Creating The Perfect Press Release

If you could create the perfect pitch for the news media, how would you go about doing it?

Many wordsmiths, seasoned publicists, savvy marketers, and creative advertisers have all tried and most often failed to get the attention of the news media with the perfect press release. Why?

The perfect press release, in theory, is well-written, short, timely, targeted to the needs of the recipient, and reflective of a story that is newsy, interesting, and most important – of concern to both the person reading the release and to the people he or she has to serve – a boss, other readers, listeners, viewers, or downloaders.

The press release also needs to be:

·         Sent to the right people at the correct media outlet

·         Customized to that individual and that outlet

·         Better than other releases sent to them

·         Filled with an obvious reason that it should be acted upon now

·         Filled with good visuals, perfect punctuation, and affiliated with a credible source

The media does not want press releases that:

·         Center on yourself without giving context to a bigger world

·         Make bold statements but don’t offer supportive evidence

·         Sound like you have already pitched everyone else first

·         Give a hint of raising questions but not in providing answers

When authors or publicists think they have the perfect pitch they often are missing something, too deluded by hope and promise to see that the story still has holes or lacks the big news hook. The key is to think like the journalist and deliver what they want, when they want it, and how they want it.

And then just pray!

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person.