Pamil Visions PR Issues Press Release White Paper

Everything thing you need to know about press releases.

My idea of a well written press release is one featuring a smart headline, about 500 words in length, and with complete (and accurate) contact information to help make my job easier. Most importantly of all the newsworthy angle must be front and center – I cannot tell you how many times I’ve received a release that is a thinly-veiled advertorial or promotional piece. Those releases, of course, never see the light of day on my end.

Mihaela Lica

Young people get their news online which means that your press release has to find them where they're at. Social media sites are a good place to look according to a white paper issued by Pamil Visions PR.

It seems that I’m not alone with this viewpoint because a recently issued white paper from Pamil Visions PR – Press Releases Designed For Effect – examines what works and what doesn’t work with today’s news releases. Pamil Visions PR also operates the popular Everything PR news portal, both of which were founded by Mihaela Lica who is a Romanian native currently residing in Germany.

I’ve crossed paths with “Mig” many times over the past several years and was happy to get a preview copy of the white paper which was written by Mig and Phil Butler, and edited by Laura Spencer.

Seismic Shift

As expected, the white paper examines conventional press (news) releases and how they were used by traditional journalists to report news. Much promoted through the 1990s and into the early part of this century, the traditional press release had once been dominant, but that began to change in the late 1990s with Google’s birth and the subsequent shift to where many people now get their news online.

Today, the traditional press release is “dead” not necessarily buried, replaced by the social media press release which currently holds sway. That newfangled piece is still big on the news basis but it brings in additional components, most noticeably a social media angle.

Online Penetration

Thanks to the likes of Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Twitter and Facebook, savvy press release writers understand that their news may get picked up and disseminated in ways that didn’t exist a few years ago with blogs and web sites getting into the game too.

No longer do companies have much control over the news once they publish their releases – today, news is oftentimes spread online, commented by customers who share their experiences based on their opinion of a service, product or market. Those changes are part of the “new rules” shared in the white paper, with the consumer playing a far more pivotal role than ever before.

Your Copy

There is much more found in this 13-page white paper than I’m willing to share here, with detailed instructions on how to reshape your release to adhere to contemporary modes of communication. Naturally, if you want those details you can purchase your copy of the white paper on the Pamil Vision or Everything PR site, certainly a worthwhile investment for the public relations professional or corporate communications manager.

Please Note: No compensation was received by Pamil Visions for this review.

Ask the English Teacher

I thoroughly enjoy the convenience of the internet: so much of what I am looking for can be found right online. There is hardly ever a need for me to run to the library to search, research, and drive home again. Not that I mind libraries, but I do put a premium on my time.

One helpful site that has popped up for me is a blog titled, Ask the English Teacher. Run by Crawford Kilian, a professor of English at Capilano College located near Vancouver, British Columbia, Kilian regularly dispenses wisdom on a number of subjects ranging from intellectual property rights to the proper usage of plurals for words such as fish, deer, etc.

Just today I noticed he was instructing a reader from Singapore regarding the proper usages of drop off and drop out, plus some other terms that can trip you up.

I’ve bookmarked his site as I know I’ll need to refer to it as a trusted source from time to time, just the type of site those of us who make our living from writing are certain to appreciate.