Publicity Tip

How to Write a Press Release Part 1:

What Not to Do

by Diane Eble

One of the best ways to establish your expertise is to get media exposure. It's free, and the media's coverage automatically conveys the aura of "expert" when they feature you.

You can get the equivalent of literally thousands of dollars of advertising if the media talks about you. And—with the added credibility. Would you be more inclined to believe someone who is written up as a cover story in a magazine or even your local newspaper, versus seeing an ad in the same publication?

Media coverage offers you instant "celebrity" status.

Not to mention, it can boost or even launch a business, literally overnight.

Last July, in one week, I enjoyed three different media exposures: a write-up in the local newspaper; a national radio program on which my coauthor, Janet Penley, and I talked about our book, MotherStyles; and a teleseminar with Annie Jennings PR about publishing trends.

I still work with clients who came to me via one of those avenues.

So, media exposure is worth pursuing. And the first tool you need is a press release.

Ideally, you should also have a website to send the media to, with a page or pages devoted specifically to your media credentials. However, you can start before you have that in place.

The first thing you need to learn is how to write an effective press release.

For the purposes of this article, and the other articles this month, it would be very helpful if you could refer to an actual press release or two. So I've arranged for you to download two different press releases, to which I will refer.

The first is a press release about my latest book, MotherStyles, coauthored with Janet Penley. The second is a press release I submitted to PRWeb for online distribution. Both mentioned the teleseminar I was going to do with Annie Jennings PR (the "news" angle), but each took a very different tack.

Please take a moment now to click this link and then print each of these press releases before you continue reading this article.

Now, with the press releases before you, I want to point out a few things not to do.

What Not to Do

1. Don't make it more than one page. Some people say two pages is acceptable, but other experts stress never to go over one page. Given today's busy, information-overloaded world, I say: stick to one page.

2.  Don't single-space the entire release. You'll notice that these releases do use single spacing, but there is a line between the paragraphs. Probably it would have been better if I'd used 11/2 spacing. But then I would violate the first rule. So—the key is to make it readable.

3. Do not use first person. Press releases must be written in an objective format. You want it to sound like a story people would actually read in a newspaper or magazine article. In fact, some press releases are picked up and used verbatim—so keep this in mind.

4. Don't ever, ever SELL! Though the whole purpose (from your standpoint) is to promote yourself, you cannot do it in a blatant way.  Your goal is to give good information, that the reporter and readers/listeners will find interesting, and then the media person will do the "selling" for you when they feature you.

5. Don't try to do too much in your release. You should have only one goal with each release. It might be to drive traffic to your website for a free report, or to have a media person call you for an interview.

In the sample press releases, I wanted the exposure and traffic to my website and my teleseminar. The local paper ended up interviewing me and including a photo as well. So I was able to kill the proverbial two birds with one stone, though my main goal was to get people to the websites and to listen to the teleseminar.

Next week we'll talk about seven keys to an effective press release.

Further Resources …

If you are interested in going whole-hog with publicity, several experts have products you might want to check out—many of them free. I am impressed by all of these people and their honest, real-world approach to establishing expertise. That is, they do not promise to make you a best-selling author overnight, but they do take you step-by-step through tested systems. It's also interesting that each takes a somewhat different approach--which says something, I guess, about the complexities and possibilities of publicity.

1. Suzanne Falter-Barnes. Suzanne has several programs. One helps you get your platform started. When you sign up for her list, you can get her free list of top 50 media and publishing contacts. She also has a program specifically geared toward business owners who want to garner the incredible power of the media to build their business. Another program is for people who do seminars or otherwise need to fill their groups for marketing purposes (this too comes with a free audio course just for signing up).. Don't miss her informative blog and free teleseminars, either.

2.  Annie Jennings PR. Annie often gives free teleseminars on Wednesdays, and many of them are offered later as free MP3 downloads. She especially has a lot of great stuff about how to put up a media-friendly website. You can also sign up for her free tips on publicity.

3. Steve Harrison. Steve is about to start another Quantum Leap program. This program is for people who are serious about—well, making a quantum leap in their career through publicity. A friend who went to his publicity summit came back raving at how he over-delivered, it was worth ten times what she paid, and that what she learned will change her life and her business forever. She came back with tons of ideas to implement, and even had a makeover with an image consultant. (I think this is part of the Quantum Leap program as well.) If you're interested, there is a teleseminar on Thursday, May 3, which you can listen to. No doubt you will find at least one or two good ideas or strategies, so it's worth listening to.

4. Joan Stewart. Also known as The Publicity Hound®, Joan Stewart teaches thousands of authors how to develop strong relationships with the print, broadcast and Internet media that, in turn, help them sell thousands of books. I've been on her list for years and bought some of her reports; she's a wealth of knowledge. Click here to take a look.

5. Arielle Ford claims that she's helped to sell more than 15 million books sold and has 15 bestselling authors in her stable. I like her website, which is itself an example of an engaging, informative, entertaining and effective sales page. So if for nothing else, check out how she uses media, lays out her site, and "sells" you on her product. Then decide if it's what you need at this point.