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One Size Does Not Fit All

Written by: Anthony Mora

Article Overview: Don't rely solely on one press release to do all of your work. It's important that you modify the release to fit the needs of the media outlet you're pitching.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Don't rely solely on one press release to do all of your work. It's important that you modify the release to fit the needs of the media outlet you're pitching. Seldom do you have to write a completely new release. Your release may just need a few minor, but necessary, changes. For example, let's say you are sending your release to your local evening news and to a national women's magazine. The main body of the release may not change, but you will want to modify some of the text before sending it to the editor at the woman's magazine, to explain that your story has national significance and will be of interest to his or her readers.

It's important to understand who the audience is and direct your pitch towards the needs of that audience. Keep your releases simple, direct, and to the point. Just give enough information to pique their interest. For example, if you are a psychotherapist who has written a new book on how to make a relationship last, you don't want your press release to go into detail explaining exactly what the book is about, you want to list the problems your book will help solve and the questions it helps couples answer. Emphasize that you offer solutions to specific relationship-oriented problems. Your job is to establish yourself as an expert, as a problem solver. The media isn't interested in hyping your book, they're interested in stories that interest their readers, listeners, or viewers. If you simply state that yours is the best book in the field, no one will care. Make the release as easy to read as possible, keep a lot of white space on the page, bullets, boxes, anything to break up the page. Remember this is a trailer, a tease – give the media a story.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2008

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Article Tags: anthony mora, audience, boxes, couples, job, listeners, national significance, national women, new release, page bullets, pique, pitch, press release, problem solver, psychotherapist, relationship, tease, white space



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