Cathy Watson's Women in Media presentation on PR - from Story to Distribution

1. Press Releases from story to distribution

3. What is a press release?

4. What is newsworthy?

5. Tips for writing a press release.

7. What is a press release? To an organisation: Free publicity Profile raising Informing Reaching new customers To a journalist: Spam Advertising Space filler Source of news Introduction to company

8. What is newsworthy? Potentially: New – company, product, premises Research results Takeover Case studies Major contract Appointments News of the moment More subtly: Sponsorship Fund-raising Charity work Community work Staff achievements By products

9. Tips for writing a release Get to the point quickly Pyramid writing Use short paragraphs and sentences Keep punctuation and capital letters to a minimum Include what, where, when, how and why Full people details – who might know them? Contact details Send in body of email Head and shoulders pictures Be prepared to react quickly to help journalists

10. Distribution Your own website Links from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn Newsletter, e-newsletter Local newspapers/websites Press release sites Specialist publications Other selected newspapers/magazines

11. Remember The people most interested in your news will be your own customers, suppliers and staff. Don’t rely on other people to tell them. Consider publicity in newspapers, magazines, on radio and TV a bonus. Keep the media in touch with your progress

12. Thank you Thank you for listening Any questions?