Press Release Tip 23

Write a “Top 10” list

One way to almost guarantee that you’ll get publicity for your product, service, cause or issue is to create a “Top 10” list that doubles as a press release.

It can be the “Top 10 Best” or the “Top 10 Worst” or “The Top 10 Most Romantic…” or anything else you can dream up. It doesn’t even have to be 10. The numeral can vary.

Social media is the perfect home for these lists. Traditional media love them too.  Almost anybody can create one. The Top 10 list discussed here is in the form of a press release. You can also write much shorter “Top 10” lists with little more than a headline, the numbered list, and a link for more information. See my “Special Report 30: Briefs, Fillers and Quizzes: The Shortest, Easiest Articles You’ll Ever Write.” 

The list: The Top 10 Retirement Cities

Publicist Barbara Kimmel of Next Decade, a publishing company, wrote the press release below about her client, Dr. Warren Bland, a geographer at Cal State and author of the book  “Retire in Style, 60 Outstanding Places Across the USA and Canada.” It was distributed by Paul J. Krupin’s press release distribution service.

The result:

Within the first 90 days of this release, the author appeared on about 30 radio shows and in almost 50 newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune (twice), New York Daily News and the Dallas Morning News. He also appeared on Bloomberg, CBS Marketwatch, Fox News, MSNBC and CNN American Morning. He was also written up on several websites including mortgage101.com, Yahoo real estate news, Remax.com, CNN.com and Bankrate.com.

***IMPORTANT: Barbara wrote 10 different versions of this press release—each highlighting one of the Top 10 cities—so the name of the city was in the headline and the lead paragraph. That’s called customizing your press release, and the time it takes is well worth it because journalists read the press release written for their city and think, “Aha! This is about our city, and it’s perfect for our audience.”

Here’s the release:

New Survey Results Show the Top 10 Cities to Retire

CHESTER, NEW JERSEY (Feb. 1, 2005) — Warren Bland, PhD., an award-winning geographer at Cal State, has just released his new “Top Ten” U.S. picks.

Topping this year’s list are Boulder, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; San Antonio, Texas; Asheville, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; Boca Raton, Florida; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Surprised about Pittsburgh? Don’t be. According to Bland, “The Pittsburgh renaissance is a reality–the city has evolved from Steel City to a corporate headquarters and service economy, and its air is now cleaner than that of most large American cities. It offers residents excellent transportation, retail services, health care and a mix of cultural and recreational activities unmatched by cities of its size. And the best part… you can enjoy Pittsburgh’s many amenities at affordable prices.”

Dr. Bland has carefully selected 12 criteria most important to retirees in his new book “Retire in Style, 60 Outstanding Places across the USA and Canada.” They are landscape, climate, quality of life, cost of living, transportation, retail services, health care, community services, cultural activities, recreational activities, work/volunteer activities, and crime. Each place discussion includes 5-6 pages of text, plus a beautifully crafted illustration page featuring a climatic table, a 12-variable rating table, and a map of the city and its surroundings.

Bland is a well-known expert in his field. He has been quoted in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Consumer’s Digest and U.S. News & World Report, to name just a few. His book, which is published by Next Decade, Inc., and retails for $22.95, is available through all major wholesalers, at leading bookstores and on the Web at a variety of electronic bookseller sites, or direct from Next Decade at (800) 595-5440.

Press Contacts: Next Decade Inc., Barbara Kimmel
(publisher),(800) 595-5440

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Opportunity #23 to write a press release: Fund-raising report

Remember Opportunity #22 which was a fund-raising kick-off? Keep the momentum going by writing press releases throughout the campaign to let people know how much has been raised so far.

Next: Give free advice.