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There is no doubt that the more you write press releases and speak to journalists the more ‘in tune’ you will become about what is needed to secure coverage. Unfortunately, some organisations, particularly small businesses, try to do their own PR but then become disillusioned when they don’t get results. The more you write and issue press releases the better you will become.

You don’t need to be an expert to achieve press and media coverage for your organisation, but you do need to be aware of the obvious mistakes and how to avoid them. Mistakes such as:

Having no news - the number one turn off for any journalist will be that their time has been wasted with a press release that has no news content. It’s important to ensure that your contact with any journalist is meaningful – that there is a reason for you contacting them and that they will get something out of it.

Missing the deadline – journalists will work to different deadlines depending on the type of media and frequency of broadcast/publication. You need to know the important deadlines and whether there are other opportunities should you miss the deadline that is up and coming.

Blatant promotion – even if you have a news story overly promoting your organisation could put a huge turn off for a journalist. Remember, they are interested in the story – the news value that the story has.

Too much information – it can be tempting to outline every single piece of information in the press release. This is a waste of time – journalists want the news upfront. The aim of the press release is to get the journalist interested in the story so that they contact you for more information.

Not being prepared – if you are not available to answer questions from journalists after the issue of the press release then you will miss out on opportunities. There is no excuse for not being available or not having much of the information you need to handle any enquiries.

Certainly, there are many other aspects you need to take into account but if you can address the points presented here then that will help to set you in the right direction.

Using PR to build your profile and protect your reputation can help you influence the audiences that are important to you - I invite you to access more free articles, tips and information on this and other subjects by visiting the ‘free stuff‘ section of the website - http://www.profilematters.co.uk/resources.php

You can also receive regular advice, support and information by signing up to the newsletter - http://www.profilematters.co.uk

Debbie Leven - Profile Matters

Tags: journalist, media, news, newspaper, PR, press, press release, public relations, publicity, radio, television

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