Hello and welcome to Tactical Execution, an information series exploring innovative marketing and strategic business positioning for entrepreneurs and small businesses in an increasingly competitive world. My name is Patrick and I’m your host. You can find written versions of these podcasts at TacticalExecution.com and I encourage your candid feedback at the same location. Today, we’ll be talking about press releases and media quotes so let’s get started.

Just think about it for a second. Think about those so-called “experts” who are doing interviews on TV and the radio and being quoted in newspapers and magazines. Think about the exposure they get in the process. Think about the credibility they get by being called upon as an expert in their field. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the potential upside. Fact is; we live in a media-saturated world and an ability to get plugged into that massive publicity machine can quickly change your career for the better.

Last month, I was called by a business writer with the Associated Press and we did a short interview about the current volatility in the mortgage businesses. As you probably know, the Associated Press is a largely-syndicated news source and the article he wrote ended up in newspapers all across the country. Free publicity. And two weeks ago, I did an interview for the “Here & Now” radio show on National Public Radio. That segment got played in 65 cities. Again, free publicity.

Do you know how much that publicity would’ve COST me if I had to buy the equivalent advertising space? Well, I don’t know either. But it would’ve been an absolute fortune. Yet, with a little practice and a few well-placed dollars, I get opportunities like this on a fairly regular basis. So let’s take a look at the mysteries surrounding press releases and the media.

First and foremost, you need to understand that most journalists work under more pressure than almost anyone else, except perhaps Escrow Officers. They work hard too. But journalists are right there with them, always working with a deadline and being forced to come up with quality content on a dime. Any effort to work with journalists MUST cater to that reality.

Now, the first thing we need to introduce is press releases. A press release is simply a written announcement of an event, performance, or other newsworthy item that’s prepared specifically for distribution to the media. In general, press releases are quite short and they follow a specific format. Fact is; they’re essentially pre-written articles that journalists can use, pre-packaged, in their respective media.

I’d like to spend a few more minutes on that last point because it feeds into the true realities behind our media. Whether you realize it or not, a significant amount of the news stories we see or hear are pre-packaged by publicists through press releases and related publicity tools. Most press releases even include quotes with top-level executives even though no such interview ever took place. These quotes are written by publicists and included as if they were legitimate quotes.

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with this. Yes, I know. It sounds crazy but the fact is; these executives would probably say exactly what the publicist wrote anyway, just not quite as eloquently. I mean; let’s face it. They’re hired by the company. They’re essentially promotional agents, building exposure for the client. So they’re all on the same team but we all need to realize that a huge portion of the media we receive is pre-packaged by publicists.

All these quotes we read in the paper – makes it look like the journalists went all over hells half acre and personally spoke with all these various people. Not likely. I would guess more than 75% of those quotes were included in press releases. I don’t know that for sure. I’m not in that industry. But from my own experience, that’s my guess.

Even a lot of the video clips we see on the evening news are provided by publicists, one way or another. Now, that doesn’t mean it contains inaccurate information. It just means we can’t be naïve about this stuff. And we need to know how to play into the system for our own benefit.

As it turns out, there are a number of “wire services” companies can use to distribute their press releases. These are companies that will take your press release and electronically distribute it to tens of thousands of publishers and journalists in different fields or geographical areas. I’ve done this myself and it usually costs between $200 and $400, and believe me; your press release gets sent all OVER the place. But do you get any real coverage? No, not really.

The wire services are sending out thousands of press releases everyday. And the publishers and journalists can do searches based on keywords to find stories they might be able to use. The chances of your press release making the cut are pretty slim. Now, of course, there are a variety of websites that accept these electronic distributions automatically so your press release WILL show up on the internet. But I wouldn’t expect any actual HUMANS to see it. We’re talking about websites that end up with thousands and thousands of press releases. The chances of someone finding YOURS is tiny.

Now, there ARE two exceptions to this pessimistic generalization. For starters, if you can write something extremely topical – something that’s in the news RIGHT NOW – you’ve got a much better chance of getting picked up. If you can build a story about your company but relate it to some other MAJOR news story, these wire services could be a great option. The odds of your story getting used are much higher and the wire services could end up delivering your story to dozens and dozens of places. In fact, I know a guy who did exactly that and ended up with his story running in papers across the country. Score.

The other exception is if your press releases are coming from a large, well-known company. In all likelihood, this doesn’t apply to you because most of the listeners to this podcast series are with small to medium-sized companies but the press releases coming out of Microsoft or Cisco or General Electric usually get picked up just because of the source. These are huge companies. Whatever they do IS newsworthy. But if you’re sending out a press release about your free mortgage seminar the way I did, don’t expect much coverage!

So, as an entrepreneur or a small to medium-sized business owner, how can you actually get picked up? Well, as with most things in our increasingly electronic world, it all boils down to relationships and a personal touch. If you want to send out a press release, here’s what you need to do. Make a list of the news outlets you want to target. Ideally, they should be local outfits or at least semi-local. Then go to their websites, click on Contact Us and give them a call. Ask them who handles local community press releases. Be sure to get a full name (first AND last name) as well as a phone and fax number.

