Five Reasons Your Press Releases Aren’t Getting Any Coverage
Do you know that frustrating feeling? The one where you’ve won a new contract, you want to shout it from the rooftops, you go to the trouble of crafting a press release, sending it to the media and….. no, not a sniff of press coverage. And you wondered why you even bothered?
Chances are that you might have fallen into one of the most common press release pitfalls without even knowing it. Let’s take a look:
- Your p ress release is not newsworthy .
Yes, everybody gets excited when their company improves services for clients or launches a new initiative. But that doesn’t mean it’s suitable for external news purposes. Journalists get bombarded with press releases all day long and they do not have time to hear about your latest technology upgrade (unless you are Apple) or a slight adjustment to your product line.
News is fresh, exciting, unusual or unique and most of all relevant to a significant percentage of their readers. Really question the news value of your story – what headline would it have? Is it really different to what’s out there already? How relevant is it to the audience?
- Your press release is actually an advert in disguise .
In some quarters, there seems to be a mistaken opinion that press releases are “free advertising”. But this is wrong. Press releases are a method of communicating important information which may or may not get picked up by the media. If your releases are peppered with thinly veiled marketing messages and/or hyperbole you are missing the point. What’s more journalists will see straight through it. And while we are on the subject, don’t let your press releases waffle on – two pages are ample.
- You sent it in isolation.
Press releases are just one tool in the PR armoury, but they often don’t work alone. Why would a journalist take time out from their busy day to read a press release from a company they don’t know, don’t understand or have never met? What you should be doing is building relationships with journalists, to lay the groundwork for your company news announcements.
- You sent it to the wrong people.
There’s nothing worse for a journalist than to read an email or press release from someone who clearly hasn’t read their publication or understood what they are looking for. Take time out to target your press releases properly – adjust the message if needs be to. What’s of interest to a technical/trade magazine may not be a big enough deal for a national outlet. And don’t forget the power of the exclusive. Sometimes it can be much more effective to get a large piece of coverage in the right place than a thin spread of coverage in less influential media outlets.
- You got the timing wrong .
This is where the services of an experienced media relations professional could help you. All publications have deadlines and with online rolling news these can be throughout the day. It’s only by learning when these deadlines are that you can work out the optimum time to call or email your target journalist. Yes, there will always be times when you just get unlucky and hit a busy news day, but getting people at the right time is half the battle.
