Official Press Release (NOTE: Page count now 316)

[Lady K'Lyssia]

I love it - thanks for posting

Carol
www.carolhightshoe.com

 

[ChunkyC]

A quick note: the total number of pages in the book is now actually 316. It's a minor point, but please make the change in your press releases in the interest of accuracy. The page count is mentioned in two places: the first paragraph, and in the details section towards the end of the release.

I'll make the change to the version Jenna put up at the beginning of this thread.

 

[Rose colored glasses]

Does the press release have to be sent as part of a press kit? And should it be snail mailed rather than emailed?

 

[maestrowork]

The Press Release can be sent on its own, but if you are sending a press kit, it would be wise to include a press release. Press kit are usually sent via postal mail. Press Release, however, can be sent via email.

 

[WVWriterGirl]

For most of the press releases I'm sending so far, it is being requested that they be sent via email. How should I do it? Should it be an attachment, or in the body? Should I use the heading? What kind of subject line should I use? Do I need to preface the actual release with anything? First timer here, in need of help!

Thanks guys!

 

[Kim Gogo]

A quick note: the total number of pages in the book is now actually 316. It's a minor point, but please make the change in your press releases in the interest of accuracy. The page count is mentioned in two places: the first paragraph, and in the details section towards the end of the release.

I'll make the change to the version Jenna put up at the beginning of this thread.

You may want to set this note up as a new thread entitled "Revised Press Release" as I sent mine already to my husband's printer office to seek approval to print off some flyers and it included the wrong page count.

kim

 

[ChunkyC]

For most of the press releases I'm sending so far, it is being requested that they be sent via email. How should I do it? Should it be an attachment, or in the body? Should I use the heading? What kind of subject line should I use? Do I need to preface the actual release with anything? First timer here, in need of help!

Thanks guys!

For email, I think in the body of the message is the way to go. And plain text messaging is also a good idea. Both these measures will minimize the chance that the release will be blocked by security software at the receiving end.

• Just put PRESS RELEASE in the subject line.
• The first line in the body of the message should say For Immediate Release:
• Next, as September Skies suggested in a post above, you can put your contact info, rather than towards the end
• then put the actual release, including the 'heading' line, with the paragraph in brackets personalized with your 'quote', etc.

At the end, be sure to add a line stating that review copies are available upon request. If you do hear back from a contact and they ask for one, be sure to ask them if they'd like a PDF file sent to them via email. When Jenna gets back online, she is going to make the PDF Review Copy available to the authors so that they can send them on to contacts who request them. Just remember that this will be a review copy for the media and should not be distributed anywhere else.

 

[JamieE]

Sorry to be technically deficient, but how do I add the button/banner to my site?

Jamie

 

[Richard]

Copy the code snippets from the main SOS site, and paste them into your site's template where you want them to appear.

 

[JamieE]

I did, but all that appeared was the code. Do I need to delete the beginning and ending brackets? I'm using Front Page, if that makes a difference.

On a separate note, anyone else from Texas that's a contributor?

Jamie

 

[Richard]

Ah. You need to paste it where you want it to appear in the source code view, not the nice visual one.

 

[JamieE]

Still didn't work, but I copied and pasted the banner and that seemed to work. Weirdness.

Thanks for your help!

Jamie

 

[JamieE]

Since some local papers will print the news release, I changed up the format and put the local information up top for that immediate grab:

Soon after Hurricane Katrina struck, Girl Scout leaders in North Texas galvanized their troops into action. Within hours, food and clothing drives were in place. Troops in far northeast Richardson (Plano ISD, Collin County) (Note: included the school district and county because Richardson and Plano both have local newspapers, and Collin County has its own section in the Dallas Morning News) filled over 80 boxes with donated goods and provided 40 backpacks filled with school supplies to students displaced by the hurricane. Their story is now part of the Stories of Strength anthology, a collection of over 100 uplifting essays, short fiction and poems on the theme of "strength." One hundred percent of proceeds go to disaster relief charities, including the Red Cross, Americares, and the Salvation Army.

Then included the rest of the release, adjusting the local paragraph:

Jamie Engle of Richardson, Texas is one of the writers whose work was chosen for Stories of Strength. She is one of the Girl Scout leaders responsible for the northeast Richardson Katrina Relief effort. Her essay “Relief Effort Blossoms” is included in the Strength of Community section of the anthology. "The generosity of people during the hurricane crisis inspired all who were involved in the relief effort. I hope reading their story will bring hope to others," said Engle.

And continued with the rest of the release.
Hope this helps someone else.

Jamie

 

[JennaGlatzer]

Very cool. Please do feel free to tweak the release for your own local publications!

 

[Ken Schneider]

remember gang, a press release should be for the most part a stilted, to the point, letter.

the press wants facts, not flash. i'm sure that anything you do will be okay.

the local redcross was sent their copy-press release- today, with phone call confirmation. i have offered them first chance at any press conference and publicity. then, the newspapers will receive press kits at the conference to report further.

ken

 

[meryl]

Still didn't work, but I copied and pasted the banner and that seemed to work. Weirdness.

Thanks for your help!

Jamie

Try this entry -- I explained how to enter the code:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=351656&postcount=60

Also -- I'm in Plano, Jamie. Maybe we should combine our releases so the press can see there is more than one local? Anyone else from DFW?

 

[mrs75]

Questions, Please?

Okay, I'm getting ready to send off press releases in my area to local papers, radio stations, and local television stations. Now, my question, I will also be sending out notices to local bookstores and libraries. When I send out to local bookstores and libraries shouldn't I send a press kit instead of just the release? Also, what should be included in my press kit besides the press release, and can anyone share samples of what they would include in a press kit? Your help will be very much appreciated.

 

[Shwebb]

Look back on post #15--I posted the same question, and there's a brief discussion about what goes in it.

 

[JamieE]

Here's a link to the front page article at North Texas e-News:

http://www.ntxe-news.com/index.shtml

If you're looking after Saturday, it will roll off this page and be on:
http://www.ntxe-news.com/artman/publish/article_29764.shtml

Jamie

 

[mommie4a]

Very cool piece, Jamie - congrats!

 

[JennaGlatzer]

Fantastic!

 

[September skies]

Awesome!

 

[ChunkyC]

Very nice, Jamie!

 

[maestrowork]

For most of the press releases I'm sending so far, it is being requested that they be sent via email. How should I do it? Should it be an attachment, or in the body? Should I use the heading? What kind of subject line should I use? Do I need to preface the actual release with anything? First timer here, in need of help!

Thanks guys!

Either text within the email or PDF file. NEVER send unsolicited WORD or other file formats -- obviously because of virus threat. Most media would accept PDF. What's nice about PDF is that you get to keep the formatting, but it can't be altered and shouldn't contain any virus...

The subject line should contain the world "Press Release" and probably a headline to tell them, at a glance, what the press release is about. Media get thousands of press releases. Make yours stand out.

Also, do tweak it to suit your local news' needs. News media are looking for news, not just an "announcement of a book release." It must be news worthy, and yeah, must be factual and not "marketing" fluff. The fact that the book benefits disaster relief is good, but if you put a local news angle to it (Local author, etc.) then it becomes even more news worthy.

 

[Shwebb]

Thanks, Ray.

I've done both w/ mine--sent it in the body of the email and as an attachment. Since I've done up a great-looking news release (if I may say so!), I would like to preserve how it looks, but I don't know how to convert to PDF. It's not an option in my Word program.

Can someone please tell me how I can do that?