Publicity: dealing with the press

[Susana]

Hi!

Time has come to issue our first press release and I have had an idea:

Instead of the standard press release, I was thinking of putting together a pack with three or four pages:
- Small introduction: what we do
- A series of possible themes for the newspaper/magazine to write about when they run out of ideas (70/30 pictures and text)

My company is travel-related and I could supply quirky, interesting and informative material about less-known areas of Spain and Spanish life.

Have you tried something similar (not necessarily travel-related)? Did it work?

Eager to hear from those who have experience in dealing with the press.

Thank you

Sue

[BIZAL]

Try the online press release sites as well. As far as packs go less is more i.e. get to the point quickly.

[Susana]

Thank you. - I get the hint and agree with you -

The problem with internet strategy is that is there for everybody to see, and until I am able to process credit card payments I can't really afford to serve non-UK clients. I'm now trying to localise my offer, instead of spreading it to the world.

Will have a look anyway, too much information never killed anyone.

Ta!

Sue

[Ian J]

In a previous life I published a free local newspaper. We received a large number of press releases and from my experience I think that "short & sweet" is best as the editors may not devote the time to plough through pages of stuff that may or may not be of use to them.

[pressd]

A press pack should contain;
A company backgrounder
Personal profiles of key staff (two)
A product / service / event descriptor
Supporting images

Here's a link to the one we provide [url]http://www.pressdispensary.co.uk/99343/electronic_press_pack.php[url]

We have the following free tips for dealing with the press at [url]http://www.pressdispensary.co.uk/99323/press_release_hints_and_tips.php[url]
Tips on writing a press release
Tips on when to issue a press release
Tips on liaising with journalists

[Hermes]

Hi Sue,

As a one-time, but very successful, Press Relations man the key to your 'Release' is it has to be "Newsy".
Short and sweet is ok but if there's no 'meat' it won't run.

Glad to advise more if you wish.

Hermes

[Copywriter]

When I was a journalist we used to receive a huge amount of press packs which the senders had clearly spent a lot of time and money on: they'd be filled with glossy photos, pages worth of information, sometimes even free gifts. Unfortunately, none of these companies ever appeared in our newspaper because while they were busy putting together a beautiful press pack, most of these businesses had forgotten to research the publication and give us the kind of story we really wanted to publish.

I'm not saying that's what you'd do, of course, Sue :-) But I think you're time would probably be better spent finding a really great angle for your press release and putting it across as invitingly and succinctly as possible. Remember, most journalists don't have a lot of time on their hands, so you could spend a lot of time putting your information together, only for it to go go unread. The key is to try and grab their attention in the first few lines: often that's all they'll bother reading.