I have set up two internet retail businesses in my spare time and this series of articles pass on my experience and lessons learnt. When I was thinking about starting an internet business there were a few things that were must have requirements.
There's a clear way around press release failure and it's called the pitch. A lot like it sounds a pitch is a fast throw at busy editors about a possible story. If they want to find out more, then you send the press release.
That leads me to a huge pet peeve: Sending out press releases via e-mail to a list of editors. From my experience it's never - ever - worked. I no longer try it and suggest you don't either. It's a waste of your time and all of the editors. Instead:
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You have spent a lot of time creating an online presence. You have virus protection and maybe a firewall to protect the security of your system, you have located a web host to manage your online presence, then you define the direction of your site and work at developing a look that is appealing and a format that is easy to navigate.
When marketing to an audience of people who all hold the same interest in the product/service being offered, every single person in your audience is much more apt to respond to the marketing efforts.
You can get a better response from reporters and editors, if you follow a few simple guidelines in writing your news release. Appropriate content, an interesting headline, a packed first paragraph, polished wording, using a standard format, and by being prepared for questions.
We wanted feedback and a greater audience before publishing the print version of our new book. We gambled on a ‘public and peer review’ to help improve the quality of our book, and at the same time get out word of mouth. Did it work?