Press Releases

The importance of press releases

In the newspaper business, editors hate “white space.” White space is when there are open areas in the paper that aren’t filled with articles or ads. Every now and then, an article will fall through for a newspaper at the last minute, so the editor will have to scramble to fill the area where the article was going to be placed; this space is called white space. At these times, the editor will usually look into a special file that he or she has for such occasions and find something to fill the space. This special file usually consists of press releases that have been written and submitted to the paper.

A press release is an article that is placed in a newspaper or other press area to fill the white spaces. The press release is usually announcing a major event for a business, like the launching of a website, a new product coming to market, a service project that the company performed, or just sales and growth announcements. Once your website is completed, you will want to have a press release written up and ready to be submitted to the online and offline newspapers and other press areas.

Many people first hear of websites through press releases. Millions of people read the papers every day, both online and offline. Therefore, if you can get articles making announcements about your business in these press areas, your website traffic can increase substantially.

Steps to using press releases

There are three main steps to writing and submitting press releases:
Do research on what to write in your press release.
Write at least two press releases.
Submit the press releases to both online and offline areas.

1. Do research on what to write in your press release.
A press release is essentially free advertising. Editors are not interested in putting free advertising in their papers; therefore, you will need to research as much as you can to know what the editors look for in a press release. The more research that you do, the better chance you'll have to get your press release included.

The best way to this research is to go to the search engines and type in "how to write a press release" or "writing a press release" or something like that. Make sure you put quotation marks around the phrase your searching for – this will narrow down your search. This research will give you information on what you want to have in your press release – information like articles from actual editors as to what to include and not include.

Some great press release research websites are www.press-release-writing.com and www.newsbureau.com.

2. Write at least two press releases.
Once you’ve done your research, the next step is to actually write the press release. You will want to write at least two press releases – one to a local audience and one to a national audience.

The press release for the local audience will focus on the fact that you're from the local area in which you reside. Make it personal or "hometown" sounding. The national press release will be submitted to a national audience both online and offline. Make this press release more general.

In writing the press release, make it short and to the point, and make sure that it does not sound like an advertisement. Come up with a newsworthy angle about your online business. Focus on how your company can benefit the community.

The primary functions of a press release is not to publicize your business or help sell your products, but to provide news, entertainment, and relevant information to readers. Write your press release with this in mind.

The 1st paragraph is the lead paragraph. This should not be longer than 3-4 lines long. Answer the 5 W's: What? Why? Who? When? & Where? The rest of the paragraphs should be simple sentences answering these questions. The paragraphs should be short.

Write in 3rd person so that it doesn't look like you're writing an ad for your company. To get your release noticed, position your company against competing companies in some way, the press loves conflict.

3. Submit the press releases to both online and offline areas.
Now that the press release is written, it’s time to get it out there in front of people. In dealing with submitting your press release, you will want to submit to both online and offline areas.

In working with offline submission, realize that it is very difficult to get a press release in large publications, make certain your press release stands out from the rest by tailoring it to specific magazines or newspapers. Only 1 in 10 press releases actually get submitted – this is why you want to do good research ahead of time.

Treat each editor like a unique customer, and cater to his or her needs. Develop a relationship with each editor. Get to know them. After a relationship is solid, it is quite easy to convince them to write a feature article on you, your product/service, or something special you offer.

In working with online submission areas, submit your press release to as many areas as you can. Use the free submission sites. As you do research and find sites that deal with writing your press release, you'll also find sites that will offer to submit your press release.

You can also go to the search engines and type in "free press release submission" and you will find many articles giving websites that offer to submit your press releases.

Online websites and resources
personal finance
www.press-release-writing.com
www.newsbureau.com
www.searcher.com
www.prweb.com
www.prnewswire.com
www.gebbieinc.comwww.gapent.com/pr