Identify a Story Peg and Write a Press Release

Let's get to the point where you can start doing PR yourself for your company. With some understanding of what creates news, and how to reach out to the media, you can be your own publicist. This post will tell you all about writing a press release. In my subsequent posts, you will be able to successfully identify and create stories and get through to the media and ultimately your target audience. After the basics, I will talk about creating a strategy for year long PR activities.

What is a Story Peg?
A Story Peg is nothing but identifying a story angle about your company that could be of interest to your target audience. For example, a new product can make news. If you have just started your business, you can reach out to your target audience to inform them of your existence, etc. What you have to bear in mind, though, when you are creating a Story Peg is that it should have a news value. It should be of interest to your target audience. Pick up a week's relevant newspapers and magazines and read up about your competition. Go through how a journalist has told a particular story. This will give you ideas for your own Story Peg and finally when you get down to writing a press release. You will be able to understand the kind of information that the journalist is looking for when writing a particular story.

Target Audience
With each Story Peg, you must identify your target audience. Who is this story directed towards? Who will be interested in knowing this piece of information? Your target audience can be your business associates, customers, potential clients, peers, employees, potential employees, etc, depending on your communication material.

Writing a Press Release
Writing a press release is not rocket science, but it surely is an art. You need to craft a press release in such a way that it tells a story that would interest the media and in turn, your target audience. The headline of your release should be able to grab attention. A reporter covering your industry would get umpteen press releases everyday from various companies. To grab attention, you need to first craft a catchy headline. Then, a compelling story about what you have to offer with enough research and information, with fair comparisons drawn will help the journalist craft your story better.

However, when you write a press release, start with the headline first. This will help you get a single minded focus for the piece of communication. Do not try and tell many stories about your company in one release. A press release should be focused on just one message. You can find various sources on the internet that will offer you sample press releases to help you write your own release. However, if you would like an expert to write your press release, mail me at rahul@highergroundblog.com.

In my next entry, I shall talk about how you can reach out to your target audience with your press release.