GAYLE WHITTAKER
Gayle Whittaker is a freelance PR consultant specialising in the waste and recycling sector. Having originally trained as a journalist, Gayle made the move into PR 23 years ago and has experience in the not-for-profit, public and private sectors. She has specialised in waste and recycling for the past 15 years.
www.huntersonmedia.co.uk
Business
When is a story not a story?
SO often companies send out press releases to their local media or trade magazines and wonder why they don’t get any coverage. Does that sound familiar?
Whether you’re employing a professional PR agency or asking your office junior to have a go or attempting to write press releases themselves, the key is always a well-written story targeted to the right media.
Journalists are bombarded on a daily basis with dozens of press releases all vying for attention. News outlets are no different to any other business. They have competitors, and they need to be the best they can be to attract the readers and followers they need, to pull in the advertisers that fund their business. Without interesting news to report on, they wouldn’t exist. So reprinting words just for the sake of it doesn’t cut the mustard for them.
A journalist’s role is to sift out the genuine news from the fluff. Can you imagine how tedious a job that might be? Hence they can often have little patience with incoming emails.
So how do you make sure your press release stands out for the right reasons? Here are some tips to help you on your way:
1.What’s the story? This might sound simple but what’s newsworthy to you is not necessarily newsworthy to anyone else. A good tip for testing out whether you actually have a story is to ask yourself: “Would I tell my spouse/mates this when I see them later tonight?” If the answer is no because it’s boring… well, there’s your answer.
2. Tell the story well. What is the actual ‘angle’? If you’ve won a new contract, say that in the first paragraph. Don’t waste words and risk losing the journalist’s attention by waffling on about the business unnecessarily. Cut to the chase. You can give company background later on in the release.
3. Cover the story concisely with the five ‘W’s. What has happened? Who is involved? Why did it happen? Where did it happen? And when did it happen? Press releases should be one page maximum. Also, make sure you include your contact details and a photo where you can to make your recipient’s job as easy as possible.
4. Don’t get technical. Business speak is no-one’s friend. Journalists want plain English, mainly because, as readers, that’s what we all want as well. So, don’t use jargon, do spell out acronyms fully and stay away from technical language. It’s not big or clever!
5. Once you have your perfectly pitched press release you need to work out where to send it. A big mistake many companies make is sending releases to media outlets that just won’t be interested. The Daily Mail does not care that you’ve won an award, but your local paper probably will, especially if there’s a nice photo of local faces to go with it.
6. Get to know your local and trade journalists if you can. Nothing beats the trust that regular contact can build. Also, keep an eye on deadlines. Remember, online news is instant but most magazines still need a month or two lead in time.
So, if you’re hoping to get something published in the December issue, speak to them about it in October.
Happy writing! 53
Clinic PUBLIC RELATIONS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
