Press Release Write-up and Distribution FAQs

Press Release Write-up and Distribution FAQs

As we mentioned in our last features announcement, Prudent International Inc introduced a new Press Release package that combines Press Release "write-up" and "distribution" for only US$149.95. This new package is intended to bring quality and affordable Press Release services within the reach of medium and small budget individuals and companies.

Our Editorial Team has prepared the following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to help cement your understanding of the new Press Release package. More comprehensive FAQs can be found at: http://prudentpressagency.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=74

How much does your press release submission service cost? The price for "preparing" and "distributing" a press release of 400 words or less is only US$149.95. You will also receive a comprehensive press release distribution to more than 60,000 general editors and access to about 20,000 specialist magazines and websites. Your press release will also reach over 20,000 freelance journalists and reporters. To view part of the media we will reach with your Press Release, visit our Media List at:  http://www.prudentpressagency.com/medialist/index.htm
We also offer press release preparation services (without distribution) for only US$49.95.

How soon does the press release go out? Your press release will be distributed between Monday 9hrs EST and Thursday 16hrs the following business day. This ensures that editors and journalists receive them on their computers emails or fax machines the next morning. We see stronger responses with press releases received in the morning and well before weekends.

How are your press releases sent? Your press release is sent via email with the text formatted by us for line length and presentation. We also send out electronic faxes. The text of the press release is sent within the body of the email message as many organizations will not accept attachments because of virus and bandwidth concerns. If you have an image, we upload them to our website and provide a link to them on our website. The subject of the email message sent to editors will include your press release title or an abbreviated version of it.

How do I post my Press Release FREE on your site? To post your Press Release free on our website, register for a free account and login to your writers account. Go to the "Submit an Article" link and post your article. Our editors will review it to see if it meets our requirements before posting it on the website. Everyday hundreds of journalists and media editors visit our website in search of new articles and fill-ups. They are also part of the 30,000 syndicated RSS/XML subscribers on our networks.

What makes your press release services different from your competitors?
- We never charge a membership fee. Unlike other press release services, we have no hidden or extra charges. Our low prices stay low and remain among the lowest in the industry but the quality of our PR services remain high.
- We don't spam journalists. Our sources have opted to receive our press releases and media communications. We also maintain a responsible remove list for those who do not wish to be contacted by us. Beware of press release services which bombard journalists with unwelcome emails: you'll run the risk of weakening your impact and alienating the very audience you want to impress.
- We contact interested journalists directly. We reach more than 75 percent of our sources by name, and send press releases to their personal email addresses. Most press release services simply use a generic "editor@newspaper.com" format.
- Our low price of US$ 149.95 includes quality press release write-up and distribution. We challenge you to find a cheaper service offering a combination of the two at the quality and guarantee offered by us.
- We don't just send your press release. We send you proof of distribution! We also watch the media for new angles to pursue in future. As a client, you'll receive a customized report with links to your press release between five and ten websites where it appears.

Under what circumstances does Prudent Press Agency reject Press Releases?
Every press release we post on our website or to the media must pass through a brief review process. We do not verify any of the news or proofread any press release that was not prepared by our PR team. Correct grammar and spelling are the submitter's responsibility. Please remember the importance of submitting well-conceived and well-written press releases. We do not review all releases for general content to make sure that the release falls within our guidelines which are as follows: We will not post advertisements and will reject press releases that are not deemed newsworthy. Press releases that we perceive to be inflammatory or intended to cause harm to a third party will not be accepted. We will reject all releases that are written in all capital letters which is perceived as screaming. In addition, we will only post press releases which are in standard press release format.

Why are some of your articles free? All Press Release articles on our website are free to editors and journalists. Prudent International Inc was originally founded as a news wire organization. Many professional journalists and reporters around the world routinely sell their writings to the media through us.

