Small Business Owners should send press releases out at least once a month to local newspapers, cable TV, local magazines and radio stations. You will be surprised how often they get published or air time. After doing this a while you can figure out what types of news get the best results. Some typical and simple press releases can be new employee hirees, new accounts with large local corporations or non-profit endeavors you are assisting with.
All press releases should be typed double-spaced with two clicks between each word. This makes it easy to read and retype. This saves aggravation for the person retyping it into their word processor. You should use Arial font because it is easy to read and 13 to 14 point font size. This is because many newspapers will scan typed material into their computers these days and it makes it easier for their optical character recognition software (OCR) to read it. They will change the font later anyway to match whatever font they use in their newspaper.
You can fax a press release to them but we recommend dropping it off if you have time and it is convenient. You can also wash cars while you are there. Once again you will save them OCR headaches because things come out blurry on a fax. The very best is to e-mail it to them because it's already in their computer ready to be edited by their staff. The easier you make it on them, the better your chances of getting your press release or news item published.
After you get to know the editors over many months you can email them directly. Eventually you want to think about getting to know the local program directors on a first name basis also. I had run a small business for 20 years before I learned how easy it is to keep your name in the local media. We spent hours and thousands on advertising, when our competitors simply sent in small snippets of information each week. Think about it. Be a winner in your small company.
Lance Winslow
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