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Getting Media Attention

Written by: Christine Sutherland

Article Overview: Media acknowledgement via press releases, radio, television or on-line sources can provide enormous leverage and be a ticket to success. It’s certainly not easy to gain that attention (without paying for it) but here are some tips to increase your chances.

Getting Media Attention

First the Mistakes!

I do quite a lot of press releases and as a result clients often send me theirs for review and comment before they release it. Here are some common mistakes to avoid if you’re to have any chance of getting your piece published!

*** Inadequate contact details: the header of your release should contain your name, company, address, telephone, fax, email and web site, and should make it very clear who is the contact person for questions.

*** A header that sounds like an advertisement: newspaper article headlines are nothing like advertising headlines. Never use the headline to convince, and do not big-note yourself or your product in the headline unless the achievement is truly newsworthy; eg “Australian Entrepreneur Buys Walls Street” or “Widget sales top $1 million in 6 months”.

*** Claims about products: never make a claim for a product unless you put it in as a quotation; eg “Founder Christine Sutherland claims that ‘Even the smallest business can access global markets through the new Web 2.0 phenonemon, free of charge through My Speed Business Network’”.

*** Call to action at the end: sure an advertisement should have a call to action, but a news release cannot go that far! The best you’ll be able to do is to give a web site or contact number; eg “A free report on staff retention strategies is available on www.recruitmentheaven.com”. You certainly can’t say things like “Rush to book your place now!” or “Telephone today for your free report.”

What a Press Release Should Look Like

To have any chance of being accepted, your press release should look like any other newspaper article, be written as objectively as possible, in short, simple paragraphs that flow naturally from one to the other.

Take your press release and put it against the pages of a newspaper – does it belong or is the look and tone completely out of place?

2 Ways to Increase Your Chances of Being Published

*** Capitalise on current news. If obesity is in the news and you want people to consider your approach, a press release could be excellent. Check out “Why the Biggest Loser is the Biggest Stinker” to see what I mean!

*** Pop in a relevant photograph. Journalists love a good picture to go with a good story!

I hope these tips have been helpful, and wish you good luck in promoting your business through press releases!

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  How to get and leverage attention from the mass media

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