Tips for effective news releases
When you’re trying to get your information out through the free media, you need to provide it in a way that’s compatible with their needs (which means their audiences’ needs) and that doesn’t cause them unnecessary work to put it into their pipeline. That means providing clear, concise and necessary information – and not fluff or what should be advertising. If you want to boost the chances of a news operation using your information, consider these tips:
· Get everything you MUST get published into the first paragraph, which should be no longer than the one you’re reading right now. That includes the 5W&H, plus contact for more information. Supplementary information – or a more feature presentation – can follow. Sometimes you’re only going to get a one-graph cut and paste. If they 20 of them in the in box and only room for a couple, you don’t want yours to be the most work.
It would look something like this:
NBA great Charles Barkley and other sports figures will promote parents as role models at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16 at Acme Toys, 12789 Lincoln St. in Phoenix, during the 16th annual MicroSoft Role Models Picnic. Admission is free. Contact: Hal DeKeyser, 602-316-6863, Hal@WestValley101.com.
Also at the event will be . . . .
· If you send the release as an attachment, send the nut graph in the text of the email so I know what I’m opening, because sometimes if I don’t, I won’t.
· If you want to include a narrative presentation, that’s great. But give me the nut graph, too. It’s fine to have that in the text of the email.
· Go ahead and send photos, logos, links, etc. whether requested or not. But don’t send slow-moving high-resolution photos until requested. Size photos down in initial emails and put a note in that high-rez images are available (if they are.)
· If it affects my audiences, by geography or topic, please don’t make me hunt to find that, because often editors won’t. You don’t have to change the lead for every news organization on your list, but if there is an Avondale person or angle or event or location involved, flag that to entities that speak to Avondale. It could be no more than: “Avondale winner: Bob Smith of Acme, Inc.” Bob’s detail could be included with a list showing everyone’s detail, but at least I know to look.
This assumes, of course, that the person sending the release knows the interests of the separate news organizations’ audiences. If you don’t, then learn that.
· Don’t send PDFs, particularly PDFs of fliers for your event. Send Word documents that are easy to cut and paste and pass on, or just publish.
· Eliminate the gushing modifiers and give the facts. While you’re at it, yank the caps lock and exclamation point keys off your keyboard and THROW THEM AWAY!!!!!!
· Use complete sentences. Many people use the following device, which is fine, but also provide the nut graph.
Who:
What
When:
Where:
Etc. etc.
· Some people in the news business are annoyed with follow-up calls to make sure the release was received and noticed. Not me. I would rather hear something I don’t care about three times than miss something I do care about. Make it quick, though.
· Don’t expect the news organization to serve as a clip service.
Here is a form I’ve given to regular sources so they provide complete information to WestValley101.com. Feel free to steal it:
NEWS RELEASE
Date of release:
Contact info:
Please describe the event, issue, organization or information you would like to get out (use complete sentences).
For example:
The Peoria Dog Club will have a free rabies vaccination clinic from 2-4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24 at Acme Park, 1234 N. 79th Ave. in Peoria. The public is invited. No reservations are necessary. Information: Bob Smith at 623-555-1234, bsmith@peoriadogs.com or visit www.Peoriadogs.com.
About Peoria Dog Club
The Peoria Dog Club is a non-profit organization of dog lovers in Peoria, AZ. The group helps dog owners with classes to train their pets and helps train owners on responsibilities of pet ownership, including health, safety, training.
If there is a story about how this evolved or what led up to it, please explain (if this doesn’t apply, leave this blank):
Who or what is the audience for the story; to whom would it apply?
Details (answer all that apply):
Address/Location(s)/Directions
Phone
Email
Website
Head of this organization and/or contact person.
Is there a charge, and if so, how much?
Any other salient information not asked on this?
If you have a photo or logo that could accompany this, please email it to us (JPEG preferred) as an attachment. You can also include a link to a web site.
Name, phone number and email of person who submitted this information:
Send this to LogontoAZnews@gmail.com.
Thank you.
If all that seems like just too much work, you can always pay someone to do it for you. If that’s the route you take, look at their work and see if it’s complete, professional and not sing-song and stilted. Having been on the receiving end of this information helps know what works.
Got a question about writing, editing or the news business? Email them to Hal@WestValley101.com.
Hal DeKeyser has 30 years experience in media, editing, writing and helping people find and get to the point. To get him to help you, contact him via Hal@WestValley101.com, www.haldekeyser.com or 602-316-6863.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
How to say more with less -- word economy
The point is located at the corner of word economy and clarity
By Hal DeKeyser
Hal DeKeyser & Associates (www.HalDeKeyser.com)
WestValley101.com
In editing reporters’ copy and marketers’ releases, I find countless words and phrases that add no meaning but take up valuable space. In the printed form, that acreage is priceless as publishers have to murder more trees to get in more words. While the Web may make that real estate much cheaper, the larger battle is for the attention of readers, who all have their own story length pain point, the spot where they say to themselves that whatever is in front of them isn’t even worth starting because it’s just too long.
So when getting their attention is so valuable, we should husband time and space as frugally as possible. A great place to start is getting rid of words we throw in for the comfort of cliché that really add no information. This may seem to be persnickety, but you would be surprised at how many useless, and sometimes silly, words take up valuable space.
Here are some tips for doing so (culled from just a few days of releases sent to me at WestValley101.com – with the content slightly changed to protect the guilty):
Words you should cut out of your language:
Located at 1234 Elm St.
