How to Write a Killer Press Release in 15 Minutes

If you’ve taken my advice and employed the leaky faucet approach to PR, you’re writing a number of press releases on a consistent basis. Obviously, you don’t want to spend any more time writing your press releases than you have to. (Read more…)

5 Things to Check before Sending That Press Release

So you’ve just written a press release, and you’re ready to blast it out to your media list. Not so fast, partner. Before you send out a press release, you need to do a quick quality check to ensure it’s the best it can be. (Read more…)

3 Times When You Shouldn’t Write a Press Release

Here on the PR Fuel blog, we spend a lot of time offering tips for press release writing, covering everything from how to hook editors with strong openings to fact checking your press release. Today, I want to go in a little bit of a different direction. I want to talk about not writing press releases. More specifically, I want to discuss the situations when you shouldn’t write a press release because it’s a waste of your time. (Read more…)

Just the Facts: Ensuring Accuracy in Your Press Releases

When you’re writing a press release, you’re in a constant battle to create an interesting story that grabs journalists’ attention without using marketing hype or exaggerated claims. To be effective, a press release needs to be unbiased and completely accurate. If a journalist gets even a hint that you’re exaggerating or making unsubstantiated claims, you can bet your press release will get deleted instantly. (Read more…)

5 Reasons Your DIY PR Campaign is Failing

With the economy forcing many businesses to cut costs wherever possible, a growing number of companies are stretching their dollar by handling their own PR rather than hiring a firm. And while you can certainly be successful with DIY PR, it’s almost always challenging. (Read more…)

Party Hats Required

I sent an email yesterday welcoming customers of a company we just acquired. It included a staff photo welcoming these customers (see below). I followed up today with an email asking for customer feedback. I got it. (Read more…)

Ask Mickie: Can a Press Release Save My Company?

Darby writes:

Times are tough. Money is more than tight. Can a press release save my company?

Mickie responds:

I’m not going to sugarcoat this. A single press release is unlikely to save your company. I can’t give you Vegas odds. They’re probably better than a state lottery, but reality is that a single press release is simply a start. (Read more…)

Press Release Tips: Hook Editors with Strong Openings

If you want your press release to get an editor’s attention, you need to get to the point as quickly as possible. Dozens of press releases stream into a newsroom every day. Most of them end up in the trash because an editor simply didn’t have time to read through the whole release to grasp the writer’s point. (Read more…)