Is PrudentPressAgency.com and SkyNewswire.com a not-for-profit company? No. PrudentPressAgency.com and SkyNewswire.com are a privately held for-profit company and a fully owned subsidiary of Prudent International Inc USA & E.U. We manage to keep our prices so low because we rely on volume sales, advertisement placement for clients and other media related services. Please note that our low prices never affect our ability to maintain high quality services.

Can I post my release via snail mail? Our Press Release team can turn around a news story and run an editorial news flash banner on our site or post out your message to the media typically within about 20 minutes. We can only do that if the news story comes in an electronic format (email or web page).
So, sorry to say, the press releases which still come into our office daily on paper, by snail mail are just thrown straight into the bin. They usually arrive too late anyway, so they fail on two counts.

How much does it cost to have your agency prepare my Press Release without distribution to the media? We are asked this question many times. Among the reasons given for wanting a Press Release write-up without distribution are:
1. Acquiring quality material for organizational and company in-house magazines and journals
2. Acquiring quality material for advertisement brochures, leaflets and pamphlets
3. Acquiring quality material for Press Release section on websites
4. Testing the agencies ability to produce quality PR write-ups at lower prices.
We charge US$49.95 for a 400 word piece. All our PR team are graduates in the field of journalism and/or Public Relations with a combined experience of over 80 years.

What are the most important aspects of a Press Release? If you plan on preparing and distributing your own Press Release ensure that:
1. The first lines of your press releases includes: "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" (or FOR RELEASE May 26, 2002) and "For more information, contact:" followed by your contact information.
2. Craft a compelling headline. The headline makes your release stand out. Keep it short, active, and descriptive. If you don't know how, read a number of compelling headlines till you get some idea.
3. Hook reader with the first paragraph. A first paragraph shall summarize the five W's: who, what, where, when and why. In fact, most readers will give up if you haven't "hooked" them in the first few lines.
4. Put the most important information at the beginning. This is a tried and true rule of journalism. Never hide golden points to the end.
5. Don't sell but answer questions! Making over-inflated statements is helpless to your business. Write a release that answers questions about your business, rather than piling flowery adjectives without saying why.
6. Avoid saying something is "unique" or "the best". Instead, show how people will benefit - i.e. save time, save money, make their life easier, etc.
7. A 'non- biased' source is very helpful.
8. Provide all possible contact information including mail address, telephone, fax, e-mail and web site (especially for online business).
9. Proofread & Proofread! Do remember to proofread your press release for typographical errors before you send them out.
10. End your press release with "###" (without the quotation marks) after your last lines of text. This symbol lets the editors know they have successfully received the entire release.

Does you accept press releases for adult content? NO. Prudent Press Agency does not accept explicit adult content pieces and reserves the right to refuse all press releases containing or promoting adult content.

Tune-Up Traditional PR isn't in any danger of dying out from online media; rather, it will adapt and use new channels offered by such outlets as blogs, pod casts, and RSS feeds. Joseph Reriani - PR Consultant

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This article is part of Joseph Reriani's "PR Tune-up Blog" newsletter posted to over 6,000 subscribers weekly. The newsletter was first published in 2002 at http://www.Reriani.com. For more articles and PR tune-up tips, please visit www.PrudentPressAgency.com and www.SkyNewswire.com. Joseph Reriani is a Media Consultant and Fellow with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations-  United Kingdom. He is the President/CEO of Prudent International Inc and Executive Editor of Prudent Press Agency. He is also an Assistant Editor of SkyNewswire.com directed by Jackie Mugambi . He is a trained journalist and specializes in helping businesses, organizations, and individuals improve their public image by effectively employing the power of public relations. Mr Reriani can be reached at admin @ Reriani.com. You may freely copy and re-publish this article without altering any part in the body.

Media Kits Build Media Relationships

Media Kits Build Media Relationships

There are several strategies for developing media kits, but experts agree a visually appealing media kit, with professional photos and well-written press releases are an important resource for creating buzz and getting the medias attention. A good media kit will pique an editor's curiosity and gain the company free publicity.

