The next time you think about writing a press release, ask yourself- “Will anyone really care?”  Chances are, besides your mom, the people in your company, and maybe your clients, no one will give a damn about the fact that you just signed a new client (unless it’s Google) or that you won an award for best decorated Christmas tree in your town of 5,000.

Am I saying that those things don’t matter and that you shouldn’t talk about them at all?  No.  They are very important parts of a comprehensive PR strategy, but they are not what a good release makes.  You should talk about the “smaller victories”–on your blog, on your Facebook page, in an email newsletter.

A press release should really make a journalists job easy.  They have to write A LOT and are always on deadline.  Don’t swamp them with mundane information that they will not want to write about or incomplete information that makes them have to spend their precious time digging for more.

If you’re going to take the time to write a press release,

• make sure it’s something more than you care about
• if it seems that it might be too mundane, think about a different pitch
• paint a picture and then sell your story
• include factual information (and never, EVER lie)
• include necessary links and information that the writer can quickly access to add under a tight deadline
• be readily accessible to the journalist for any additional questions that may arise

Press people- what do you think?  What makes a good press release?  What really peeves you?

Thank you so much to Todd Wickersty at Business Bullpen for inviting me to guest post on their blog today.  See the full post on their blog by clicking “read more” below!

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Those who are not active on Twitter (or have never signed up) frequently ask: “What’s the point?” or “Is this really going to help my business?”

The short answer is: yes.  I know that it works because it has worked for our business in 6 very distinct ways.  The holy grail of social media still leaves the question of how to effectively analyze social media efforts.  It seems that John Lovett and Jeremiah Owyang, from Web Analytics Demystified and the Altimeter Group, are on the right track for creating a framework.  Until then, the list of 6 will have to be statistics free.

Creating leads. Twitter helps foster relationships if used properly.  It’s a way to engage in conversation and offer answers when asked—without expecting anything in return.

Click here to read more…

We are very excited to be working with Ondine Karady, former set decorator for Sex and the City, finalist in Bravo TV’s Top Design, and acclaimed interior designer.  Ondine was just recently named one of 20 Young Designers by Traditional Home.

We will be working with Ondine on spreading her great design and personality even further through the beauties of social media and online PR.

As part of the 20 Young Designers feature from Traditional Home, the magazine is holding a Reader’s Choice contest.  Please support Ondine and support us by voting for her!

Note:  Make sure that you click on the “Vote!” button and not just the “Like” button to vote!

Also, by voting you are automatically entered to win a complete room design and $5,000 in fabric to outfit the room so there’s some extra incentive…besides your undying love for us.

PRWeb is sponsoring a free webinar entitled “Small Business Marketing: Use PR to Grow Your Business“.

Wednesday, October 22nd at 2:00 pm Eastern

Entrepreneur Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Amy C. Cosper and Host of Startup BizCast and EndGame PR President Steve Mullen will lead the webinar to discover powerful, cost-effective ways to build your business.

Learn more and register: https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=123560&sessionid=1&key=C199278534EE843AACD69D36A07438B6&sourcepage=register

Sorry for the short notice but if you can attend, it looks like it will be well worth your time!