When is a Press Release Not a Press Release?
Publishers receive a lot of "so-called" Press Releases to run in their publications. The only problem is, the Press Release is written like a high-pressured sales pitch for a product or service.
What's wrong with this picture?
A Press Release is a NEWS story about your product. It IS NOT a sales pitch. There is a distinct difference because a sales pitch often can be an irritation whereas a news story helps the reader learn something to benefit them, which leads to your company having the perfect solution to the problem.
Think about it for a moment. Do you know anybody who loves watching hours and hours of television commercials? Even QVC and The Home Shopping Club on TV get boring after awhile. They contain one high-pressured sales pitch after another. Most people get sick of watching them. (Is there anyone in the world that rushes home just to watch The Home Shopping Club?)
And don't you hate sitting down to watch that football game, Oprah Winfrey, or a movie, only to spend 1/4 of that time watching television commercials? Of course! High-pressured sales pitches are tiring to watch, let alone spending time reading about.
How about the magazines you buy? Would you buy them if they only had pages after pages of advertisements? Of course not. You buy magazines to read articles related to your interests and to learn something to benefit your life.
There is no room for advertisements in a Press Release. Besides, if you submit a press release that contains only advertising, it appears like you are attempting to get free advertising. Remember, the publication has people who have PAID for their ads. Press Releases are needed to provide real information so the reader can learn something not bore them with another advertisement.
Some people don't know how to slant their writing for a Press Release to conform to newsworthy content. The best place to learn is from the newspapers and magazines you buy.
But to help you get started, let's use the following example: Let's say Betty just joined Ocean Int'l and wants to try and start building her downline. Instead of using an advertisement to write a Press Release, Betty should call the company first and see if they have a Press Release already written. If not, Betty should start composing her Press Release as a testimonial of her experience with the product. This is NEWS!
Finally, after Betty tells how Ocean Int'l has changed her life, she ends the Press Release with a small paragraph inviting people interested in the product to contact her personally or to write for additional information. Yes, this small paragraph at the end is the only sales pitch in your Press Release. The other 98% is filled with information to inform the reader.
If you follow this advice, your Press Relese will have a much better chance of being used by the publisher. The publisher will be happy to offer something newsworthy to his/her readers. And you'll build a solid base of customers.
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