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         Notice To All - A Change of Name

Jaydenews is undergoing a name change to WebProNews. We believe that the new name better reflects our content which focuses primarily on issues of interest to webmasters. Please make a mental note of this newsletter name change. The name transition will be gradual with some mention of Jayde being made in upcoming issues, but within a few weeks all references to Jaydenews will be dropped..

         
          Creating a Powerful Press Release
       Part 2
       by Patrick Tan

My first article, "Creating A Powerful Press Release" showed how to write a good press release in a format and style that appeals to editors. It received favorable response from many readers and a number requested more in-depth information. If you missed this article, you can read it at:

www.jaydenews.com/archives/022500.html

In this part 2 of the article, you will learn how to identify the angle or headline of a story. This is the most important step in writing a press release. The correct choice of a story's angle will greatly increase the chance of having your story published by the media.



1) IDENTIFY YOUR READERS

Do you understand your consumers well? As marketers, it is important for you to recognize the profile and buying behavior of your consumers. Information such as their age groups, interests and preferred media would come in handy when you want to reach out to them effectively.

The key to an effective communication, whether verbal or written, lies in presenting your message to an interested audience or readers. Whenever possible, you should only send your press releases to those media whose readers' profile matches that of your target consumers.

To increase the chance of having your story published, you must send your press release to the right persons. Look through the chosen newspapers and identify those reporters who cover events or activities that share the same theme as your products or services. You can identify the reporters by the articles' byline.



2) PRIORITIZE YOUR MESSAGES

Before you start writing a press release, you should list down all the relevant facts and details on a piece of paper. This is a good writing practice. It helps you to organize your story better. I encourage every writer to make it a habit to do so.

How should you go about collating all the information and facts surrounding a particular event? A simple rule of thumb is to find answers to questions pertaining to the who, what, when, where, why or 5 Ws of the event. And don't stop at just the absolute facts and figures. These must be presented in the right perspective relative to some industry norms, trends and statistics. You may have to undertake some research by going through past industry and newspaper reports.

The next step is to evaluate and prioritize the facts according to their relative importance in conveying your intended message to the media. The most important fact will form the basis for your story's angle.



3) RELATE MESSAGE TO READERS

What you want to say about your product or service may not be the same as what your readers want to know. What this means is that you and your readers may look at the same event from totally different perspectives.

To kindle your readers' interest, you must present your intended message from their perspective. If you have done a good job in understanding your readers, you should have no problem in empathizing with their view and interest. This is widely known in journalism as having "a nose for news". It all boils down to having a sharp sensitivity to factors that make a person tick!

For example:
A non-profit organization may want to rally the community to support its vision of increasing the number of foster care homes for homeless cats and dogs in the neighborhood.

This message might go down well with pet lovers whose love for pets would be sufficient motivation for them to provide a home for the homeless cats and dogs. But, it may not necessarily touch the heart of the majority.

The organization could, however, increase its chances of getting community support by focusing on how a greater number of foster care homes could help alleviate the problems associated with having too many stray cats and dogs in the neighborhood.

In other words, the organization is providing a solution to a problem, which, if left unchecked, could become a menace to the community. For example, stray cats and dogs running loose on busy streets could result in traffic accidents. To highlight the severity of the problem, a statement of this kind should be supported with statistics.

The above example illustrates how we can present the same event - provide foster care homes for cats and dogs - from two different perspectives - a love for pets (organization) and a concern that stray cats and dogs could become a menace (community).



4) PRESENT STORY IN RIGHT CONTEXT

The above example also demonstrates the importance of presenting your story in the right context. It is a fact that there are many homeless cats and dogs in the neighborhood. But can you establish the claim that stray cats and dogs could become a menace to the community. You may have to undertake some research by going through past community and and newspaper reports. If necessary, consider conducting an opinion poll at your website, or in your neighborhood, to gauge public response.

You are now ready to present the headline or angle of your story. Using the above example, the headline could go like this:

Say "NO" to stray cats and dogs!

Sub-headline:
[Name of organization] offers solution to clear up the streets.

Opening paragraph:
Giving stray cats and dogs a home may be the answer to a long- standing problem, which if left unchecked, could grow to become a menace to our community.

Followed by statistics:
. . . . . to illustrate the severity of the problem.

Followed by details and merits of increasing the number of foster care homes for homeless cats and dogs in the neighborhood.

The above tips should help you get started on writing a press release yourself. Remember that practice makes perfect and the best way to learn how to write an effective press release is to observe how business news is reported in the business section of your newspapers.



Article by Patrick Tan of Aloha-City.
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