ELIMINATING BS FROM YOUR NEWS RELEASES
KC Small Business Monthly
May 2008
By John Landsberg
This is not just another column designed to try and help small business folks deal with marketing communications issues. No, this is a very special and �unique� column.
It really is what you might call a �state-of-the-art� column. It is somewhat �synergistic� and will �empower� them to send out news releases that will actually get read and used by the news media.
By now you probably have realized that many of the trite and over-used phrases like �state-of-the-art,� �synergistic� and �empower� used above are instant turnoffs to editors who might see your company�s news release. In essence, those words and many others simply set off the BS meter in the minds of most editors.
There are other words that also drive editors nuts. The word �unique� is another one. The old joke is �We are unique like everyone else.� Unless you have just developed something unique to the free world, skip this trite word.
�We have developed a revolutionary concept�� Oh, come now. It is really �revolutionary?� The same goes for �cutting edge� anything. It is such a trite and overused phrase editors reading it just groan. And then they toss your release into the shredder.
How about the fact that your company is �world-class?� What exactly does that mean? Is your company the only one of its kind in the world? It is one of those interesting sounding terms that is stupid. Kind of like �cyber� anything.
How about sprinkling your news release with some really cool terms that have become techno-blather: robust, scalable, deliverables, seamless, etc. Toss in a few �bottom lines,� �benchmarks,� �win-wins� and my personal favorite �think outside the box� and you have created a perfect storm. Editors have been known to jump out of windows reading these words over and over.
Over the years I have seen literally thousands of news releases that included many of these wonderful words and phrases. While they might impress your folks internally, they don�t impress editors. And editors are the folks who determine whether your information gets used.
Many companies write releases aimed at the wrong folks. The reality is that unless the release is approved by company executives it will never be sent out. That�s why they often contain so much corporate crapola.
My suggestion is simple: Write news releases that are designed to appeal to the folks you are pitching your story to. Skip the jargon. As Jack Webb of Dragnet fame used to say, �Just the facts, maam.�
The tricky challenge when writing a news release is that you want to write it to appeal to the news media. However, it has to be approved by company gatekeepers before you can send it. It can be a real balancing act.
The key is to write a release with real news in it for editors. However, in order to keep company executives happy insert a traditional blathering CEO quote in the news release. Something along the lines of �We think the introduction of this state-of-the-art technology shows the outside the box thinking we encourage from with our loyal and dedicated employees,� says ACME CEO E. Drummond III.
Sure the quote is self-serving and says nothing of value. But, the CEO will love it and then generally approve your news release. The editor will simply ignore it. And that�s fine because your real message is all the other stuff in the news release.
If you want an editor to use your news release highlight the real �news� in it and don�t distract him/her with trite phrases and overused �corporate-speak.�
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