AUTHOR’S NOTE:
I originally wrote this article in my capacity as Publisher/Editor of the Florida Jewish News. While some of the tips specifically target Jewish organizations, you’ll find that they can all be easily adapted to fit your individual needs.

Press releases sent to local and niche publications can be a great way to get free publicity for your product, service, or organization. But it’s important to remember that editors are literally flooded with press releases on a daily basis.

Here are two dozen ways to make sure your release stands out in the crowd, and to increase your chances of having it get picked up by the publication(s) you are targeting.

1. Don’t be the boy who cried wolf.

If you send press releases more than two or three times a week, chances are they contain day-to-day developments within your organization. While these tidbits may be big news to you, editors who receive hundreds of press releases a day will generally not be as excited by them as you are (to say the least). In fact, they will eventually be conditioned to hit the Delete button as soon as they see your name in the “From” column, without even bothering to read your release. When you finally do send the “big news” item they’d actually want to cover, the email might never even be opened.

Better: If you like to send all of your “little” developments to the media, send them as bullet points, compiled into one email, no more than once a week.

2. Target, target, target.

Don’t just blast out the same press release to every media outlet on your list! Find angles on what you do that would appeal to the audience of each particular publication. Even a simple change to the subject line can make all the difference in the world.

This is especially important for a national or regional organization that wants to be written up in the local papers. When the Orthodox Union emails their press releases to us at the Florida Jewish News, they always make special mention in the subject line if the release refers to one of their South Florida synagogues. At the very least, you can be sure our editor will open that release and read it!

3. Grab my attention with the first sentence

Open up your local daily newspaper and read the first paragraph of any major news story. Within the first or second sentence, you should already have a basic idea of what the story is all about. They often don’t start giving you background details until the middle of the story or later. This is exactly how you should write your press release.

Keeping the reader in suspense may be fine for Stephen King, but it’s a surefire way to keep your story from being read by a busy editor!

4. Know who’s who at each publication

Find out who should receive calendar events, who gets press releases, and who fields story pitches. There may be different people for each type of submission, so it’s important to know who those people are and how to reach them. The less you bother an editor with submissions that are not within the purview of his/her job description, the greater your chances of getting that editor’s attention with the submissions that are.

5. Include the essential elements

Every news story (and your press release should be no exception) needs to comprise the five W’s — Who, What, Where, When and Why — plus their first cousin, How, which reflects the context.

In terms of Who, What, Where, When and Why, these are the factual building blocks that appear in the first two paragraphs. How can then follow in the third paragraph.

  • Who: identifies the individual (or organization) — the subject — being discussed.
  • What: identifies the event, or the speaker; “What” reflects the subject of the story.
  • Why: answers “Why is this important?”
  • Where: answers “Where is this taking place?” or “Where did it take place?”
  • When: answers “When is this taking place,” or “When did it take place?”
  • How: explains how this all came about and/or how it is being implemented.

6. Send your story as a plain text email.

Many newspapers (especially local weeklies) do not have large clerical and editorial staffs waiting around to retype your release. The easier it is to copy and paste it directly from an email, the better your chances of having it run (at the very least) as a news brief. Sometimes, papers don’t know until the big stories have been laid in place, and deadline is upon them, whether there will be room for a few local briefs. If they can grab the text of your press release and quickly edit it, it stands a much better chance of appearing.

For this reason, it is best to avoid sending releases as PDF files, faxes, or mailed hard copies. Even attached documents may be unreadable; most people can open Microsoft Word documents, but not everyone can view WordPerfect and other word processing formats. Best bet: send plain text.

7. Follow up with a phone call

An editor who gets hundreds of emails a day might not notice the one you sent unless you take a few moments to point it out to them by phone. That also gives you the opportunity to clarify facts, answer questions, or pitch why the readers of that particular publication might enjoy this particular story.

8. A picture really is worth 1,000 words

Sometimes, you might have a photo of a recent happening that’s so good, it stands by itself and doesn’t need a big story to go along with it. If the paper you’re targeting uses stand-alone photos, send it with a clear caption. But make sure you follow the rules detailed in the next tip…

9. Send usable photos

Whether you’re sending a stand-alone photo or including photos with a story, here are some important things to consider:

  • Send high-resolution (not web quality) digital photos. Hint: if the file size of the photo you are sending is smaller than 150KB, chances are it’s not printable.
  • Never send photos embedded in Microsoft Word documents. Always send them as separate attachments.
  • Pick no more than two or three of the best and send them with clearly written captions.
  • And remember: Action photos are much more engaging than those that depict people stiffly posing for the shot.