If it’s lost and someone found it, it’s been located. Otherwise, it’s just “at.”
Will be held at
Will be at. “Held” adds no meaning but does add a word.
in an effort to .
Just use “to”
A total of nine
Nine
All proceeds from the event go to benefit X.
Try this: Proceeds benefit X. We can assume the “all” unless we’re told different. We don’t need “from the event” when the event is all we’ve talked about heretofore. And “go to” adds no meaning.
“They voted to pursue the purchase of . . .”
“They voted to buy . . .” Also, “buy” is much more active and much less stilted than “the purchase of.”
seeing possible signs of a recession
Doesn’t “signs” tell you that it’s just a possibility. “Signs” of a recession indicate that a recession is possible. The signs are real, not merely possible. They are the dots along the trend line that one might piece together to infer a recession. It’s not the signs that are in doubt, it is whether they signal a recession.
“You can get that directly and at no cost through X at . . . ’’
Try: “You can get that free at . . .”
“At the corner of Southern and Dobson . . .”
We can assume that where two streets meet, a corner will be part of the package. Let’s just say “at Southern and Dobson” unless we want to indicate the southwest corner or other useful information.
“He fled the scene and ran away on foot.”
First, “fled the scene” is cop talk; no one else talks like that. Of course it’s “the scene” he left; it’s not likely to be someplace else.
I love this one, “ran away on foot.” Isn’t that how most running is accomplished? If he ran away on stilts, tell me that. Otherwise, assume the reader can figure out the foot part.
All that’s needed is: “He ran away.”
“the incident that occurred at the city park . . .
The word “incident” implies action of some sort – you can’t have an incident without something moving, even if it’s just lips. So you don’t need “that occurred at.” Just say “the incident at the city park.”
Some.
That is another word thrown in casually and without regard to adding meaning. If you mean “not all,” it adds meaning, as in “Some (not all) legislators showed up.” If you just mean “a few of” or “multiple,” then the plural “legislators” says that.
That’s all for now. Find more editing and writing tips at HalDeKeyser.com, click on Resources and then Writing.
Hal DeKeyser has 30 years experience in media, editing, writing and helping people find and get to the point. To get him to help you, contact him via Hal@WestValley101.com, www.haldekeyser.com or 602-316-6863.
By Hal DeKeyser
Hal DeKeyser & Associates (www.HalDeKeyser.com)
WestValley101.com
In editing reporters’ copy and marketers’ releases, I find countless words and phrases that add no meaning but take up valuable space. In the printed form, that acreage is priceless as publishers have to murder more trees to get in more words. While the Web may make that real estate much cheaper, the larger battle is for the attention of readers, who all have their own story length pain point, the spot where they say to themselves that whatever is in front of them isn’t even worth starting because it’s just too long.
So when getting their attention is so valuable, we should husband time and space as frugally as possible. A great place to start is getting rid of words we throw in for the comfort of cliché that really add no information. This may seem to be persnickety, but you would be surprised at how many useless, and sometimes silly, words take up valuable space.
Here are some tips for doing so (culled from just a few days of releases sent to me at WestValley101.com – with the content slightly changed to protect the guilty):
Words you should cut out of your language:
Located at 1234 Elm St.
If it’s lost and someone found it, it’s been located. Otherwise, it’s just “at.”
Will be held at
Will be at. “Held” adds no meaning but does add a word.
in an effort to .
Just use “to”
A total of nine
Nine
All proceeds from the event go to benefit X.
Try this: Proceeds benefit X. We can assume the “all” unless we’re told different. We don’t need “from the event” when the event is all we’ve talked about heretofore. And “go to” adds no meaning.
“They voted to pursue the purchase of . . .”
“They voted to buy . . .” Also, “buy” is much more active and much less stilted than “the purchase of.”
seeing possible signs of a recession
Doesn’t “signs” tell you that it’s just a possibility. “Signs” of a recession indicate that a recession is possible. The signs are real, not merely possible. They are the dots along the trend line that one might piece together to infer a recession. It’s not the signs that are in doubt, it is whether they signal a recession.
“You can get that directly and at no cost through X at . . . ’’
Try: “You can get that free at . . .”
“At the corner of Southern and Dobson . . .”
We can assume that where two streets meet, a corner will be part of the package. Let’s just say “at Southern and Dobson” unless we want to indicate the southwest corner or other useful information.
“He fled the scene and ran away on foot.”
First, “fled the scene” is cop talk; no one else talks like that. Of course it’s “the scene” he left; it’s not likely to be someplace else.
I love this one, “ran away on foot.” Isn’t that how most running is accomplished? If he ran away on stilts, tell me that. Otherwise, assume the reader can figure out the foot part.
All that’s needed is: “He ran away.”
“the incident that occurred at the city park . . .
The word “incident” implies action of some sort – you can’t have an incident without something moving, even if it’s just lips. So you don’t need “that occurred at.” Just say “the incident at the city park.”
Some.
That is another word thrown in casually and without regard to adding meaning. If you mean “not all,” it adds meaning, as in “Some (not all) legislators showed up.” If you just mean “a few of” or “multiple,” then the plural “legislators” says that.
That’s all for now. Find more editing and writing tips at HalDeKeyser.com, click on Resources and then Writing.
Hal DeKeyser has 30 years experience in media, editing, writing and helping people find and get to the point. To get him to help you, contact him via Hal@WestValley101.com, www.haldekeyser.com or 602-316-6863.
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