The Three “Es” of News Releases By LinDee Rochelle, September 2007   Think you have the next blockbuster book or hot, new, can’t-do-without product? Great! Have you (personally) written the brochure text and marketing materials for it? Terrific! Now you’re ready to write the news release and tell the world, right? Because time is of the essence (and to make it easy on yourself) you’ll quote your very effective brochure or Web page. Wait! Don’t copy that text!   Writing ad copy and writing a successful news release should have you donning two very different hats. Make no mistake. The media you covet knows the difference between a jocular broadbrim (boisterous advertising) and a functional fedora (significant news). Start from scratch and put yourself in a completely different mindset.   What are you striving for when writing a news release? Energy. Efficiency. And most of all, Effectiveness.   “Public relations,” the industry to which your news release is addressed, remains defined as working with print publications, television and radio (and their online affiliates) to create news for local, regional, national and global communities. Your contacts are editors, reporters, producers and on-air personalities; not account representatives.   Marketing your book or business is any occasion where money exchanges hands for a promotional service. If you haven’t noticed, there is a disturbing increase in advertorial TV newsmagazine shows. You pay to be featured. That’s marketing. Though considered beneficial bedfellows, public relations and marketing are two very diverse areas of promotion and expertise.   Big business can afford PR firms that manage their public relations and marketing. Are they effective? Their “premium” plans, probably. However, before you mortgage the farm or sell your first born, a word of warning: if you seek an inexpensive program, some basic PR plans simply post to Internet news groups. And while you dream of feature print articles, provocative TV spots, or lively radio interviews, read the fine print. You can pay thousands of dollars per month, yet there are no guarantees that you will be picked up by any media.   This has spawned our new, do-it-yourself world of public relations. Authors and small businesses are especially eager to learn what it takes to earn our very own 15 minutes of fame, as economically as possible. It can be done. And if you combine patience, skill and luck, you may even find yourself in a dream come true success story.   “Press release” and “news release” are used interchangeably; however, “news” is the key word. How do you know if your news is truly newsy?  Slap the ol’ fedora on your head and start thinking like a reporter. You’re not the crusty, cigar-chomping journalist? Then slip on some slippers and settle on the sofa, or belly up to the computer, to become the reader of your target market and peruse the news headlines.   What grabs your attention? (Aside from the latest crimes of passion, of course.) Put yourself in the reader’s or reporter’s head and you may begin to understand what is needed from you for an energetic, efficient and effective story. NEWS.   Editors and news show producers want the latest and greatest from you—not the inane and mundane.     You know what is news and what isn’t—if you wouldn’t read it, why should anyone else? Ever wonder why the media screams with sensationalism? Because we don’t pay attention otherwise. It isn’t enough to present a new book—you have to tell them how it extraordinarily relates to today’s world and their audience—without going tabloid.   Create the Energy   Advertising is not news. Writing an exciting press release without bubbly adjectives can be a struggle, especially if you have an advertising background. Delete the “best in the business,” or “next big blockbuster mystery,” and focus on journalism’s cornerstone:  the upside-down pyramid—most essential information tapering to text that can be ignored—which begins with who, what, where, when and why. Give it energy with a powerful first paragraph and jump-start the media’s interest.   The first sentence (of 22 words or less) needs to grab them by the shirtfront, or you may feel the downward spin of your release as it hits the “basket”—and I’m not talking basketball court-kind.   If you’re an author, you’ve likely done this before … remember the query letter? You want to be snappy, concise and spirited. The whole first paragraph of four or fewer sentences should stand alone as the basis for your news. By the second paragraph, you should have given the media everything they really need to know or want to hear. So why keep writing? Because you “hooked” ‘em, now reel ‘em in!   Exude Efficiency   I often write a release in my most eloquent marketing style … yes, you read right—marketing … in order to establish the flavor and color that will hopefully create interest. Then I put it aside, pick it up later and tear it apart! I lose the ad-style adjectives and replace them with active words and phrases that are relevant to the community or current news. The meat of my original content is still there, but it is efficiently tailored to the media.   Use the body of your release to tie your book or new product into current, local or national news. Even a historic novel has elements relevant to what’s happening today, or demonstrates how far we’ve come as a society (or not), since that era. As an author, use quotes from your book (businesses, garner quotes from your customers), solicit testimonials, and cite significant, supporting statistics. Make comparisons. Again, think like a reader—what information that ties to your book or business, would interest your target audience?   Some terrific research sites include:             American Fact Finder at the U.S. Census Bureau                                          http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en Google Trends                         http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends             And for a source of sources … Writers Free Reference                         http://www.writers-free-reference.com/   Demand Effectiveness   So your perfectly-worded news release hit the in-box of every media outlet from California to New Hampshire, because you’re thinking it’s a law of averages. The more you submit the better odds of response, right? There’s that old marketing monster rearing its fire-breathing head again. Like marketing, know your audience and focus on key areas. However, in marketing, if you throw some extra brochures into the wind, they’ll land somewhere and just might generate another sale. Nothing ventured, nothing gained … still somewhat effective.   Not so when dealing with the media. They don’t have time to read releases that are not relevant to their field, industry, or avenue of news. Submit your news only to those media outlets that pertain to your product, book topic, or target consumer market. Sending a news release about your aviation book to a magazine editor, who assigns fashion stories, just makes you the “boy who cried wolf”—next time, they won’t even bother to read the first paragraph. The exception is if you can tie your release into current general news—then you can explore some additional media opportunities.   Quandry: To follow up, or not to follow up, that is the question. I was taught that a phone call to a busy news room is an invaluable “squeaky wheel” PR practice. However, of late I am hearing grumblings—if they want an interview, review copy, or more information (that isn’t in your release or Web site), they’ll call or email. “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” For now, use your own discretion. If you have time, certainly make yourself familiar to local media. Cultivate and network for maximum benefit. A more definitive answer is forthcoming in my 2008 book, Exploding PR Myths.   Yahoo! Your news release proves effective and someone actually called. Now what?! Don’t gush. Even if Katie Couric is on the line. Be available, no matter what it takes and try to get your foot out of your mouth. I know, we’re asking a lot here, after all, it is exciting.   However, these people (and their local counterparts) are professionals, just as you are in your industry. Treat them with respect … OK, a little reverence doesn’t hurt … and enjoy the moment. Do you have your 30-second self-promotion memorized? (NOW you can be a commercial!)   Creating an effective news release comes with practice, so this is not your “get rich (and famous) quick, scheme.” However, your moment in the media spotlight is possible and can be more effective and affordable, to do it yourself.   # # #