Stretch Your Mind and Body  

Todays guest, Shannon Cherry, shared some amazing information on creating and submitting Press Releases to gain the exposure that you want for your product or service.

I loved Shannon's description of what a Press Release is really for.  A Press Release is designed to 'tease' journalists enough that they want more information.  It's kind of like a Strip Tease, where you give a tantalising glimpse of the final product - and get paid to show more! 

A Press Release is used to help journalists determine what they want to report on.

Given that - if you want to be successful with a Press Release - you need to be sending your Press Releases to the places that your Target Audience reads / listens to / participates in.  Isn't it amazing how knowing your Target Audience flows through all aspects of your buiness?

Shannon suggested that you should ask your Target Audience what they're reading / listening to - to know where to send your Press Releases for maximum effect.  How simple is that?

The Anatomy Of  A Press Release

A press release is written for the 'Sesame Street' culture (as Shannon put it).  That is, you have to get the bulk of the message in the first paragraph of your release - and capture the readers attention in the first 3 to 5 seconds.  To me, this is like writing an Executive Summary of a report for your CEO.  You need to give them enough information to be able to make a quick decision, and not loose their attention. 

To achieve this, your Press Release should have:

Headline - Short and Punchy (but not hypey), about 8 words long

Lead - This should include your locale, City - State or Province, the date (to let people know this is current news) and it should cover the Who, What, When, Where and How!  You write the conclusion first, and then add substance.

2nd Paragraph - should be a quote from yourself about the product or service - what it is and how it can help.  This shouldn't be hypey, it should be a statement.  It can also include statistics to support the benefit of the product

The rest of the Press Release can explain the product, it's benefits and pricing.

Shannon also told us that your Press Release should include three #'s at the end - as this tells the journalist that the Press Release has ended.

Finally, Shannon also stated that your contact details should be at the bottom of the release.  These contact details should include the ability for a journalist to be able to contact your 24 hours a day - just think about the hours that some journo's work and this will make sense to you.

Distributing Press Releases

This is one of my biggest challenges - how to get the best distribution of my Press Releases.  I've used the free online Press Release services - and whilst I've had some great success for traffic and links - I certainly haven't had any contacts from journo's or been featured in Magazines and such.

Shannon shared that whilst the Free Press Release services are great for SEO (Backlinks!), they aren't the best for getting Journalists attention.

Here's what Shannon recommends:

1. Find out what your Target Audience is reading, and then contact that organization.

2. Don't rely on the 'public' contact information.  Actually speak to the reporter and ask them how to send a Press Release to them - be pleasant and find out if they want the information  through Fax, Snail Mail or Email.  (Shannon also suggested that you should then send a Thank You Card to the person afterwards....)

3. Send your information using the submission details you've gained.

Coming out of this - you should be creating your own Media List to get the targetted media that you need for success.

The upshot of Shannon's information is that Press Releases can definitely give you the 'best bang for your buck' -- and they don't have to cost an arm and a leg!  If you are prepared to do a lot of the work yourself, the only real costs are your time and the opportunity cost associated with that.

If you don't want to do the leg work, hire yourself a PR person.  Ask them to give you a price to do the work.  Shannon was emphatetic that a PR person is able to give you a quote to prepare and submit a Press Release.

Shannon offers more of her amazing advice through Penny Pinching Publicity  -- and Shannon has made a very special offer to Stretch Your Mind And Body readers and listeners.... She is offering a $20 a month discount off your membership fees....

These notes are just  a snap shot of the discussion that Shannon and I had - I'm going to listen to the show again to hear what I've missed here!