Do Exclamation Points Have a Place in Press Releases?

Let’s cut to the chase here: NO. The answer is a resounding, 100%, no-BS NO. My reasoning here is simple: press releases are not advertisements. If your press release reads like an advertisement, it will go no place fast. Press releases are bits of news that others will hopefully use to create a compelling s… Read more

Press Release Trends for the New Year

Press releases may have a “classic” feel to them since they’ve been around so long, but they go through trends just like anything else does. And while you may not be aware of it, the basic press release is changing all the time.

2013 will be no different. Although it’s tough to say exactly what they will be, the … Read more

Need Some Inspiration?

Are you having a blah day? Struggling to find the motivation to get started on your work? We all have these days. You wake up in the morning, ready to tackle the day, but after that first cup of coffee you just stare blankly at your computer screen.

Sometimes what we really need is a good kick in the pants, some gr… Read more

How to Not Make a Journalist Hate You When You Call

Sometimes, you need to pick up the phone to talk to a journalist. Maybe you want to follow up on a press release you sent them, or maybe you need to get in touch with them quickly to retract a press release you sent too early or to correct some information you gave them.

Whatever the reason, when you pick up the pho… Read more

5 Subtle Techniques to Make Your Press Releases More Readable

Do you struggle with getting people to read your press releases? Maybe it’s not that the content is bad. Maybe it’s that you’re not presenting the content in a way that’s appealing to your audience’s natural reading tendencies.

Countless studies have been performed that track the way people read content … Read more

There Is No Magic Day to Send a Press Release

One of the questions I get asked most often is, “When is the best day to send a press release?” Now, I know right off the top that some of you are going to disagree with this, but I don’t believe there is a best day for sending press releases. I know some people will say that if you have bad news to announce, you shoul… Read more

Keep Your Press Releases Active for More Engagement

Okay, I admit it. Most press releases are boring. But why? What makes most press releases suck so bad that no one wants to read them and they end up in the trash? Well, to be honest, it isn’t necessarily the content. You can have the most interesting news in the world, but if you don’t know how to write a bang up rel… Read more

How to Make Your Website More Media Friendly

You send out a press release. A reporter likes it, so he (or she) decides to check out your website to do a little more digging. However, when the reporter visits your website, he finds it woefully inadequate at providing any useful information. Before you know it, the reporter has dropped your story in favo… Read more

Why Spelling and Grammar Matter in Your Press Releases

I recently came across an article that asked if spelling and grammar mattered in press releases. The author makes the argument that “it doesn’t really matter how it’s written, it’s about what’s in them.” She goes on to say that most of your press release will end up on the cutting room floor anyway when the re… Read more

How to Hold a Great Press Conference

As I’ve already discussed on this blog, many press conferences are unwarranted. The truth is that many of you reading this right now have never hosted a press conference before. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Press conferences are not the backbone of public relations, and in most cases, there are fa… Read more