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De-mystifying PR | 7 Secrets to Becoming an Expert News Source

by Barbara Rozgonyi

There’s something magical about seeing your name in the news. All of a sudden, people think you’re an expert. Getting covered in a good story conjures up all kinds credibility. But, you don’t have to have a journalist to tell your story.

When you submit your story to a news wire service, they automatically send your news out via search engines, newswires and RSS feeds.

All you have to have is news to get attention.

Want to be news-worthy?

Print out this blog post, follow the directions and you’re on your way to becoming an expert news source.

7 Secrets to Becoming an Expert News Source

1. Change your PR mindset
   PR is about more than public relations and press releases. PR is about promoting relationships, publishing for readers, providing references, packaging for readability, inviting a proactive response, attracting prospective referrals and achieving an almost overnight page one page rank.
2. Collect keywords
   Choose a small group of 3-5 keywords and plan on testing and tweaking until you get an optimal mix. You want to do more than carve a niche. You want to be the groove-maker.
3. Be prolific
   Distribute at least one news release every month. To reach a variety of audiences, reframe a main release with benefits or tangents that appeal/apply to each group within your group.
4. Crown your stories with catchy headlines
   Start out, if you can, with your key search term. Limit total characters to 80, the shorter, the better. Here’s one that worked well for a restaurant opening: 50 Pizzas Rolled Into One Pie [29 characters, including spaces].
5. Lead with a summary
   Your first paragraph must say it all in 3-4 sentences. Make the last sentence your call to action. Ideas: invite your reader to request a free report, add your blog to their RSS reader, get a complimentary consultation or enter a contest.
6. Sustain interest
   Contain your content to 400 words and cover one major point. Have more to say? Write another release. Use bullets to point out benefits. Quote an outside expert to add credibility and bring in another voice. In the closing line, mention a way to contact you/your company. Add in images like your logo and photos to make your release more life-like.
7. Distribute where your community can find you
   Is your community local, offline, global or online? Where do they get their news?

Answering these two questions helps you develop a media contact list. You can send your stories directly to this group – after you call and introduce yourself to make sure your news stories will be relevant to them and their readers, listeners or viewers.

Distributing your news story online can be paid or free. It’s worth investing, at least at first, to get a more analytical analysis of how your releases perform in search terms, location of readers and number of prints and downloads.

Considering the cost of advertising, the minimal investment can be well worth it. In one case study, the release came in at 5/92,000 results on Google News for a key search term. How much? $200 How long? within 24 hours of release. Mixing online distribution with personalized direct media contact gives you the most complete coverage. Remember, all you have to have is news to get attention.

Ever wished you could get your name in the news but didn’t think you had a news-worthy story to tell? To help you find out, Barbara’s holding a free question and answer teleseminar on March 17 at 10:00 CST. For information, visit http://barbararozgonyi-wiredprworks.com/2008/03/05/pr-teleseminar/

Barbara Rozgonyi is the brilliant writer and thinker behind Wired PR Works. Work with Barbara to extend the reach of your blog’s voice in new ways.

Thanks, Barbara!

–ME “Liz” Strauss