One of the first things you want to do is make a public announcement, in the form of a press release, that your business exists and is open. This may be the first time anyone has the opportunity to learn about your business and you want to make a good impression on the readers. Very few local publications will print a press release just because you write it and send it in. OK, so maybe they are not as excited as you are about our new endeavor. Find an angle that will make them interested. Once you are certain that the information is indeed newsworthy, a good heading is a great place to start. If you study the regular articles in your daily or weekly papers, you’ll see that the titles of the articles are written to attract the readers’ attention. You need to make their job easy: if they have to work to pull interesting or relevant facts from your piece, they won’t bother. Stick to the facts.
Get the good stuff out up front—in the first ten to 12 words if possible. Don’t use a lot of adjectives. Edit harshly. If you can’t do it, have someone else edit it for you. Provide your contact information:
_ Phone and fax numbers
_ Address
_ URL
_ E-mail address
Use some creativity to get people interested. Look for an interesting angle, an offbeat, comical, or ironic twist. Create your press release with the readers in mind. Make it short, interesting, and above all, give it a catchy title. If you stick to this plan you’ll have a better chance of seeing your press release in print.
As for press kits, don’t waste money on fancy folders. Most of my press kits are e-mailed, faxed, or downloaded from one of my web sites. Include some or all of these in yours:
_ Press releases
_ Bio
_ Company background
_ Clips of other coverage/list of media appearances
_ Suggested interview questions (may be different for print, radio, or TV)
_ Product sample(s)
Include your contact information, including e-mail, web address, and phone on every page.
Many weekly community papers have a feature called “Business of the Week” or “Business Person of the Week.” You’ll have an easier time getting into that feature—at least in the edition that covers your geographic area—if you do a little paid advertising in the publication now and again. Call the editor and ask him or her to consider you for the feature. Provide a photo of you inside or in front of your location. Put together some black-and-white photos, as well as color, for different opportunities that come along.
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