Free-Reprint Article Written by: Paul Hartunian
See Terms of Reprint Below.


*****************************************************************
*
* This email is being delivered directly to members of the group:
*
* med-content@yahoogroups.com
*
*****************************************************************



Article Title: 3 Mistakes You Can't Afford To Make When You Write A Press
Release
Article Author: Paul Hartunian
Article Copyright: 2004

Article URL:
http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/h/press-release-mistakes.shtml

Article Autoresponder:
mailto:press-release-mistakes@...

Author Contact Email:
mailto:PaulHartunian@...

Formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Word Count: 697 words



-----------------------------------------------------------------

This article was written by Paul Hartunian.

The only role of http://thePhantomWriters.com and
http://Article-Distribution.com is in the actual
distribution of this article to you.

At TPW, we are providing an additional free tool for
webmasters who reprint the articles we distribute. If your
software does not automatically hyperlink the URL's in your
site copy, please use our Text-to-Hyperlink Conversion Tool
to convert all URL's and Mailto addresses to the required
hyperlinked format:

http://thephantomwriters.com/link-builder.pl

-----------------------------------------------------------------

TERMS OF REPRINT - Publication Rules

This is a Free-Reprint article. The only requirements for
publishing this article are:

* You must leave the article and resource box unedited. You are
not allowed to change our recommendations, nor are you allowed
to change the context of the article.

* You may not use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email).
Email distribution of this article MUST be opt-in email only.

* We ask that you forward a copy of the ezine or newsletter
that contains the article inside to the author at:
mailto:PaulHartunian@...

* If you post this article on a website, you MUST set any URL's
or Mailto addresses in the body of the article and most
especially in the Author's Resource Box as hyperlinks. We
request that you also send us a copy of the URL where you
have posted this article.

We are providing free Text-to-Hyperlink Conversion Tool for
webmasters who need an easy way to convert the plain text in
this article to hyperlinks where required, for the purpose of
meeting our hyperlink requirements:

http://thephantomwriters.com/link-builder.pl


If you find any of the rules to be unsavory or unacceptable, please
do not publish this article. While we are happy to make the content
available to you for your own use, we must insist on having our rules
and *Terms of Reprint* honored in full.


-----------------------------------------------------------------

3 Mistakes You Can't Afford To Make When You Write A Press Release
Copyright © 2004 Paul Hartunian
Hartunian.com
http://www.hartunian.com/



You have the story of a lifetime. Editors are going to drop
their jaws in amazement. You just can't wait to get the press
release on their desk. You fire up the fax machine, hit the go
button and then rush over to your phone to wait for the calls.

And nothing happens.

You check your confirmation sheet, 500 faxes sent out
successfully, but still nothing happens. Chances are you've
made one of the 3 fatal mistakes people often make when sending
out a press release.

The first mistake many people make in writing a press release
is they allow their own biases to taint their story.

Who cares what you think? It may be important to you, but what
really matters is what the editor and the audience he sells to
believes.

Andrew Carnegie explains that he loves peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches, but he discovered a long time ago that when he goes
fishing the fish much prefer worms, not peanut and butter.

As you write the headline to your press release, be sure it
pulls at the needs, wants or interests of your intended audience.
Every press release needs to be either fascinating, shocking or
relevant.

Some stories may seem hard to frame for the general public,
but it's usually just a matter of looking for the proper spin
to frame it in.

The fact that the city mall installed an Automatic External
Defibrilator (AED) may sound incredibly important to you, but
most of the general public will only wonder how much of their
tax money was wasted keeping some doctor happy.

If, on the other hand, your headline read: "20 Lives Could
Have Been Saved If We Had Installed The Automatic External
Defibrilator A Year Earlier" now you have the world's attention.
Which lives could have been saved? Could it save my life? What
is this device?

Suddenly the "common folk" see a purpose for it.

The second deadly mistake many beginners make in sending press
releases is to package them in flowery colors. They want to
catch the editor's attention.

They hire a graphic artist to draw incredible artwork along the
borders, they mold their type into the shape of a tree. Anything
you do to set you apart from the crowd will do just that, set
you apart from the crowd.

Editors will realize before even reading your release that you're
a beginner. The old timers know better. The very fact that it's
being faxed as a news story gets the editors attention. He's in
the news business. He has to sort though what's going on to find
the information they need during their news breaks.

The headline of your news release needs to be in larger bold
type, something that gets their attention. Everything else
needs to look simple and tidy.


Delivering your release along with a dozen long stemmed
roses will probably get a smile out of the editor, but chances
are she won't bother reading it.

The final mistake many make in composing press releases
is to say too much. They're worried the editor won't find the
story interesting enough unless they get all the details.

If you can't make the story interesting in 150 words or less,
then you probably need to go back to point number one and
reframe the story.

A professional press release always fits entirely on one, single
spaced page. And that includes contact information and a bold
headline on top.

A cardinal rule that'll keep you out of a lot of problems is to
remember always that:

THE ONLY goal of a press release is to get the reporter to call
you.

You just need to convince him that there may be something worth
looking into here. If they're at all interested, they'll pick up
the phone and find out more.

Avoid these three deadly mistakes, and you'll be well on your
way. As you write your release, be sure you:

1. Give them what they're looking for, and not necessarily
what you think is important.

2. Keep it simple, don't use gimmicks,

3. Keep it short and to the point.

Then go sit by your phone and wait for the calls.



-----------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Hartunian is the world's leading authority on publicity and
self-promotion. At his website - http://www.Hartunian.com -
you'll find lots of information about how you can get free
publicity for any product, service or business you're involved
with. Get information about his complete publicity kit at
http://www.Hartunian.com/prkit . Sign up for his free publicity
ezine at http://www.hartunian.com/subscribe . You can reach Paul
at (973)857-4142. Or by email at mailto:PaulHartunian@...




--- END ARTICLE ---


Distribution Date and Time: Fri Jan 14 04:54:51 EST 2005


For more articles by this author, please visit:

http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/index.shtml#Paul_Hartunian