{"id":11844,"date":"2016-08-29T08:47:33","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T13:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/?p=11844"},"modified":"2016-08-29T08:47:33","modified_gmt":"2016-08-29T13:47:33","slug":"a-proven-press-release-template-with-instructions-on-how-to-use-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/a-proven-press-release-template-with-instructions-on-how-to-use-it\/","title":{"rendered":"A Proven Press Release Template (With Instructions On How To Use It)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Press<\/p>\n

At some stage in the life of your company, preferably earlier rather than later, it becomes vital to garner media coverage, in some form or another, in order to raise awareness about your products and services. Your business will have to learn how to work with and communicate with media houses and publishers as part of your overall marketing strategy<\/a> in order to reach bigger and better audiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is where the press release comes into play.<\/strong> It\u2019s an incredibly powerful PR tool that can make the difference between ending up in mainstream news, growing like mad, becoming profitable, selling out and retiring'\u00a6 or not.<\/span><\/p>\n

But because press releases can have such huge payoffs, journalists and news outlets are constantly bombarded with irrelevant or spammy info that simply gets ignored. Most companies use a technique called, 'spray and pray'\u009d that adds to the huge volumes of mediocre content (i.e. hit thousands of sites with your PR message, and someone will publish it eventually<\/i>) the news media has to deal with.<\/span><\/p>\n

Against this background it\u2019s important to understand just how difficult it can be to get decent coverage. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to start out armed with the right press release that can be used for maximum benefit (if done properly<\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What makes a press release work<\/span><\/h2>\n

Repeat after me, 'it\u2019s not about the press release.”<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Sounds a bit odd, considering the point of this article is to share a press release template (one that won national media coverage<\/i>). But it\u2019s true. There\u2019s far more that goes on behind the scenes of a successful press release than meets the eye.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before I share the press release, here\u2019s a step-by-step example of what I did in order to get national news media coverage for my site'\u00a6<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1.<\/span> \u00a0 <\/span><\/span>Come up with a compelling story<\/span><\/h2>\n

Not every business is intrinsically exciting. It can be harder to get media coverage working in accounting than it can in tabloid gossip. But, just because it is harder doesn\u2019t make it impossible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Be creative in the way you approach the ordinary aspects of your niche industry. Take your time thinking outside the box. Find something interesting to talk about especially if it involves other people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t talk about yourself.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A story should be about your industry, and the players in it. Not about yourself. Anything that has even a hint of self-promotion will be duly ignored by almost every quality journo in the world. And, unless you have a big budget to pay for media coverage, this tactic simply won\u2019t work.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, I spend a lot of time sharing small business ideas to help inspire and stimulate aspiring entrepreneurs. But there\u2019s no point in writing a press release each time I post a new idea to this list. Journalists aren\u2019t interested in what I\u2019m doing. Yet.<\/span><\/p>\n

That was interesting for me to see the incredible ideas and startups coming out of U.S. colleges, it was an interesting article for my readers, and above all else, it was something newsworthy for mainstream media.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2.<\/span> \u00a0 <\/span><\/span>Identify journalists & editors who cover topically related stories<\/span><\/h2>\n

This step shouldn\u2019t really be too much of a surprise. There is absolutely no point in sharing a story on the wrong news site. A business editor won\u2019t publish a story about bird migration patterns, so why bombard them with irrelevant stuff?<\/span><\/p>\n

Find the writers, editors, journos, bloggers and reporters who write about the same or similar topics. A good way to do this is to search for similar stories on Google and note the websites and writers responsible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Build a permanent journalist contact list<\/strong> including their names, employer, email address, social media accounts, and other pertinent data.<\/span><\/p>\n

Record all your interactions as it is very likely you are going to need to build a strong relationship with them going forward. A press release is never a one off thing. You\u2019ll need those contacts again so it helps to keep them organized from the start.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3.<\/span> \u00a0 <\/span><\/span>Draft a press release template<\/span><\/h2>\n

A good press release has the following generic features:<\/span><\/p>\n

But, there are other industry players<\/a> who are doing newsworthy things that I can talk about at the same time. So I went out and created a list of the top 10 new business ideas from University entrepreneurs<\/span><\/a> that highlighted the breadth of talent found in young entrepreneurs (crediting the entrepreneurial colleges nurturing them at the same time<\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\n