Advice if possible

[uksbc]

after scouting round the forum and net in general i am considering a pr/press release for 3 of our projects

http://www.uksbc.com

http://www.ukb2b.org

http://www.2bmoving.com

as this is a new form of marketing for us what type of cost is generally involved. i have people in house that could write some decent copy but to have it written and distributed professionally would obviously carry some weight

any thoughts / feedback/ ideas

thanks

 

[clairemackaness]

get in touch with morethanwords by PM

 

[Amber]

We offer press release writing and distribution - details here if you're interested.

Do you have a particular angle in mind for your press release?

 

[uksbc]

claire - thanks for the tip - i have pm'd morethanwords

Amber - i dont really know what angle to take to be honest. i am a bit of a dinosaur and set in my ways when it comes to marketing (sounds bad from a 30 year old doesnt it) :cry:

i do appreciate the value of good editorial content and pr though so figured i need to address our lack of it.

with these things in mind i will be looking for the writing and distribution. i was really sorting of thinking of a "hey, here we are and this is what we do" approach but i am here to learn - you tell me!

 

[Steve Roberts]

I'm regularly approached by trade magazines looking for a story to run. What I've found is that if you run a story with one publication, very shortly after all the others start calling. This gives you some serious clout - because they're doing the chasing. Equally, it's worth paying for an advert in these publications - because you then become their customer.

 

[Amber]

"i was really sorting of thinking of a hey, here we are and this is what we do" approach but i am here to learn - you tell me!

Well, the problem with the "here we are approach" is that if you simply announce the fact that your business exists you'll be writing an advert rather than a press release, and adverts have to be paid for!

The trick is to try and look at it from the journalist's point of view. They're in the business of selling newspapers, therefore they're only interested in stories which are genuinely "newsworthy". Your job (or your PR's job!) is to try and find that angle - or to create one if necessary, to give you the best chance of attracting their attention and getting published. You can do that in lots of different ways: running competitions, raising money for charity, hosting a special event, etc.

Hope this helps a little - feel free to get in touch if you need someone to bounce ideas off!
Amber

 

[cjd]

I have no wish to offend Amber and I look forward to being corrected for what I say next...but....

You're wasting your time with a press release unless you have something to say that there's a chance people may be intersted in.

There's a number of Press Release and distribution sites on the net. They have lists of publications and journalists who they send your release to. This is what will happen when you post your release.

1. Nothing (98%)
2. If you have something vaguely topical you will be called by three magazines you've never heard of selling you space in their magazine with your picture at a never to be repeated price.
3. Something massively topical will result in a call from a freelance journalist quoting a national newspaper and offering his PR services (whilst telling you why what you just did was a waste of time)
4. Posting on 8 US websites that no-one but your distribution company looks at.

Small businesses need a different approach which is probably personal and local. If I find exactly what it is I'll send you a signed copy of my autobiography.

 

[Amber]

I have no wish to offend Amber and I look forward to being corrected for what I say next...but....

You're wasting your time with a press release unless you have something to say that there's a chance people may be intersted in.

I thought that was what I was saying? :?

The vast majority of press releases issued by small businesses never make it into the press. This is because they're usually thinly-veiled adverts with no real "news" value.

There's a number of Press Release and distribution sites on the net.

I'm not sure whether you're referring to the free distribution sites here? If so, then you're completely correct. Because these sites don't discriminate as to the kind of material they distribute, they're not viewed as a credible source of news. I don't know any journalists who use them to pick up stories, although now that I've said that I'm quite sure one will pop up and tell me I'm wrong

 

[JustOneUK]

you can do a press release at prweb.com... i think it costs about £70
and is one of the most effective outlets i have heard of.

how effective? i have no idea.. if i was going to release a pr myself, that is where i would spend my first £70. It does appear favour the US, but there is a huge uptake from the UK too.
just my 2cents

James

 

[cjd]

I thought that was what I was saying? :?

If you look at the time of our posts you'll see that we both posted at exactly 12.17. You must have beat me by a couple of nano seconds, so of course I hadn't seen your post

I've used three report writing and distribution companies on half a dozen occasions and will use them again (in the UK, WebIT and Press Dispensary, in the US, PR Web) they all do what they say on the tin and are good value. But you must have something to say.

The release will be picked up mainly by web news sites, particularly if your story is tech related. This is good for your google stats as you are then linked by them and you can point to them on your site.

A good outfit will give you feedback on where your story was used and you can pick it up yourself for about a week by typing your company name into goole news search.

But, the story is everything!