Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

9 Tips For Writing a Better Media Release

CHuntly

While media relations is only one part of your overall PR campaign, being able to write a great media release (also known as Press Release) can make or break the success of your outreach. There is a lot of a competition out there and your release has to be relevant and timely. Done well, it can be a great way of getting information to media outlets about your announcement.

Here are a few tips to consider when writing your upcoming media release:

  1. Develop strong messaging

This means writing down all of the most defining points about your brand, organization, and announcement. You have to be able to identify which are the most important and which are the least important so you know which information to include in the media release.

  1. Find a relevant hook

The hook is meant to capture interest – it’s what makes your announcement unique. Just because something is happening with you doesn’t mean it’s going to mean anything to anyone else. You have to make the story interesting to a wide range of people (especially your target audience). You could include statistical research on a topic that people want to hear about or even a human interest aspect to the story. For example, you could be partnering up with a charity or community group.

  1. Use a killer headline

Put yourself in the mindset of a journalist and develop a headline that could work as a great news article headline. Keep it short and attention-grabbing. You want people to read beyond the headline.

  1. Get to the point

This is the most important aspect of your content and you shouldn’t wait to get it out. By the end of the first paragraph who, what, when, where, why, and how should be answered. Any more than this is just fluff, any less and you haven’t included enough information. The rest of the release is there as supporting information.

  1. Include an enticing quote

You should have a spokesperson that is ready to speak to the media should they call. The media often use quotes when they are covering a story and if you give them a great quote as part of your release it makes it easier for them. This means your quote should use some of your key messages and they should not be background or what I like to call “fluff” information.

  1. Keep it short

A media release should be easy to read and quick. Media outlets often get hundreds of releases daily, so you need to make it easy for them to get through yours. If you can keep it to one page that’s best.

  1. Revise, revise, revise

You should never send out a release without reviewing it first. Make sure you have no spelling or grammar errors and that the flow of the release makes sense. Any time you can get someone else to review the content for you is even better!

  1. Include contact information

Make sure the media has some way to reach you. It’s best to include more than one way for them to get a hold of you. Include the name of the contact person and their phone number and email.

  1. Watch your tone

This isn’t a marketing sales piece, so avoid the hype and jargon you would include when selling your products and services. Write in the present tense and focus on the facts of the story you are telling rather than a sales pitch.

Still have questions about your media release? Don’t be afraid to give me a call!

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making it unique to you.

Connect with Candace

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Blogging for Business   

Sheralyn

As a writer, I’m often asked “What should I blog about and how often should I blog?”  This question is sometimes followed by the offhand comment “by the way, HOW do I blog?” The easy answer is that by asking these types of questions you are already well on the way to creating your blog.  Yes, blogging can be as simple as this: answer the “5 W’s” and you’ve got yourself a blog.  The “5 W’s” are: Who, What, Where, Why and How. Answer these and you can build a blog fairly quickly and easily.  Throw in something seasonally related or currently in the news and voila, you have yourself a blog. (Answering why “how,” which doesn’t start with “w” is even considered a “w” word is one of life’s little mysteries and the topic of an entirely different blog!)

Who is your audience? Who are you trying to reach out to? You’ve chosen your business because of your particular expertise or because you know and love a product and want to offer it to the public. Blogging to reach that market should be easy – you knew whom your audience was before you even started your business so now you just need to write a message that is tailored to this target market.  Blogging for a product that appeals to seniors should look significantly different from a blog tailored for youth. Choose words that are appropriate and geared to your audience.

The “What” to blog about is simple. What is the core of your business? If you’re a Dentist and it’s the summertime, talk about ice cream, popsicles and sugary treats and the possible detrimental effects that these summer treats could have on teeth.  Real Estate agents might discuss why summer is the best time to sell a home and perhaps blog about how to stage homes in the summer. If your product or service is a little more esoteric (say, writing for example) you could blog about grammar and in a friendly manner take your clients to “summer school” providing tips and tools on sentence structure.

Where to blog? Should you blog on your website, your facebook page or try to publish a post on LinkedIn? Should you be using one of the many web based blogging platforms? In determining the answer that best suits your business you may want to defer to the opinion of a social media specialist in your area. There are advantages to each option and whether you are trying to drive traffic to your website or to your physical location will have an impact on which option you choose. Additionally, knowing your target market should also influence where you blog. If you’ve identified most of your customers are on facebook for example, clearly that is where you should be blogging.