While the appearance of the media kit can peak a reporter's interest, the buzz a company is looking to create comes from the effort put behind the kit, from the development of the content and the follow-up discussions with reporters. The biggest mistake most companies make in creating media kits is making it look or read like a company or product advertisement. The goal of distributing a media kit is to help the media generate a story, but also to provide a valuable resource. If you can demonstrate a perspective beyond your company and can tie in the relevance of your company to the broader business environment, you'll become a valued resource. If you respect their deadlines and are helpful, not pushy, you will build relationships

So what should be included in a professional media kit? Just the facts. Simple and plain. Less is more, information-wise. You should include a company biography, a professional photograph of the key players and the product or performance of a service, a fact sheet and a recent news release geared toward the target audience should all be included. Avoid including sales information in a press kit. If the information is not presented professionally, your company's image may suffer.

Without functionality, your packet is likely to end up in the circular file (read: wastepaper basket) of a busy editor's office. Press releases are often the backbone of an appealing media kit. I have written over 10 articles in the past to help my readers learn how to craft a world-class press release. Please refer to them on my blog at http://reriani.blogspot.com or www.Reriani.com. A well-written news release serves as an outline of what the story is. If the release is written like a news story, and it actually has news in it, it is more likely to interest the reporter in doing a piece on it.. If you are not a good writer, hire one. We charge as little as US$49.95 to craft one press release for you and as low as US$35 if ordered in a package of 12 lasting for one year.

Including published clips about your company is a popular tactic. Don't change the date on news releases. A news release is a snapshot in time. If you are caught changing the date on news releases to make them appear 'fresher,' reporters will not trust that anything you tell them is current.

Professional artwork is also important and should always be included in a professional media kit. It should contain graphics in a variety of formats as well as black-and-white and color pictures for scanning, A well-prepared media kit will provide an editor with everything he or she needs to run a story on your company.

Use creative media kits to break through the clutter on a reporter's desk. Themed press kits can help personify a company. They need to capture the spirit and message of the product, company, organization or event. In public relations creativity for the sake of creativity is dangerous - that is what art is for. In the marketing communications field creativity needs to contribute to the bottom line.

Creating themes can be expensive, but you can utilize technology, to equalize the cost of a theme-based promotion. Contrarily, sometimes the best press kit is no press kit at all. If you are a small one or two person company, and resort to mailing out big, fat press kit,  the incorrect impression may be left and your press kit may appear like advertising.

Mass distribution of media kits can be expensive and ineffective. The best way to distribute media kits depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Select specific mailings to targeted media outlets. For the smaller outlets, you can just send them a press release Individualized mailings are more appropriate for the larger media outlets. Follow-ups are just as important as the initial mailings. Three days is usually the standard waiting time to send follow ups, unless breaking news is involved. Read my blog on "follow ups" to avoid some of the most common mistakes.

Tune-Up: Make sure when you are pitching a reporter you actually have news or a reason why your company should be profiled. When you build a relationship with a reporter they will cover you again - ultimately, that is how you create ongoing buzz that will help your business grow.. Joseph Reriani - PR Consultant

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This article is part of Joseph Reriani's "PR Tune-up Blog" newsletter posted to over 6,000 subscribers weekly. The newsletter was first published in 2002 at http://www.Reriani.com. For more articles and PR tune-up tips, please visit www.PrudentPressAgency.com and www.SkyNewswire.com. Joseph Reriani is a Media Consultant and Fellow with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations-  United Kingdom. He is the President/CEO of Prudent International Inc and Executive Editor of Prudent Press Agency. He is also an Assistant Editor of SkyNewswire.com directed by Jackie Mugambi . He is a trained journalist and specializes in helping businesses, organizations, and individuals improve their public image by effectively employing the power of public relations. Mr Reriani can be reached at admin @ Reriani.com. You may freely copy and re-publish this article without altering any part in the body.