Joan Stewart

Press Release Tip 42 Use a landing page If you’re writing a press release and you want the reader to do only one thing as a result of reading your release, and not get distracted, lead them to a special landing page. It’s a stand-alone page at your website, created specifically for the purposes of… Read More

Press Release Tip 43 How to promote a new product Today, you’re starting the first lesson in Module 7 which teaches you how to turn a press release from mediocre to marvelous. You’ll see “before” and “after” samples. Let’s start with a press release about a Colorado company that was the first in the state… Read More

Press Release Tip 44 Skip the self-congratulation Today’s lesson is courtesy of publicity expert Marcia Yudkin, and it comes straight from her excellent online course  “The Press Release Makeover Course.” I love the course because with each “before and after” makeover, she explains exactly what she changed and why she changed it. Marcia’s Makeover #8:… Read More

Press Release Tip 45 How to promote an event Thanks to Melvin E. Taylor, one of my Publicity Hounds, for sending this press release that promotes a summer festival in New York City. This is a case of trying to fit 10 pounds of copy into a 5-pound container. When I first read the press… Read More

Press Release Tip 46 Avoid alphabet soup Acronyms and abbreviations make press releases difficult to read.  This press release, about a scientist who will tell a community whether it has a higher-than-normal rate of cancer, had several unnecessary acronyms and abbreviations which I removed when I rewrote it. I also added a headline.  It refers… Read More

Press Release Tip 47 How to promote a product for a niche market If you’re promoting a product for a niche market, state that in the headline, and don’t dilute the release with a lot of extraneous information. The release below was written to promote a line of men’s skin care products that would appeal… Read More

Press Release Tip 48 Write for the Web Online marketing expert BL Ochman says the rules for writing press releases for the web are different than the rules for writing them on paper. She recommends: Make sentence and paragraphs short. White space is your friend. It makes reading from the screen easier. Nothing is harder… Read More

Press Release Tip 49 Tweak your releases for different audiences If you’re writing a press release for two or more very different audiences, it’s time for a makeover. That’s what PR pro Kathi Petersen did when she was promoting “The Doors of Asheville” benefit auction for the Neighborhood Housing Services of Asheville, a nonprofit in… Read More

Press Release Tip 50 Use long headlines The first tip in this module for authors and publishers will help your release command attention quickly in a noisy marketplace. When authors write press releases for a book launch, too many of them make the mistake of never explaining in the headline what the book is about.… Read More