Why should you blog? I might be a lone wolf on this one and certainly as a business that offers blogging services I am doing myself no favours but when it comes to blogging and the “why factor” I urge you to ensure you are blogging relevant content for a reason.  You should blog because you have something of value to offer your customer. Blogging because someone said you should, or posting random content of no significance, will simply drive customers away. For most, the quick answer to “why blog” is to attract customers. That is the “why.” So ensure your content is relevant and will attract not repel.

Now for the “How.”  Call a writer! Just kidding. Use the “5 W’s” as your guiding principle, make a series of bullet points under each heading, determine your overall theme and then start building sentences around these bullet points. As the movie “Field of Dreams” once told us, “If you build it, they will come.” In this case, the structure is your blog and if you build your foundation using the “5 W” bullet points, a fully realized blog will be the end result. The beautiful thing about blogging is that you can schedule your posts to occur at anytime but write them whenever and wherever you want – even sitting on the back deck, in the sunshine, while sipping a cool beverage! See what I did there? I just tied a seasonally related theme to a blog about blogging. Happy writing!

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

Easy Steps to Overcome Procrastination and Achieve Your Goals

yvonne

I’ll start my business this year, I’ll start writing my business plan next week, I’ll start my diet on Monday, I’ll follow-up on that new lead next week… and unfortunately we sometimes never get round to it and miss out on fantastic opportunities, or come next year, we are still struggling with the same goals.

Procrastination is one thing we can all easily fall prey to, but what differentiates each of us, as well highly successful people is our ability to overcome procrastination in order to achieve our goals. While it may be easier said than done, those who choose to be motivated and complete necessary tasks are those who are able to see results and move ahead onto bigger goals and aspirations. Here are five easy steps you can take to help you overcome procrastination.

 

1. Know Your ‘Why’

I love the story John Maxwell shares in his book ‘15 Invaluable Laws of Growth’. While a salesman looks out of the hotel restaurant window, he asks the waiter if he thinks the roads will be clear enough to travel the next morning. And the waiter responds, “Depends on if you are on salary or commission”. The first step to achieving your goals and overcoming that lethargic feel of procrastination is having a strong ‘WHY’; one that is worth fighting for and motivates you whenever you see yourself beginning to procrastinate.

 

2. Dive Right In

We often procrastinate because we fear that a task will take too long, or that we don’t have the skills to complete it successfully, or that we’ll magically find the time later to finish it. Oftentimes the best way to put a stop to procrastination is to stop thinking and simply dive right in. Once you get started, you’ll begin to figure out how to complete the task i.e. necessary steps or resources required, otherwise it’ll remain untouched, unfinished, and continue to be a roadblock to your success.

 

3. Learn Proper Goal Setting

Writing down a list of the top things you’d like to get done this year is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to goal setting.  Goals should be broken down into:

Overall goal > Monthly goals > Weekly goals > Daily goals

By breaking your goals into smaller and more specific steps, you increase the likelihood of them being completed. Also ensure your goals are time-framed, giving yourself specific target dates to complete tasks by.

 

4. Get Your Motivation Going

For many, once we have our strong ‘WHY’ in front of us, as well as see how easily a big goal can be broken down into manageable bite sized pieces, we feel less overwhelmed and more motivated. However, if you still struggling with driving yourself to get things done, analyse how procrastination is preventing you from reaching personal and professional success; make two lists of the pros and cons, listing all the drawbacks of procrastination that you can think of, and then list the benefits. This should remind you how much procrastination is holding you back. If necessary, tack that list up somewhere visible to remind yourself.

 

5. Practice Good Time Management

Getting things done is largely about properly managing your time. Not sure if you’re a big time waster?  Then do this: spend one week writing down how you’re spending your time from the moment you get up to the minute you go to bed.  Chances are you’ll be shocked by how much time you’ve allowed to go to waste.

 

BONUS:  By reviewing how you’re spending your time, you’ll likely find that there are tasks that you can delegate or outsource to others, or tasks that you can stop doing completely to free up more of your time. Here is a piece I wrote on how to delegate effectively.

Yesterday you said tomorrow, today is the day! Start doing.

Want to identify what may be stopping from achieving yours and find strategies you can implement to get you started? Attend our free and complimentary webinar on July 3rd Click here to sign up for the webinar

Download my Free eBook and uniquely designed Templates “4 weeks to Achieving & Executing Your Goals!” to help you get started now. http://eepurl.com/xeDrf

Yvonne is a Change Consultant, Speaker & John Maxwell Coach who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to implement change, drive results and achieve their goals.   She can be reached at:   www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc, www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc, www.oliveblue.com