What a Press Release Is and Isn’t
June 26th, 2009 |
A press release-also called a media or news release-is simply an announcement that is distributed to the media. It is emailed, faxed or mailed to assignment editors at newspapers, magazines, and TV/radio stations to notify them about your company, its products/services or other important news.
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Press releases are submitted directly by the company making the announcement or by a public relations firm acting on the company’s behalf. By their very nature, press releases tend to be biased toward the issuing company. That’s because their sole purpose is to encourage journalists to write an article or some other news report on a specific topic. If handled correctly, a press release can lead to valuable publicity-which is essentially free advertising-for your company.�
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Not an Article
Some people confuse press releases with articles, but they are distinctly different. An article is a collection of facts objectively written by reporters for the purpose of informing or entertaining the public. Articles are commonly written about companies, products, trends, issues, events and other topics that are relevant to the media’s target audience. Essentially, an article is a story that is crafted in the words of the journalist.
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Not Advertising
Because its audience is the media (not the public), a press release should be written with a more business-like and formal writing style. Remember, the purpose of the release is to inform members of the media about your company’s event and encourage them to write an article about it.
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Therefore, it’s important to remember that a press release is not advertising. You can subtly promote your company in a press release, but go easy on the sales pitch. Although you may think your company is wonderful, try to minimize the use of superlatives and adjectives.�Reporters are interested primarily in the facts, not spin and hype. If you want to hard sell your company, consider buying an ad.
No Guarantees
It is important to note that there are no guarantees when it comes to distributing press releases. You have no control over how or whether the media will use your release as the basis of an article. And, the content of any resulting articles is completely at the discretion of journalists.
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Distributing a press release is like submitting a resume for a job. You need to create and submit a professional, well-written resume, but doing so will not necessarily result in an interview or job offer. Likewise, submitting a press release won’t guarantee you news coverage. It can, however, place your company in a critical position to attract the attention of the media. �
Tracy Barbour, M.S.M., CeM, is a certified emarketing professional with 20 years of online and traditional marketing, advertising and copywriting experience. Tracy, who holds a master’s degree in business management and bachelor’s in journalism, enjoys helping businesses leverage Internet technology to broaden their reach, reduce their costs and increase their profits. She is a published author and former newspaper reporter who specializes in writing about the Internet, traditional marketing, public relations, business, banking, personal finance, insurance, real estate and technology. Tracy is also principal of RightResponse eMarketing, which can be accessed at http://www.rremarketing.com
