The reason why most press releases get deleted rather than published is because the people who send them make a series of small but killer mistakes. Fortunately, as a business mentor, I’ve seen these mistakes first-hand and know how to avoid them. Let’s look at the three killer mistakes and the proven actions (that any business mentor would recommend) you can take to avoid them.
Your press release is irrelevant
It’s critical to ensure that every press release you send out is totally relevant to the people you send it to. The easiest way to know this is to consume the media you are targeting. Buy the magazine, listen to the radio station, read the website.
Relevance is the first quality filter that journalists apply to press releases. And that’s what makes the headline of the release so important.
It’s from the headline that the journalist judges whether or not to read the rest of the press release; and these days, whether or not to even open the email (this is why you should put the headline of your release as the subject line of your email when you contact journalists). So your headline must scream relevance. There’s no time to be subtle: you have one second to demonstrate that your release is relevant and worthy of their time.
If you are sending a press release to journalists writing about the city of Leeds, for example, you must have the word “Leeds” in your headline. If you are sending something to The Accountant magazine, the word “accountant” or “financial” must be in there. You get the idea.
Test your headline by comparing it to the headlines you see in the magazine or newspaper of your choice. If your headline looks as though it could be seen in that magazine, you are going in the right direction. Ask your business mentor if you are in any doubt, as their input could be a major help.
Your timing is wrong
There are three aspects to getting timing right. The first is when you are reacting to stories that are already in the news. So long as the story is still in the news then it is worth doing. Just remember to offer a new and different angle and consult with your business mentor to create a really strong one.
The second aspect of timing is around what journalists call “diary events” such as Christmas, Crufts and campaigns. These are diary events because everyone knows when they will happen, unlike other news stories such as crashes and crime.
Because diary events are anticipated, journalists can write about them long before they happen. Most businesses are unable to think that far ahead so miss out on these easy PR opportunities. You’re not going to make that mistake anymore because you can ring and ask your target publications what editions they will be working on when and get stories to them at the right time.
The third aspect of timing is what’s known as ‘the news cycle’. This is the process each media outlet goes through to produce news, and differs hugely in length. Each news cycle is driven by one thing: an immovable deadline.
You need to find out the deadline of the media outlets you want publicity in and approach them at the start of their news cycle.
You send out a press release that doesn’t have any Standoutability
What is Standoutability? It’s the X-factor that helps a press release stand out from the pack.
Unusual is good. Different is good. Remember you are battling against 300 other press releases for attention. In my work as a business mentor I encourage all my clients to pinpoint what makes them different.
You can’t expect to do ordinary things and attract attention.
Add Standoutability to your press release, and so long as it is relevant and the timing is right… your chances of getting free publicity will increase significantly. I’ve seen it work over and over again for clients who’ve hired me as a business mentor and I guarantee it will work for you!