10. Offer yourself as an expert

Make sure the writers and editors know they can call you whenever they are working on a story that pertains to your (or your organization’s) area of expertise. Even when you don’t have exciting news to report, you can get your organization mentioned in an article simply by being quoted as an expert on the subject matter at hand.

11. Offer yourself as a speaker for local events

As in the previous tip, this is a great way to bring coverage to your organization, even when the story is not about the organization. If the event gets media coverage, your name, the name of your organization, and the topic on which you spoke may be included in the article. Bonus: You may even be quoted!

12. Offer free content

Some editors might be thrilled to publish articles on subjects that your organization deals with, as long as these articles are not about your organization. For example, if your organization helps the elderly, you could provide articles on subjects dealing with issues affecting senior citizens. The publication benefits because they now have useful content they can offer their readers (without incurring cost); you benefit because in most cases, the publication will print the name of your organization and perhaps a phone number and/or web site address in a blurb at the end of the article (you can require that they provide this information in exchange for your free content).

Over the years, I have heard from business people and heads of organizations who have told me that they get more benefit from articles like these than from any other type of publicity (including paid advertising!). When you are perceived as an expert, and you provide helpful information that people can use (without it sounding like a commercial for your organization), they will call on you when the need arises.

13. Offer free mini-features

Get your name out there on a consistent basis by offering a steady flow of “mini features” that a newspaper can use on a regular basis, in exchange for a mention of your organization at the bottom.

Last year, when Encyclopaedia Judaica (the world’s premier Jewish encyclopedia) announced the release of their newly updated edition, we recommended to them that they begin sending a collection of “Today in Jewish History” snippets to the various Jewish newspapers around the country. To this day, they send them out on a monthly basis, and the papers print them, along with a credit line referring people to the Encyclopaedia Judaica web site.

Find a topic that fits your niche, a topic in which you would be able to provide an endless flow of fun facts, and package them for newspapers. Some examples…

  • Historical facts (today in history)
  • Gardening tips
  • Brain teasers
  • Joke of the Week
  • Health tips
  • “By the numbers” - quick facts and figures on a particular topic

Important tips:

  • Keep your mini features short and sweet
  • Send out a few samples along with a pitch letter to the publciations you are targeting. Make sure it is understood that the feature is free as long as they run the credit line you specify.
  • Send them out with plenty of lead time, and always be consistent in when and how they go out
  • Send them via email as plain text for easy copying and pasting
  • Include the credit line in every email. Don’t assume the layout department will know to carry over from the previous week’s edition.

14. Provide plenty of lead time

Sometimes an announcement doesn’t appear, or a paper is unable to send a reporter, simply because they did not get an item in time. Provide ample notice of an upcoming event. Remember that you have a few opportunities for coverage: a preview article that precedes the event (perhaps a “curtain-raising” profile of the honoree or guest speaker), or an after-the-fact article that usually includes coverage of the event itself. They may also run your event in their community calendar and/or publish a brief in advance of the event date.

15. Designate a press liaison

This will prevent duplication of efforts, and give you and us the ability to track a question or a problem. Make sure that person’s complete contact information appears in every release.

16. Some basic formatting rules for press releases

Here are some basic rules that can make your release more appealing to an editor:

  • Articles should be written in third person; i.e., no use of “I” or “We”.
  • Articles and headlines must not be in upper case:  This: “The annual dinner…”  Not this: “THE ANNUAL DINNER…”
  • Articles should not include names of sponsors, or businesses providing services, as this information is not considered “news.” Attributions may be included in paid advertising.
  • Numbers: Spell out numbers one through nine. For numbers 10 and greater, use numerals. Same with first through ninth; 10th and up use numerals.
  • Dates: Never use th, rd, or nd  This: “May 5, 1948”  Not this: “May 5th, 1948”
  • Times: Do not use zeroes (:00) or “o’clock.” Do use a.m. and p.m.  This: “The celebration begins at 7 p.m. and ends at 10:30 p.m.”
  • Names: In the first reference, use first and last name. Clergy, politicians, doctors, etc., should have titles before their names. Subsequent references, use last name only, including title, if appropriate.  This: “Cohen said.”  Not this: “Millie said.”
  • First mention of a woman should include her own first name.  This: “Midge Weiss”  Not this: “Mrs. Arthur Weiss”

17. Stand out from the crowd, Part 1: Superlatives & Trends

The key to getting a newspaper to cover your story is your ability to think like an editor. Your local papers are committed to covering the community and its organizations, but they often need the help of publicity contacts to convince them of a story’s newsworthiness. This is the first of three tips that can help you accomplish this.

