While the main goal when sending a press release is to have your story ultimately get picked up by the reporter, the first and most important thing you’re trying to do is to get your press release read. And with reporters receiving dozens—even hundreds—of press releases day in and day out, this is often a more difficult feat than it might seem. That’s why it’s so important that your press release stand out from all the others and make it quick and easy for the reporter to glean the key information from your story. One of the best tactics for achieving both of these things is to add an info box to your press release. Read More
John Steinbeck, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, once said, “Your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person-a real person you know, or an imagined person-and write to that one.” Read More
When asked the question, “What annoys you about press releases?” Yahoo! Finance’s Rick Newman said, “The ones sent to me 2, 3 4 times, as if I’ll be more likely to respond; sending irrelevant material multiple times doesn’t make it any more relevant.” Read More
Offering a reporter or media outlet an exclusive can give them a huge incentive to cover your story. Every outlet wants to be the first to cover a big story, so offering them an exclusive is a great way to pique their interest while at the same time building their trust and taking the relationship to the next level. Not only that, when that outlet is the first to run with your story, they’ll be highly motivated to promote it and get as much traffic to it as possible. Read More
If you’ve spent any time on our blog at all, you know how much we love HARO. It’s one of our favorite free PR tools. You just sign up, and 3 times a day, you get an email containing a huge list of queries from reporters looking for sources for their stories. It’s an easy way to find media opportunities and potentially land huge coverage for your brand. What’s not to love about that? It would be awesome if there were more sites like HARO that made it easy to receive journalist requests and pitch yourself as a source, right? Well, it turns out there are, and while HARO might be the cream of the crop, there are some other great tools out there for finding journalist requests. Read More
If you enjoy having a beer now and again, you’ve probably noticed that more and more craft beers have been crowding store shelves in recent years. Long gone are the days when Budweiser and Miller were among your only choices for a nice, cold beverage. These days, the craft beer scene has taken off, and small, local breweries are gaining the attention of drinkers. But despite the tremendous growth of craft beer business, it still represents only a fraction of all beer sales nationwide. So, these scrappy breweries are forced to get creative if they want to stand out and make sales. That sets the stage for what just might be my favorite publicity stunt of 2014 to date. Read More
The days of sitting back and waiting for the media to come interview you or cover your company are long gone. These days, one of the best ways to get your name out there is by writing contributed articles to targeted publications your audience reads. That’s right, you need to be the content creator. Dwindling staffs and budgets have left publications of all sizes with content gaps that need to be filled, and pitching your own articles give you the ability to establish your expertise, share your message, and be a part of the conversation with your audience. It also gives you more control over the message than if someone from the publication was the one writing about you. Read More
When used properly, the press release can be one of the most effective communication tools for getting your story across. Unfortunately, the press release is one of the most commonly misused tools by brands. It has become a crutch for a lot of companies. Don’t know what to do? Send out a press release! Read More
Every day you scour the web looking for new ideas on campaigns. It’s always a good idea to keep up with what everyone else is doing if only so you know what ideas are out there. You wouldn’t want to inadvertently copy another company’s idea, after all. Read More
Looking to start a video series? It’s a great idea – the longer the world is on the web, the more they gravitate towards easy to digest material like quick videos. They’re also a way to be as interesting as you can which is important if you want the attention you deserve. Read More