Press Releases and Free Publicity

I've worked in the media for over 20 years on weekly and daily newspapers, plus a variety of magazines in Australia and the UK - I've also worked as a publicist for a major charity. So when it comes to publicity and how to get it, I know what works and what doesn't.

In this section of All the Secrets you'll find a number of articles on getting publicity via press releases. Plus some useful links, and resources.

Overview

Getting media publicity is not as easy as sending out a press release and waiting for the phone calls to come flooding in from story starved journalists desperate to interview you. They don't just sit on their bums all day waiting to read a media release which blows their socks off - they're all extremely busy people, racing around trying to beat their deadlines so they can get home
on time ( or to the nearest bar ).

Most people sending press releases to the media get no press coverage at all. Most press releases are thrown in the bin after a 2 second glance, because they're not well written enough. The headline doesn't grab, the first paragraph doesn't tease the journo into continuing reading. A lot of pencil chewing needs to go into writing a release. You can't just toss one off in 5 minutes.

But, of course, press releases aren't the only way to go.

The easiest way to get all the media coverage you could ever need, is to have an affair with President Clinton. Look at all the attention Monica pulled without even chewing on a pencil. I'm sure if she'd been selling widgets, whatever they are, she'd have made a killing.

But affairs with the president are a little bit outside my field of expertise. What I do know is how the media works. How they find their stories, and I know just what they're looking for. If you want help writing a killer media release guaranteed to attract attention and bring you sales you should invest a little money in the book Trash Proof News Releases. You can buy it online and have it delivered instantly. Or read more about it here.

Further Reading / Articles

Do email press releases work?

Using and Abusing the Media

Commandments for sending email to the media

How the media get their stories

How to grab the media by the balls to promote your product

17 Publicity Tips

Where to send your press releases