Journalists want news.
Do you have news to tell or are you just trying to sell?
Editorials are not the same as adverts. Editorial usually aims to be impartial and not overtly promote a product or service. It can describe and sometimes review, but on the whole does not sell. If your press release is an advert dressed up as news, it could very likely be ignored. Or sometimes the advertising department will call you to sell you an advert.
Having no story is just as bad. It is possible to read a press release and wonder if there is a story there. If a press release is produced just because an organisation thinks it’s time it ‘did some PR’, it’s likely to be vague and unfocused.
What is newsworthy about your business? What are you doing that is interesting? What have you achieved?
Robert,
I recently graduated with a degree in communications. One of the classes was on using the media to gt your message out. There was a whole section on writing effective press releases. It’s amazing how many poorly written ones there are. They are usually either thinly disguised sales pitches, or some little news blurb with no “call to action” or central message. I appreciate your good advice on writing press releases. Thanks!
Hello Tracy. Yes, I write two pages of business news for a weekly local newspaper and receive a lot of sales pitches dressed up as press releases.