The Small Business Press Release
This blog entry was posted on April 24, 2008.
The small business owner is always looking for low cost or no cost opportunities to promote their business. The press release is an excellent way to do this. This can be self prepared and released to local media for free; as well as to online newswire sites.
Successful press releases should be a legitimate story that will interest a journalist and your targeted audience. Your press release should cover trends, issues and concerns for your niche or area. Stay away from blatant self-promotion, such as highlighting a new client or talking about how great your product or service is. A good press release answers all of the “W” questions (who, what, where, when and why).
Get to know your local media and the types of stories that they cover. Many of their stories may be dominated by wire stories; but look at the local stories. Who does these stories and what merits coverage? Get to know the editor what sorts of press releases he or she will use.
You should send your press release to journalists that cover your industry. Create a list of journalists that write about your market by looking at other news stories. Then locate their contact information by Googling them. After you send a copy of your release, follow up with a phone call.
If you want to promote your business to a wider audience, consider using the free and low cost online services such as Free-Press-Release.com, PRweb.com or PRzoom.com. More costly services include businesswire.com and PRNewswire.
Consider adding a press room to your website. Include resource materials including photos, history and other background info. Include links to other articles that have been published. This will help journalists easily make changes or additions to your press release.
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