Tag Archives: press release

PR Does Not Stand for Press Release (and Other Misconceptions)

Speech Bubble © by Vectorportal

I recently had a discussion with a man who is building a business that is aiming to help PR professionals with their biggest workflow issues.

He was very kind, and was asking me informed questions regarding the common issues I have and have seen coworkers deal with, when he said,

“We want to help press release… I mean PR professionals…”

Before answering his question, I clarified,

“PR does not stand for press release, it stands for public relations.” Continue reading

Yes Virginia, Journalists Do Really Want Your Press Release

In 1897 an eight-year-old girl namedVirginiawrote to theNew York CitySun newspaper with the question, “Is there a Santa Claus?”  The resulting editorial promising that such an idea of goodness and possibility did really exist became the most reprinted editorial in the history of the English language.

Flash forward over a hundred years — many small business marketers and PR Pros look at their press release distribution and wonder in Virginiaesque fashion, “Do journalists really want my press release?”  The answer is happily a resounding “yes.” Continue reading

Why Brevity in PR Will Get You Noticed

PR: The land of content and the home of the brevity.

I thought that perhaps it might be a good time to visit the subject of brevity in PR. We live in a world with increasingly strict space limitations and tightened engagement protocols to grab attention. From writing content to posting tweets to email media pitches to blog posts to writing news releases, the maturation and digitization of the Information Age has spawned an enormous number of people vying for attention and doing everything they can to be noticed. Continue reading

Your Copy Sucks: The Press Release Mad-Lib

Pen poised above dotted signature lineDon’t have time to write a press release? Just fill out this mad-lib and send that sucker in.

(name of company) Announces New (product or service) For (current season)

(Major city, state) (date) — Executives at (name of company) have unveiled plans for a new (product or service) just in time for (season, holiday, or major event). Such an (adjective) achievement is yet another indicator of economic recovery and (other good thing). Experts praised the new initiative as (adjective) and ground-breaking. Continue reading

The Never-Ending Internal/External Review Process

Portrait of a man reviewing a file in a home office settingAs communicators, we work with many different parties. From the marketing team, to C-level executives, the legal team and a whole slew of other internal and external parties, our days and activities can often be filled with balancing a series of discussions, hopes and wishes with a slew of people.

But at a certain point, after many meetings and conversations, we are tasked with writing that next big news release, or a big speech for our CEO or developing our company’s core brand messaging, and that’s where our big work really kicks in: the often never-ending internal/external review process. Continue reading

Where Next for the News Release

Thinkstock Single Image SetIf you go with the view that Ivy Lee created the first press release back in 1906, then the bread and butter of what public relations used to be best known for is more than 100 years old now.

In that time, we’ve seen the original idea behind the news release (or press release, depending on preferences) morph into many shapes and ideas. From the standard print release, to the search engine optimized release, to today’s social media news release, it’s evolved as needs have grown.

But apart from adding some nice flashy videos and blog links, or being able to rank a little higher in Google, how far has the news release really come? And is there still room in today’s instant feed market for something like the news release? Continue reading

Breaking: Conan O’Brien is better than you

Disney's Imagination Movers In Los Angeles. . . at communicating.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have heard about the strange shake-ups at NBC that left their weekday lineup in limbo. Tuesday, Conan O’Brien issued a public response, in effect refusing to move down his Tonight Show to a later time.

Here is the breakdown of why Conan’s statement is the best press release of all time. Pay close attention, flacks. Continue reading

Your Audience is More Than One

TT grandstand
(CC) flickr // The Wolf

Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar to you:

PR/Marketing Guy: So tell me, Mr. X, who is your company’s audience? Who is interested in what the Widget Factory has to offer?

Mr. X: Well, we consider our audience to be widget consumers, widget manufacturers, those who work in the widget industry and our own internal employees.

PR/Marketing Guy: Sounds like quite a diverse group. How will you be alerting all of these individual and distinct audiences of your upcoming big company announcement?

Mr. X: We were going to do what we always do: Blast out a generic e-mail announcement that goes to that entire group. That way, they all get the same exact message.

PR/Marketing Guy:

Frustrating? You bet. An exaggeration? Sadly, not even close.
Continue reading