Writing Press Releases

[oiuyt]

Interesting post from a professional over on fencingforum.com:

http://fencingforum.com/forum/showpo...67&postcount=8

-B

[Katman]

Having glanced over this while drunk, and being a practicing journalist, I can say that that's sound advice.

However, don't expect a press release to keep journalists from calling you. It may just make your time with them shorter.

[edew]

Interesting. I've sent press releases using the standard format (by fax and by email) to local papers and got no response whatsoever. Then, after this Summer Nationals, I wrote:

Dear Greg (local paper editor, whom I don't know personally or otherwise),

I'm terrible with writing press releases, so here's the scoop: Several of my fencers went to Miami Florida for the National Championships in fencing and came back with one gold, one silver, one bronze and a top-8 medal. The gold and silver medalists....

And lo and behold, he wrote back, said he'll get a reporter on this, and our club got a nice feature article in the sports section. I felt that if I wrote it using the standard Press Release format, I'm doomed. Those formats are for big, established companies. If Apple Inc wrote, "Dear Greg, this is Steve Jobs. I don't know where my press spokesperson is, but I want you to know about..." you can bet that it'll go in the trash as a joke.

So, don't necessarily toe the line on writing press releases.

I think my way might very well work with more established papers like the SF Chron, the SJ Mercury, Philly Inquirer, so on. I doubt WSJ will give a whit. Maybe the NY and LA Times might accept it, depending on the level of newsworthiness of the topic.

Just a counter-thought.

[Phaeton]

Disclaimer: I know nothing about journalism.

IMHO as long as information is clearly laid out in a polite and concise manner with a number to call back and reach the source it should work out fine. A press release is one way to do this, or for those of us with more structured thought, any other format.

[Redblade]

Originally Posted by edew

Interesting. I've sent press releases using the standard format (by fax and by email) to local papers and got no response whatsoever. Then, after this Summer Nationals, I wrote:

Dear Greg (local paper editor, whom I don't know personally or otherwise),

I'm terrible with writing press releases, so here's the scoop: Several of my fencers went to Miami Florida for the National Championships in fencing and came back with one gold, one silver, one bronze and a top-8 medal. The gold and silver medalists....

What you shared above is the *intent* of the standard press release format.

The author of the original post (on the other forum) pointed out a few elements that he could have elaborated on, but that you took care of just the same. Quote: "((First sentence -- must include the who, what, when, where and how)). ((Second sentence -- gives the why)). ((Rest of first paragraph -- enough information to tell the story and make it work))."

Who: Several of my fencers. They're locals. Readers care about local folk.
What/Where: Went to a big Nationals event out of state. Won important medals. Earned honor for our community.
When: Recently, or I wouldn't be writing this.

The key is to write a press release so that the newspaper sees a reason to share the information with the rest of the reading public. That's the main reason so many "standard" letters get dumped in the trash right away -- the letter-writer doesn't have the same suite of skills the reporter/editor has to hook the reader. ... That, and pure dumb luck. Catch the wrong journalist on the wrong day and *everything* gets deleted. It happens.

But the important thing to remember is to convey as quickly and succinctly as possible why the average, non-fencing person should care. Good angles: Medals of the gold, silver and bronze variety; overcoming huge personal disadvantage (ex: recovering from a car accident); other quirky human interest (ex: brother and sister drive each other to succeed); big economic impact and/or tourism numbers from local events; a big "first" (ex: first time coaches conference held in town). Anything less will get ignored. Boring is ignored. You've got to project yourself into the mind of someone who doesn't normally care about your quaint little niche sport.

(And, yes, I'm a professional writer, if you haven't already checked my profile.)

[Timacheff]

I've spent more than 20 years of my career as both a journalist as well as a PR/communications executive for some large high-tech companies and agencies. I've applied that to fencing and have had some success getting our local newspaper to cover our club. I've written articles and taught courses and seminars on press release writing and pitches, so there's a lot to cover and discuss; however, here are some key points that I hope will help you all:

1. Having a properly written and formatted press release is never a bad thing; it communicates credibility and that you're aware of how to work with the press. One way that editors weed-out the stuff they don't want to deal with is they group the correctly written releases in one stack and all the others in another -- as a lower priority.

2. The most important thing to do is follow-up your press release with a phone call to the sports editor (or whomever). They get so many press releases that this helps bring yours to the forefront and makes them aware of it.

