It seems that the missing thing in many people’s pr plan is positioning. I have found that by correctly positioning each book, product or service you can literally double your media exposure.” Friedman continues, “So what is positioning?
It is simply the art of presenting your book, product or service to the media in such a way as to convey an immediate interest and understanding of the subject. It “positions” your topic with other similar topics in the news so that those reading your press materials can easily understand the subject and see how it compares to others like it.
Even though positioning has been around for years, it is still an elusive fact for many people looking to promote their book, product or service. When it comes to writing a release to attract media attention – radio, television, and print – the rules of press release writing need to be!well!.rewritten.
Marsha Friedman adds, “A creative and well thought out presentation of your product to the media is an absolute must! With the infinitely growing competition in the market, there’s a demand on businesses to get more aggressive about their promotion. Positioning is the missing link to your promotion that will really help you add lots of media successes to your public relations initiative.” Let’s learn some tips on positioning that will help authors connect with the media of their choice:
1. Your press materials must have a good understanding not only of your unique message but also how it is relevant to today’s society.
2. Really look at what you are actually promoting and find the “hot” pieces of information that really put it in front of the pack. Find out what is ground breaking about it.
3. Take a close look at the media and see how other items like yours are being handled and portrayed. Are they being treated well? Ignored?
4. Distill this information into a two page release jam-packed with information and an exciting headline. Keep in mind that you’ve got to grab and retain the attention of a very busy producer.
5. Don’t require the producer or editor to use their imagination to see how the topic would be of interest to their listeners/viewers/readers. Give them an instant concept of the show or article you are suggesting.
6. Don’t send out the same release to the different media. Remember that they are each looking for something different. A 20 minute interview on a talk radio show is not the same as a 5 minute television news interview.
7. Don’t forget your bio! This is your time to really establish yourself as an expert on the topic that you are presenting in your release. It’s time to build some credibility.
8. You can be a bit more sales-y with your talk radio press releases, but always remember to give a clear idea of the show and why you are an expert to talk about your topic.
So there you go, some tips to really get your press release in order. But don’t forget that without a relentless phone follow up campaign you may not be able to reap the fruits of your labor. Often times the media never receives your materials or was interested but just too busy to call for more information. Following up by phone puts you ten steps ahead of the hundreds of publicists desperately vying for their attention.”
For 20 years Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on public relations as CEO of EMSI. Go to publicitythatworks.com to claim your free “Power of Public Relations” video today!