Superlatives: Assume that reporters have “seen it all before.” What is special, unique, unusual, or just plain fascinating about your story? Is it about the first, the biggest, the last, the oldest? Excite them, but be honest.

Trends: Help the editor imagine a bigger story. If your organization is starting a new initiative, can you link it somehow to a regional or national trend?

18. Stand out from the crowd, Part 2: Tap into current events

If there is a much-talked about national or regional news event, you can assume that your local Jewish newspaper looking for a local Jewish angle. Tell them if one of your local constituents might have a connection to a current event. If there is a major local or national Jewish story (perhaps a major convention, or the release of a study), don’t assume that they’ll automatically know that your organization has taken part. You can also check the web site of the JTA (www.jta.org) to see what’s new in the Jewish world – many local papers print JTA articles, and they are often looking for ways to localize JTA’s national and world coverage.

19. Stand out from the crowd, Part 3: The human interest angle

The mere fact of a major event, such as a fundraising dinner or the launch of a campaign, may not be enough to excite an editor. But is there an angle to the event that will? Does an honoree have a particularly interesting story to tell? Will the event be taking an approach that’s new or rare? Is there a milestone surrounding the event (an anniversary or historical event)?

Here’s a common example that we encounter each year at the Florida Jewish News: While we can’t cover all 50+ graduations that take place in South Florida’s Jewish schools each June, we may cover a graduation if it is the first graduating class of a new school, or if one or more of the graduates beat overwhelming odds to reach this milestone.

20. Submit concise calendar entries

If you submit events to community calendars, look at the calendar(s) in the paper(s) you are targeting, and keep your entries as brief and to the point as the briefest of the bunch. The simpler your entry is, the better the chances that it will be printed without much editing, and that it will be read by the paper’s readers.

Make sure the title sums up what the event is all about. Don’t make the readers search to figure out what’s going on and why they should be there. Leave out extraneous details, like the names of sponsors, event chairs, committee members, etc. If the goal is to get people to attend, give them information that will make them want to do so; leave the back patting for the speeches once you get the people there!

21. Write a letter to the editor

Less is always more, and a letter of 250-words or fewer is a good, punchy way to reach the public. Many paers try to print all of the responsible letters that they receive. Most prefer letters that make reference to an article that appeared in the paper in a previous issue. Some papers frown on letters that are simultaneously distributed to other news outlets. Letters should address the facts or opinions expressed in an article, and should not cast aspersions on the intelligence, home life, religious proclivities, or physical appearance of the person who wrote the article.

22. Write an Op-Ed

Many local papers are eager to publish locally written op-eds, 800-1000 words long, from agency executives, lay leaders, educators, and all interested community members, as long as such articles have appeal for a wide audience. It’s okay to be self-serving, but not ONLY self-serving. Connect the work of your agency to a current local or national debate. The best op-eds usually point the reader to a concrete action: support this legislation, protest this policy, etc. Papers generally favor op-eds written by people with standing, i.e., demonstrative expertise in the subject at hand, or authority to speak on behalf of an institution. Warning: Be clear with your professionals and volunteers about how they identify themselves when writing an op-ed and have them make clear when and if they speak on behalf of your organization.

23. Hire a pro

No one is good at everything, and you’re no exception! If you’re not an expert at writing press releases, you will get much better response from your local publications if you hire someone who is. You should especially consider doing this if the tips in this article seem overwhelming!

24. Buy an ad

It’s news publishing’s dirtiest little secret: As ethical journalists, we all work toward the goal of keeping our business and editorial departments completely separate. At the same time, small niche publications know what side their bread is buttered on. Unless you’re dealing with a major daily paper, you can often get preferential treatment from the editorial department if you buy an ad and make it clear that you expect some level of editorial support in addition to the ad. If the sales rep has the ability to pull strings, and your purchase is significant enough, believe me, those strings WILL be pulled.

Special thanks to the following newspapers that contributed to this article: