Why Write a Press Release?

August 21, 2007 on 12:15 pm | In Press Release |
by Joseph Scott

A proper press release is a pseudo-news story that is written in third person. It should demonstrate to an editor or reporter the newsworthiness of a particular person, event, service or product.

Press releases are often written as news becomes available but can also be a part of full press kit. The publicity gained from writing a press release can be much more effective than graphic ad banners and other forms of expensive advertising.

Why should I bother with publicity? Can't I just buy lots of advertising?

As important as advertising is to a marketing program, it cannot replace publicity. The reasons:

• Credibility: Advertising is clearly understood by the audience as coming directly from the sponsoring business and, as a result, is usually taken with a grain of salt. An article initiated (or "placed") by publicity efforts is viewed as the product of the reporter who wrote it - an objective, third party observer whose positive comments about your business will carry great weight.

• Cost: A big advantage - advertising space costs money, publicity space is free. Plus, publicity helps extend your advertising dollars by reinforcing ad messages.
• Crisis: In business, things don't always go as planned. Product recalls, tampering, theft, financial crises and other unhappy events do happen. An active free publicity operation allows you to respond quickly and efficiently.
• Chronic Ad Fatigue: If you're like me, you are sick, sick, sick of advertising. It's everywhere you turn, online and off. For me, those cruel ad boys crossed the line when they stuck advertising on the wall behind home plate at Yankee Stadium (is nothing sacred anymore?). Consumers have responded in the only way they can — they're tuning it out. Look at what a flop banner advertising has been on the net. Web surfers are ignoring banners in droves. Instead, they're moved only by one thing…
• Content: People don't want ads, they want information! And when you generate free publicity, you're telling your story as part of a newspaper article, a television news story, a magazine feature or a radio interview. In other words, you're in the place where people are actually looking, not ignoring.

Source: http://www.publicityinsider.com