You are here: Home / Archives for news releases

Blogging Cheat Sheet and more tweets

12/16/2011 By 4 Comments

Here are my Top 10 tweets from this past week, great for retweeting! If you missed these, follow me on Twitter.

25 Worst Passwords of the Year for 2011. [Is one of yous on this list?] http://ow.ly/81QNc

How to get a ton of new subscribers to your blog. http://ow.ly/7ZR3S

Should you post press releases in social media? Conflicting answers from the experts. http://ow.ly/7ZmYQ  http://ow.ly/8486v

Top 10 Marketing & PR Trends in 2012. http://ow.ly/7ZcO4

A free cheat sheet for writing blog posts that go viral, from @Copyblogger. http://ow.ly/7XSx3

How to answer a journalist’s query on HARO, Reporter Connection, PitchRate & PRLeads. http://ow.ly/7YMvB

8 secrets that writers won’t tell you. http://ow.ly/803Km

17 Fun Freebies That Build Thought Leadership. Something for everybody. http://ow.ly/7Wwxs

10 Worst Media Disasters of 2011 from @MrMediaTraining. [Can you guess #1?] http://ow.ly/81xh3

5 strategic social media tips for PR pros, from @PerkettPR [No. 4 is my favorite] http://ow.ly/81x3q

 

Filed Under: Media Leads, Press Releases/News Releases Tagged With: , , ,

Here’s a handy checklist for writing press releases

10/29/2010 By Leave a Comment

List of elements on how to write a press releaseThe next time you write a press release, use BusinessWire’s handy checklist so you don’t forget key elements of the release.

Its 11 pointers include things that are easy to forget like HTML formatting, using keywords and hyperlinks, and including video. (A few days ago, I wrote about 19 opportunities to use hyperlinks in press releases.)

The list is excellent, but I disagree with item Number One: “Make sure your press release contains actual news.”

Gone are the days when we had to worry about insulting journalists with press releases that weren’t newsworthy. Today, now that we’re posting them online, we can reach consumers directly by writing press releases even when we have no news to report. A release can include a list of tips on how to solve a problem, how to use a product we sell, or it can include our opinion about something that isn’t particularly newsworthy.

Smart Publicity Hounds understand that press releases seldom result in big stories in the media. We write many of them for the search engines so that consumers can find our information without waiting for journalists to report it.

Even so, I like this checklist. You’d be smart to keep it nearby.   

If you need more help writing press releases and distributing them online, sign up for my free email course, 89 Reasons to Write Powerful Press Releases.  It’s like earning a master’s degree in press release writing.

Filed Under: Newspaper Publicity, Video Tagged With: , ,

Questions to ask press release writing services

4/5/2010 By Leave a Comment

red question marksIf you hate writing press releases and you’d rather hire someone to write one for you, you need to know exactly what the fee includes.

Michelle M. Wicmandy interviewed me for an article on online press releases in the May 2010 issue of Website magazine.

I gave her this list of questions you should ask anyone who you’re hiring:


  • Does your price include keyword research?
        
  • What is the fee for writing, and is there a separate fee for online distribution?
        
  • Is there an additional fee for sending the release to targeted media outlets and bloggers?
        
  • How many revisions does the price include?
        
  • What’s your turnaround time?
        
  • What clients have hired you to write press releases and what are their phone numbers?
        
  • Can you tell me about the success stories those clients have had as a result of releases you wrote for them? (If they tell you, call those clients yourself and ask for a reference. Were they satisfied with the release? If not, why not? If yes, what happened as a result of the release?)
        
  • What is the fee? (Most reliable services charge $150 and higher for writing a press release.)

You should also ask any company how it judges the success of a release.

The best answer is to measure how many people did something specific that the release tells them to do. In other words, every release should have a call to action.  You can create a unique landing page specifically for that release and then see how much traffic you get, and how many people do something like order tickets, or download a free White Paper, or give you their name and email address in exchange for a tips list. 

You can also create a Google Alert for the headline on your press release and see how many news outlets, bloggers and websites pick up the release.

If you’re looking for reputable companies to write your press releases, check out the publicity resources section at my website. If you’d rather write them yourself, sign up for my free tutorial, 89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases.

Filed Under: Press Releases/News Releases, Publicity Resources Tagged With: , ,

75 sample press releases available in free ebook

3/30/2010 By 2 Comments

Big Press Release Ebook If it’s time to write a press release, and you don’t know where to start, it’s sometimes easier if you have a few good sample press releases to eyeball before you start typing.

You’ll find 35 industry-specific releases and 40 occasion-specific releases in the ebook The Big Press Release Book.  Mickie Kennedy of eReleases.com, a press release writing and distribution service, is giving it away if you sign up for his free Insider’s Club.

As a member of the club, you’ll receive an “insider’s only” offer each week for an eReleases.com service at an “insider’s only” price.

Mickie’s senior editor selected each press release in the book.

If you’re looking for more direction on how to write your own releases, sign up for my free tutorial, 89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases. The 12-course is delivered via email and by the time you’re done, it will be the equivalent of having earned a master’s degree in press release writing.

Filed Under: Press Releases/News Releases Tagged With: , ,

12 proofreading tips for press releases, blogs & other copy

3/2/2010 By 4 Comments

error crossed out with red inkBefore you send that next press release, or add copy to your online press room, or post something to your blog, or upload a new article to an article directory site, use Mickie Kennedy’s 8 top tips for proofreading.

His company, eReleases, writes and distributes press releases for people who don’t want to do it themselves. Several of his tips, like letting the release sit for a day or so before you return to it and edit with a fresh pair of eyes,  are old copyeditor tricks I used when I worked as a newspaper editor.

I commented at his blog and offered four more tips:

  • Check all numbers.  If the headline says “8 tips for spring cleaning,” make sure the text includes eight tips, not seven. If the story says X is Y percent of Z, double-check it on a calculator.
  • If there’s a phone number within the press release, pick up the phone and call the number, even if you are the one who typed the number and you’re sure it’s correct!
  • Ditto with URLs.  Make sure all URLs click through to correct web pages.
  • Make sure someone’s name is spelled the same way throughout the release.

Before you hit “send,” also check to see that the release has a call to action.  Some press releases I read miss that element frequently. It’s the one opportunity you have to tell readers exactly what you want them to do: go to an online catalog, call for tickets, download a free report, etc.

The call to action was one of eight items  on Janet Thaeler’s checklist. for press release writers. She was my guest during a teleseminar on Keywords: The Magic Magnets That Pull Journalists & Consumers to Your Press Releases.”

Do you have your own proofreading tricks? Share them here.

Filed Under: Blogs, Press Releases/News Releases, Writing Articles Tagged With: , , , , , ,
« Older Posts