Take your press release and fax it directly to the attention of these individual journalists. And then – surprise, surprise – follow it up with a phone call. Pretty revolutionary, right? It’s true. This stuff isn’t rocket science. Give them a call. 90% of the time, you’ll end up in their voicemail but don’t worry. Just leave them a quick message. Let them know you just faxed a press release to their attention. Mention the title and let them know you just wanted to make sure they received it.

I even like to tell them that I realize they’re probably buried under two feet of press releases but I just wanted to make sure mine was in the pile somewhere. I also tell them I’d be happy to answer any questions they might have and I always leave my cell phone number so they can call me anytime and have a good chance of catching me on the first try. And you wouldn’t believe the way these people respond!

Now, am I saying all my press releases get picked up? No absolutely not. But these are busy human beings and they are very happy to get a compassionate message from YOU, another busy human being but one who understands. And if they can find a reason to use your story, they will. Also, if your press releases are poorly written, they’ll usually tell you and that’s a LOT better than NOT hearing it. In most cases, if your press release is poorly written, it’ll just end up in the garbage and you’ll never know why. If you call them to follow up on your submission, they’ll tell you why they didn’t use the story. And believe me; that’s valuable information.

If you actually DO this on a regular basis, it won’t take long and these journalists will start recognizing your name. You’ll start developing a relationship with them. They’ll start taking your calls. They might even call YOU when they’re working on a story they know you can contribute to. That’s why the “Here & Now” radio show called me two weeks ago. They knew I could fill their need. They knew I could fill the slot. That’s what you’re working towards.

Start out by building a list of news outlets you want to target. Build a small database. Don’t get too ambitious to start. Include maybe a dozen or so. The local papers and radio stations. Other local publications. I’m here in the Bay Area and I’ve got 16 people on my list. And when I have a press release that’s appropriate, it takes me about 2 or 3 hours to fax it out and make all my phone calls.

It’s worth noting I don’t send out stupid press releases. And the people I send them to know I won’t send them garbage. Don’t try and send out a press release every week or two. Wait until you have a real story. Wait until you have something you could see written up in the newspaper. Once you’ve got something like that, write it up and send out. And in the meantime, stay put. Don’t send out garbage.

Also, if you’re not good at writing this kind of stuff, go to CraigsList.com and you’ll find tons of people marketing themselves as copywriters. Are they all good? No, probably not. But a lot of them ARE good and you can get a good idea from the ad they have listed or the website they reference. Many of these websites will include samples of their work and those samples almost always include a few press releases. Take a look through and hire somebody. A well-written press release goes a long ways.

And if you want to do it yourself but are unsure how to get started, just go to Google and put “press release PDF” into the search field. It’ll bring up a ton of recent press releases from various large companies or other organizations. Print out one or two. Read them. And then copy their format and fill it in with your own story. Believe me; you’ll get plenty of great examples that way and it’s totally free.

Okay. Now let’s talk about a different approach. There’s actually a service out there that can dramatically accelerate this whole process. It’s not free but I think it’s one of the best deals available. You pay $100 per month and they put you in a database of “experts” – a database used by journalists looking for quotes. The resource is free to journalists and when they’re in a crunch and need a quote in a hurry, they can go to this database and look up the type of expert they need. And if they select the category you put yourself in, wham-oh, there you are.

This is an incredibly effective service but it works better for some people than others. For starters, it works best for those who are in front of their computers a lot and can jump on a request quickly. When those requests come in, you want to get on it as quickly as you can. You also need to be fairly good at communicating. If you have good written communication skills and can explain things clearly and concisely, the service is perfect for you.

In my case, I spend hours and hours in front of my computer each day and I would say that communication is my strong suit. And it works like a charm. If you do a good job for someone, they’ll keep your name on file and when they have another story they know you can contribute to, they’ll give you a call. In other words, you don’t have to do this service forever. You can get on there and do the drill for a few months and then feed off the relationships you’ve built along the way to keep it going.

The name of the service is PR Leads and I’ve included them on the Links tab of the Tactical Execution website. If you’re a good communicator, I highly recommend taking a look at this service. Once you’ve been quoted in a variety of newspapers, your credibility can take a real leap upwards. And I would reference all the places you’ve been quoted on your website somewhere. It makes you look like a real authority.

Please visit TacticalExecution.com to get an itemized list of things you can do TODAY to start getting results. It’s a FREE 1-page PDF file in the members-only section so you have to register and log in, and then you’ll find it under the “Resources” tab.

You can also view upcoming topics by clicking the Marketing tab under Podcast Chapters. If you have a suggestion for future topics, please use the Contact form to let us know. And finally, all the websites referenced on this podcast have been included on the Links page.

Okay, thank you very much for listening. If you like what you hear on these podcasts, please tell a friend about them. Modern technology like podcasting can help elevate new and innovative thinkers but we all have to play our part to help spread the word for those who deserve our endorsements. If I am deserving of yours, my thanks.

I DO offer workshops, seminars and keynote speeches as well as consulting services so please email me at Patrick [at] TacticalExecution.com for more information. I’m also doing an extensive podcast series on stock market investing, real estate finance and the economy in general. That series is called Financial Audio and you can find it on iTunes.

Stay tuned. There is a lot more to come. In the meantime, think big, take action and market strategically. Bye for now.