In order to publicize your firm, it is necessary for you to employ a consistent and effective public relations methodology. We recommend the use of press releases on a regular basis as a key component of your public relations strategy.
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The press release should be at the heart of your publicity effort. It is the simplest and least expensive way to reach both the media and general public. Authoring a good press release can assist your Web host operation increase brand awareness amongst consumers and the investment community alike.
A press release is a concise, enlightening document that informs the media of your latest product, service or corporate partnership. The key ingredient to a successful press release is its timeliness and newsworthiness.
With a plethora of news being released daily, it is imperative that any communication you release captures your audiences due to its relevance. A press release should hence relay important news, to provide potential feature or background material for news organizations, or to provide follow-up information about your company or the industry in general.
The following instructions will help a hosting firm draft a press release:
Your organization must be identified at the top of the press release's first page Identify a contact - preferably two - so reporters can seek clarification or elaboration if necessary. List the contact's name and both office and home number in the upper left corner of the first page. Releases should be dated. Indicate whether the news is "for immediate release" or is to be held until a certain date and time. (Most - not all - media respect such "embargoes" unless there is an obvious attempt to manipulate news.) Use journalistic conventions as much as possible. Answer the basic questions of a new story (the five "W's" and "H" - who, what, when, where, why and how) early in the press release. Use the inverted pyramid form, emphasizing the most important or interesting facts first in the story. Use a summary lead for your press release's first sentence. Keep the lead to 25 words or less. Be accurate. Spell all names correctly; get the facts straight and the quotes correct. Be specific, not general. Use examples to illustrate your point. Do no editorialize or advocate a viewpoint. Avoid the use of buzzwords and phrases such as "mission-critical," "paradigm shift" or "leading service provider." Paragraphs should be not more than five to six lines each. Write "more" at the bottom of a page to indicate continuation and "-30-" to denote the end of the release. Tight edit the writing. Rarely should a release run more than two pages. Editors prefer short, punchy sentences with simple words and active verbs. Use a headline to summarize the gist of the news release for busy editors. Make sure the headline is informative. Make sure grammar, spelling and typing is perfect. Prepare one or many accompanying fact sheets to be distributed with the main release - to summarize lengthy necessary background information. Stale news is useless. Ensure that your release is delivered on time. Know the deadlines of relevant media. When possible, address news releases by name, but make sure your list of names is up-to-date. Send a paper copy to all relevant news outlets. Ensure that your press release is posted to your Web site as soon as it is released. Ensure that you utilize electronic means for distributing your press release. A good press release is not necessary a good communications vehicle unless it is widely distributed, reprinted or rewritten by your target media recipients. Web hosting firms that author press release must hence utilize a wire service to distribute their release to news organizations and high-tech market research houses.
Web hosting firms might consider utilizing a low-cost "news wire" service to distribute their releases such as Market Wire (marketwire.com), which offers broad, real-time dissemination of company press releases and material news directly to leading newsrooms, disclosure points, Web sites and online databases, as well as to individual journalists, analysts and consumers.
A free resource for press release distribution which hosting companies might also consider is PRWeb.com (prweb.com). Firms with more resources should also utilize traditional wire services such as AP or Business Wire. By using larger, traditional wire services, hosting firms can increase the potential of their press release being read by an editor at both prestige and industry trade publications.
