Tweet

How to Get The Media News They Can Use: Mastering the Art of Press Releases

Guest post by: Katherine Rothman

Article Overview: HOW TO GET THE MEDIA NEWS THEY CAN USE MASTERING THE ART OF PRESS RELEASES Why is public relations important for my salon or spa? According to Public Relations News, "Public relations is the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organization with the public interest, and plans and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance."

How to Get The Media News They Can Use: Mastering the Art of Press Releases

HOW TO GET THE MEDIA NEWS THEY CAN USE MASTERING THE ART OF PRESS RELEASES Why is public relations important for my salon or spa? According to Public Relations News, "Public relations is the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organization with the public interest, and plans and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance." PR's importance is changing, according to The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR (HarperBusiness). American marketing strategists Al and Laura Ries argue that public relations has become the most effective way to build a brand. Well-known brands like The Body Shop, PlayStation and Harry Potter spend little on brand-name advertising. The same is true for many entrepreneurial companies like yours. Business owners become known in their respective fields of concentration many times through public relations and the associated media generated. The benefits of PR The aim of PR is to increase sales – but it's a long term strategy rather than a quick win. An effective campaign will reap many benefits, including: o Generating a greater understanding of your products and services o Creating awareness of your company's success stories o Building and establishing the right kind of image and, ultimately: o Increasing your bottom line profits. While this concept of promotion may sound appealing, a PR firm may not be financially feasible for every salon or spa. Below are some tips for “do it yourself PR.” The Press Release A press release should be no more than two pages long and should include the relevant points such as who, what, where, why, when and how. A press release cannot be completely self serving and should read much differently than an ad. Understanding what is not appropriate press release material is as important as understanding what is. The main point to keep in mind is that there has to be an inherent benefit to the consumer and knowledge that can be gleaned from a release. Non-Newworthy, self promoting press release topics: Salon XYZ to undergo summer renovation . Salon XYZ celebrates five years in business. Salon manager to speak at beauty conference. Salon XYZ hires three new stylists. Examples of Newsworthy Consumer Topics Salon XYZ performs new straightening technique from Japan John Doe of Salon XYZ offers hair care tips for sun-damaged hair. John Doe of Salon XYZ dishes the hair dos and hair donts seen on the red carpet this Oscar season. Spa XYZ offers new lymphatic drainage treatment. Examples of Newsworthy Trade Magazine Topics Pitching the haircare/spa trade magazines is different than pitching the consumer media such as Vogue, Allure, Elle et al. When pitching the trade magazines, you are effectively speaking to your colleagues in the business who will indeed have interest in developments and news from your salon/spa that would not be relevant for the average consumer. Possible press release ideas include: Salon XYZ inks exclusive distribution deal with ABC product line. Salon XYZ to enter into franchise agreement. Head stylist at Salon XYZ to become a spokesperson for ABC product line. Salon XYZ offers course for new spa and salon owners. It is important to structure the release so that the headline is eye-catching and that all of the key points are addressed in the release. It is helpful to put a web-address of your salon/spa at the bottom of the release and leave contact information for editors. Now that I have written the release to whom do I send it? Although it will cost money, the best and most time effective way to gather a media database is to subscribe to services such as Bacons or Burrelles which will allow you to access media contacts and develop lists on-line. Media and media contacts change so frequently that these services provide the most accurate way to formulate comprehensive, accurate media lists. Press releases for a salon or spa should be sent (via e-mail in most cases) to beauty editors. For example, if your salon is located in Cincinnati, it would be appropriate to send releases to all of the Cincinnati media including radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, web-sites that have a format for beauty stories. If the information is general enough, the release can also be sent to national magazine beauty editors such as Bazaar, Ladies’ Home Journal Redbook, etc. Below are examples of stories that would be strictly local and those that can apply to the national beauty publications. Local Angle Only- Ohio salon offers pro bono haircuts to local welfare moms on Mother’s Day. Appropriate for national and local- Do it yourself at home spa treatments found in your refrigerator. Keep releases timely. Magazines operate in advance of where we are in “real time.” For example, in August many magazines are working on holiday stories. At that time it would be appropriate to send them holiday themed releases. Press releases to newspapers should be sent with current topics as newspapers publish in “real time.” Always remember to try to tie-in press release topics with a season, holiday, fashion trend, celebrity, news event etc. Press releases should be followed up verbally with an upbeat, and concise “phone pitch” making careful note of each editor’s specific response. Once you have gotten all of the mileage you can out of a specific release, it is time to move on too a new topic. If you badger the media with one idea, and don’t take no for an answer, you will alienate these contacts. Pitching TV- Television is obviously a visual medium. TV producers like experts who can not only tell the audience but show them as well. To garner interest from your local TV station, you might entice a producer to cover your salon by offering a Father’s day contest to a local father in need of an “extreme makeover.” This type of segment would prove to be a great showcase for the stylists at your salon. If it is Valentine’s Day, you can pitch a segment idea on his and hers makeovers and offer a candelit dinner to the lucky couple (with cameras filming) post makeover. Spa bachelorette parties are another great TV idea to pitch in June at the peak of wedding season. Since most TV programs do not have “beauty producers” you can send these pitches to the “assignment editor” who will funnel them out to the appropriate producer at the station or TV program. The most important component to keep in mind when devising a press release is to ask yourself if you would be interested in a potential topic if you were not in the spa/salon industry. Once way to measure this is to show the release to friends who are not in the business and see if the release peaks their attention and provides new, insightful information. Below are books available on Amazon that go into further detail on writing press releases and garnering free publicity. 1. Writing Effective News Releases...: How to Get Free Publicity for Yourself, Your Business, or Your Organization by Catherine V. McIntyre (Paperback ) 2. 6 Steps to Free Publicity: "For Corporate Publicists or Solo Professionals, Including...Publishers, Consultants, Conference Planners, Politicians, Inventors 3. Creating Powerful Press Releases: 11 Steps To Creating Press Releases That Get Printed! by Don Crowther (Digital ) 4. A Guide to Preparing Cost-Effective Press Releases (Haworth Marketing and Resources : Innovations in Practice & Professional seRvices Series) by Robert H. Loeffler (Hardcover ) 5. Complete Publicity Plans: How to Create Publicity That Will Spark Media Exposure and Excitement (ADAMS STREETWISE SERIES) by Sandra L. Beckwith (Paperback ) 6. Free Publicity 101: How to Write Press Releases and Get Your Story in the Media by Cathy Stucker, (Digital - May 2004)

