No news is bad news for PR

May 30th, 2008 at 04:39pm Bill Swick

All too often good PR is tarnished by bad PR.

The biggest challenge in public relations is always finding that story. In fact, that’s also a big problem that faces many of the journalists and editors that PR people deal with on a daily basis. We all need that story to survive.

Advertising that is squashed into something that looks like a press release – or worse, a news release that struggles to find a point at all – doesn’t do anyone any good.

When you’re writing a press release or pitching a story to the media, take a step back and don’t just think about what you want that release to achieve for you. Look at it from the point of view of the editor or even the target reader you are trying to reach. Why should they care?

Making your press releases/media pitches newsworthy will improve your placement results dramatically. The better the story, the better your coverage will be.

This sometimes means taking that all important step back to look at different angles. Keep asking yourself why should ____ care?

Besides, a habit of sending out bad press releases is the best way to ensure a spot in an editor’s wastebasket.

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