Now that you know the basics of what your press release should involve and you know who you are targeting, all that is left to do is to get out there and to start submitting your press releases! The first step to this end though, is going to involve building your list and that’s where things can be a little complicated. Your job here then is to begin researching.
Right Sites
Targeting and Planning © Amir Kaljikovic / fotolia.com
Firstly, you need to ensure that the site you are looking at submitting to is going to be one that might cover your story and that has some potential interest in what you have to say. That means first and foremost that you are going to think about your audience. Who is your news targeting? And which magazines and websites serve that same audience?
For those familiar with digital marketing, the term ‘targeting’ might well be familiar. Ultimately, this is the practice of having a very clear target audience in mind and then making sure that said target audience is the audience of that site. This is common sense as it means that the story is going to be seen by the same audience that might potentially be interested in buying from you. And anything else is of course a waste of time.
But that’s not the extent of your research. What’s also worth doing is looking at the different types of articles that the website or magazine normally runs. Look at the stories they normally publish and from that you can ask yourself whether this is a site that is likely to want to write a story about what you’re covering.
Right Pitch
Another good tip when doing this research, is to consider making multiple different press releases and pitches and then targeting the right magazine or newspaper or website with each one.
This makes sense when considering the different angles you can take on the same story. If your angle is to write about how a local managed to build their own business, then that is a great angle for local papers and local radio. On the other hand though, this won’t be so interesting for an industry magazine though, which might be more intrigued to cover the new methods you’re using to manufacture your products.
It’s also worth considering the tone of target outlet too and the way they normally handle stories. While you shouldn’t be injecting tone or style into your press release – remember this is a factual and objective report – it can still pay to think about the best way to pitch your story for the destination in mind.
Right Timing
Right Timing © PureSolution / fotolia.com
Finally, it’s useful to think about when a magazine goes to press, when certain shows are aired on the radio, etc.
You can always ask for an overview of topics and deadlines at newspapers and journals so that you can fit your announcements in around those. Think about the other news that is happening at any given time as well: is this a big news day or a slow news day? Is this a big news month?
Would it be better to announce your new product at a time when every company is doing the same thing in order to capitalize on the ‘buzz’? Or would it be smarter to wait a while for a quiet patch and then stand out by being the only show in town? This will likely come down to the state of the market, the size of your business and the competition that you’re facing.
And another thing to think about is potentially prepping your target with a kind of ‘pre’ pre-release. In other words, don’t simply announce out of the blue that your company is releasing a new exciting product (though this can create an exciting kind of ‘clamor’). Instead, announce the news that you’re working on developing such a product and then develop this further with subsequent updates.