Related Articles
  The press release is not dead – it’s not even sick
  NEWS RELEASE QUIZ

  Home Business Expert: Importance Of Press Releases
  Press Releases Aren't Dead
  5 Topics You Probably Didn’t Realize Can Be in a Press Release
  5 Tips For Successful Online Press Releases
  Considered and planned PR equals better results
  Press Releases - The Two Most Common Mistakes
  The Press Release aka Tell Me Your Story In One Page Or Less
  Online Press Releases: 3 Ways to Get More Marketing Mileage From Your News Releases
  How Much Do Press Releases Cost?
  Top Tips on How To Write Press Release
  Power of the press release
  15 Press Release Topics For the Small Business Owner
  How To Write A News-Worthy Press Release
  More Strategic PR Advice From Your PR Doctor
  Secrets of Marketing - Three Reasons to Use News Announcements to Promote Your Business
  Three secrets of how to use press releases to promote your business or web site.
  Just the Facts Ma’am, Just the Facts
  Using Press Releases To Boost Your Website Ranking

Article Tags: beauty PR, PR, top PR firms



Related Forum Posts
Re: Why Some Websites Sell and Others Don’t? - There is myth that if you build websites people will come. It is never through, you need to do a lot of things to make your website to work. You have many models of attracting traffics to your site. PPC Article Marketing SEO Press Release Banner Ads Forum Posting Classified Advertising Media Buying Solo Ads and a lot of more. If you are not doing any of the above your websites will just be one of the millions of the unknown sites in cyber space
Re: The Best Method for Online Marketing - In order to write a press release, you must determine the subject of your story. It can be about an event that affects your industry, or it can be about a change in your company that will affect your customer base. Press releases are in all actuality ‘cookie cutter’. Once you get the hang of writing them, all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Press releases conform to an established format.
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - [quote="WebBizIdeas.com":gvtxsu7g]Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff[/quote:gvtxsu7g] Hi Jeff, Thanks for the suggestion. Why don't you start a new post (with a poll) to see if there's enough interest in your idea for a social media section?
Re: How to finance your independent movie - Hi, The video doesn't come up with its own URL... But it's the very bottom video on the page. Here's the description of it: Financing, Production and Social Impact of Feature Films Host- Carol Atwood - Founder, Spartacus Media Enterprises Panelists: Bill Johnson - Co-Founder and Partner, Inferno Distribution Steven Haft - Producer, Media Consultant Michael Goorjian - Actor, Producer, Writer


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Using Social Media Marketing

SEO and the Entrepreneur

B2B PR – Planning for Success

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.