To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, the only thing worse than being talked about, is not being talked about. Wilde, of course, was a master at getting tongues wagging — when he wasn’t lounging around with a sunflower in hand or squeezing into velvet finery a size too small, the Irish literary genius was leaking his personal letters to the press. That’s right, Wilde often wrote two identical copies a letter, one for the correspondent and another to be published in the newspaper. You could say he pioneered the art of the media release, promoting himself to a mass audience to grow his celebrity!
For over 100 years, media releases have been the main way for businesses to gain what is known as “free ink”, even in today’s age of social media.
Unfortunately, though, too many media releases end up in the rubbish bin because small business owners simply don’t know how the media works.
So here’s an insider’s guide to getting your media release noticed.
Know your contacts
Before you even touch pen to paper, put together a “contacts books”, an indexed notebook that contains the details of all the media outlets that may be interested in your news. For example, as the developer of accounting software for volunteer treasurers in non-profit and community groups, I would research who covers small business, accounting, IT, volunteering and community topics. And I would cover every media type from newspapers and radio shows to peak body newsletters and blogs. Next, make sure the right people at these outlets see your media release. In print media, this is an editor or senior journalist with a subject specialty, and in broadcast media, it’s the producer. Take the time to research the names of these people and ask how they like to be contacted.
Follow the conventions
Editors, producers and journalists expect very particular things in a media release. They want:
- A snappy headline that sums up your news and grabs interest. How? Check out Six Tips to Writing Effective Press Release Headlines and 5 Easy Tricks to Help You Write Catchy Headlines.
- A date under the headline.
- No more than a page.
- Direct quotes in case they don’t have time to do an interview.
- Writing that mimics journalism — simple, short paragraphs, conveying maximum information in minimum words.
- Specific information, facts and statistics.
- To know if interview or photo opportunities are available.
- Full contact details for further information.
Having said this, there are times to completely violate the rules. For the perfect example, check out this media release for a graphic novel.
Make it easy
Forget the glamour you’ve seen in the movies — real media offices are often scruffy and cramped, the fax machine is spewing paper on the floor, someone is yelling and everyone is behind deadline. Attention to a few little extras, however, can make the difference between your media release getting lost in the chaos or being grabbed to fill a last minute gap:
- Include print and web quality photos, along with any photographer credits required. Don’t clog up email with high resolution images … provide a CD or a download link.
- For launches, events and anything even remotely related, provide free samples and tickets. Make the samples full-sized and always give two tickets (even journalists hate turning up alone).
- Match the in-house writing style of a publication, so an editor can literally copy and paste your media release into an article. It’s a myth that journalists rewrite everything — in radio, this practise is called a “rip ‘n’ read”.
- Be timely — understand the deadlines and news story life spans of individual media outs. For some, it’s a day, yet for others it’s a couple of weeks. No matter what, always send out certain news, such as an award, within 24 hours.
The final word
Never, ever follow a media release with a phone call or email, no matter what the public relations experts tell you. This makes media people feel hounded, not to mention awkward if there’s a perfectly good reason they haven’t picked up your story. Sometimes that reason will be you, especially if you’re still mastering the art of the media release. If you suspect this, do your homework and research how to improve. Other times, it’s just plain bad luck — your perfect news story may just happen to coincide with a bigger, better event.
