Page 135 - Social Media Marketing

Building a Brand through Shameless Self-Promotion 119

• Start with an intriguing headline. Nobody is going to read
your press release if the headline sounds boring. The headline
should draw people into the article.

• Start the first paragraph with the city, state, and date. Location
and time set the stage for the rest of what you have to say.

• Stick to a single page. You have very little time to make your
point. Remember, your goal is to convince people who read
the release to call you; 300 to 750 words is best.

• Don't advertise. A press release is an announcement worthy
of the news, not an advertisement for products or services.

• Edit carefully. Your press release is a reflection of you, so make
sure it is well-written and free of typos and grammatical errors.

• Obtain permissions for quoted material. If you want to quote
someone in a press release, obtain permission from the person
or company you're quoting.

• Include contact information. You want the press calling or
e-mailing you or your assistant to set up interviews and per-
haps appearances.

Turn the page for a sample of a press release I did for my book,
Mortgage Myths: 77 Secrets That Will Save You Thousands on Home
Financing, co-authored with Chip Cummings.

Release Your Press Release

After you've written and carefully edited your press release, you
have to find some way to get it into the media channels. Sev-
eral companies offer such services, including PRWeb at www.
prwebdirect.com, 24-7 Press release at www.24-7pressrelease.com.
and RISMedia (real estate-related press releases) at www.
rismedia.com. You can search the Web for "press release distribu-
tion" or other related words and phrases to find a hundred other
such companies, or e-mail meatRalphRoberts@RalphRoberts.com.
and I can recommend a few more options.