RE: [uk-netmarketing] RE: Press Releases

[Melanie BEECH]

> On the same topic, but I'm afraid an even *more* noddy 

> question: say I had

> found out the rules for laying out a press release, how do I go about

> distributing it? Is there one simple way or do I have to 

> track down contacts

> at all the places I think might find it newsworthy?


There is a simple answer to this.  Do you read junk mail sent to the

previous occupants of your house/flat?  Would you walk up to a complete

stranger in the street and expect them to listen to what you tell them?


If the answer to either of the above is no, then it is easy to work out that


1. Checking with the publications you're interested in to find out who

writes about your area is essential.  You're not the only one sending in

press releases, and if they don't go to the right person straight off

they're often binned.


2. There's a reason why a PR person's address book is valuable: that person

has spent time and effort building a relationship of trust with journalists

in their field and therefore has more chance of getting their stories

published.


Communications, whatever the medium, is about talking to human beings.

Since we're complicated animals, there is rarely a quick and dirty way of

going about this.


By all means use something like MediaDisk to build a list of publications,

but since MediaDisk etc are limited by the information given them by the

publications concerned, there is no substitute for ensuring you have the

right contact name by spending some of your time phoning around.  


There is one simple way of sending out your press release, if you really

can't face phoning round a zillion different publications: find a PR agency

with good contacts in your field and pay them to do the job for you.


Sorry for the rant.


m