3. The day you send your release is important. If it's the day before or day of the publication's deadline, you're less likely that it will be seen ... and then it will be old news a few days later. Find out the deadline day and work from there. Usually one or two days after deadline are the best times to reach someone.

4. Don't make assumptions that they'll cover your story. They might not, and they don't have an obligation to do so. If they think it's interesting, if there's a unique angle, and if they have room and time to cover it, they will. It's up to you to help them figure out a good angle, which is in part how you write the release and in part how you follow-up with them. What constitutes a good angle is very subjective, but you want to think about it in the context of their readership, the community, and the paper -- not necessarily what's interesting or unique to you as a fencer.

5. It's OK to let them know that there might be a unique photo opportunity if there's going to be a fencing tournament at a local community center, etc. That might constitute all the coverage you get -- and maybe all that you really need.

6. Remember that different editors cover different things. You might get a feature story angle about an interesting coach or student that's written by a features editor instead of sports. It's OK to suggest these things to an editor, BTW.

7. Email your press release as an inline (not attached) announcement. Preface it with a brief note explaining who you are, why you're sending it, the timing (if appropriate), and which department might find it interesting (sports, news, features, etc.). The main point is to get them informed as to what it is as quickly as possible, and then give them the opportunity to dig deeper quickly and easily.

8. Make sure they know how to contact you. Sounds stupid, but it they try to call at 10 in the morning to do the story and you're busy at work or the phone at the fencing club is ringing to an answering machine, you may miss the opportunity.

9. Stick to the news. Don't hype or embellish your release, and be as objective as possible.

10. In writing press releases, a good rule of thumb is the "inverse pyramid" method. This involves covering your most important facts first, and leave less important information to the end of the release (which, by the way, should NOT be too long or wordy). Make sure you cover who, what, when, where, and why in the first paragraph.

11. If you make fencing sound too weird or different, they may find it too quirky. Help communicate it as a growing "alternative" sport, alongside ones such as martial arts, gymnastics, and other competitive but less mainstream athletic activities. Don't assume you'll get equal billing with football, soccer, baseball, or basketball. I guarantee you those sports are more important (to the editor!).

12. Be aware that any news can get in the way of your story, if it's important enough. If a local football star gets killed in a car wreck, if there's a big game that Friday night, or if a natural disaster occurs, you'll find yourself at the bottom of the priority list. Don't take it personally ... just keep communicating.

13. The bottom line is you want to develop a rapport with the local press. Have one person from your club or division assigned to communicate with them. Make sure that person has interpersonal skills (!). Meet the editor in person, just to give them an introduction to fencing -- even if there's not a particular story you have in mind. Then follow-up with good news stories throughout the season.

14. Finally, and in addition to keeping to the facts and being brief, write your release using good grammar, style, and punctuation. If you don't, this is an immediate clue to an editor that he or she is dealing with someone inexperienced -- another reason to drop to the bottom of the stack. Something as simple as using quotation marks incorrectly -- not keeping them outside the commas and periods in all cases, for example (in U.S. English rules, that is) -- can be enough to tweak a touchy editor.

Many think that if they send a "story" it will be published, but it's not that easy. Persistence, good writing, communication, consistency, professionalism, and reasonable expectations are the factors that will ultimately result in success.

I hope this helps.

[Craig]

Serge,

Excellent post - thanks for sharing.

Craig

[Army Fencer]

Originally Posted by Craig

Serge,

Excellent post - thanks for sharing.

Craig

This may be good enough to sticky for awhile.

[foilz]

Two perfect approaches for how to make PR happen.

Not everyone can do what Edew did. That takes intuition and emotion.

But most of us can follow Timacheff's classic advice to share the news.

The fact for us all is that editors are human beings.

They respond to both approaches. Edew's innocent sharing. And Timacheff's formal presentation. Both work.

Don't sweat your releases. Try both approaches.

Most important, follow up your emails and talk to the editors you mailed. They'll want to talk with you. Be candid and upfront. Never refuse the opportunity to talk with an editor.

Then follow up.

With news of the tournament, new dates, interview opportunities for local competitors.

If you are the PR representative, it's not a one day thing. It's a relationship.

Promote your tournament. Connect with the writers. Then stay connected.

It's hard work, but that's PR.

[Craig]

Moving to the clubs section and making sticky there.

Craig