Posted by Phil Wiley on November 03, 1998 at 23:10:19:
Hope Wanda doesn't think this is blatent self promotion, but I've also been busy putting together the first pages in my
new Free Publicity Media Center - a probably too fancy name
for a new section of my site soon to be packed with links and
articles which cover everything you need to know about getting
free publicity from the media. You can find the first pages at
http://www.ozemedia.com/media.htm
Getting media publicity is not as easy as sending out a press
release and waiting for the phone calls to come flooding in from
story starved journalists desperate to interview you. They don't
just sit on their bums all day waiting to read a media release
which blows their socks off - they're all extremely busy people,
racing around trying to beat their deadlines so they can get home
on time ( or to the nearest bar ).
Most people sending press releases to the media get no press
coverage at all. Most press releases are thrown in the bin after
a 2 second glance, because they're not well written enough. The
headline doesn't grab, the first paragraph doens't tease the journo
into continuing reading. A lot of pencil chewing needs to go into
writing a release. You can't just toss one off in 5 minutes.
But, of course, press releases aren't the only way to go.
The easiest way to get all the media coverage you could ever
need, is to have an affair with President Clinton. Look at all the
attention Monica pulled without even chewing on a pencil.
I'm sure if she'd been selling widgets, whatever they are, she'd
have made a killing.
But affairs with the president are a little bit outside my field of
expertise. What I do know is how the media work. How they
find their stories, and I know just what they're looking for.
Let me know what you think of it. And if you find it useful how about a link from your site :)
phil