There is a lot of ego in press releases. Businesses who insist their PR issue a press release despite being advised to the contrary.
Here’s the thing, just because you did something doesn’t mean anyone else actually cares.
Just because it’s interesting to you, doesn’t mean anyone else will find it interesting – or useful information.
It might make a nice bit of content for your blog or social media but that doesn’t mean it’s going to set a journalists world on fire and have them holding the front page.
Have realistic expectations
When it comes to press releases, you need to be realistic in your expectations.
A journalist’s job isn’t to do your marketing for you, your press release needs to be helpful to them for the job that they are doing.
Which is giving their readers useful and interesting information.
So how do you decide whether a story is worth the time spent drafting and approving a press release?
Here are some questions to ask:
• Is your story genuinely interesting to the journalist’s audience?
• Is it relevant?
• What will their readers learn?
• Does it add value or insight?
• Is it inspiring or will it evoke emotion?
• Is it new or different?
• Are your expectations about who might be interested realistic?
That last point is particularly important.
Ego can lead to you to thinking that your story is going to interest national press or the BBC when you might stand a much better chance by thinking local or even hyperlocal.
Smaller publications and websites might even give you better access to your target audience.
Decide what is relevant
So when answering the questions listed above, think about what is relevant and to whom.
And if you can’t give a compelling argument for why your story is relevant then save yourself some time and don’t bother putting it on a press release and trying to get journalists interested.
In fact, don’t waste a journalist’s time they are busy – just like you – and get tons of press releases every day.
Sending out press releases with non-stories will just get you reputation for not having anything interesting to talk about.
Which means when you do have an interesting story, it could get overlooked.
If you aren’t getting much traction with your press releases might be time for a review.
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