The clock is ticking with only 6 weeks to go until Seawork. So, for those of you who read last week’s blog, you should be well on your way to developing your big news story for the show.
Once you’ve got your story, it’s vital that you follow a few golden rules to give your organisation the best possible chance of grabbing the journalist’s attention. Make sure you set aside some time this week to put in place, update or source the following essentials:
1. Take time to research a named contact: Having a ‘named’ contact to send your press release to is critical. You will come across as a much more professional outfit if you are able to personalise your emails rather than sending a blanket email to a generic “news@” email address.
2. A picture paints a thousand words: Good quality photography can be a deal-breaker. They provide you with a strong opportunity to dominate the page leaving less room for your competitors. Jpegs and PNG files are the preferred option and don’t include them in the body of your press release – they should also be at least 300 dpi.
If you don’t have access to images, there are a number of good quality websites where you can download royalty free images or at a cost effective price such as:
3. Make it a headline worth reading: the headline is going to be the first thing the journalist reads which means that it needs to be short, informative and attention grabbing. Remember, news editors will receive hundreds of emails a day – go for quirky, controversial or challenging headlines.
