this list of questions and
start to write, you will decide
that your story is not worthy
of a press release. That’s
fine. Err on the side of not
sending it and explaining
to your boss the differences
between what’s newsworthy,
what’s internal news
and about credibility with
reporters. Don’t be
a press release factory to
try and earn your keep. It’s
quality over quantity that
wins in this business every
time.
Put
a Post-It on your computer that
reads: Show Value/Help Reporters.
|
| Susan
Young and Get
In Front Communications
successfully
helps businesses,
non-profits and
professional trade
associations to
increase their publicity,
name recognition
and revenues. Call
(210) 375-6422,
or visit www.getinfrontcommunications.com.
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