Newsworthy? Not hardly.

Luckily, no lasting harm was realized—I shook off what you wrote and soon moved on to some real news, managing to use certain well written information as a jumping-off point for a new article.

Yet, the taste of your “bad form” release has to be addressed, so please allow me to share the eight things I found in your piece that is at the center of our collective angst:

1. Terrible Title – 80 characters maximum is a nice rule of thumb for a good title, but you nearly doubled that limit. I couldn’t tell if you were making an announcement or crying out for help.

2. Weak Intro – You lost me after the first paragraph, let alone the first sentence. Neither had anything to do with the title which meant I had to work to figure out what your news angle was.  That angle was nowhere to be found so you failed.

3. Punishing Paragraphs – Your second and third paragraphs were much too long and could easily have been split up into several smaller paragraphs. Better yet, several sentences could have been struck out in entirety.

4. Excessive Quotes – You quoted the president of the company, vice-president of sales and the regional director, with each person saying basically the same thing. I almost expected your bookkeeper to chime in with her comments too.

5. Jarring Jargon – I realize that you are excited about your new product, but that enthusiasm needs to be tempered by reality and sensibility. I hardly know what to make of “concept of functionalities” or “holistic, groupwide simulation.” Get real and lose the Orwellian prose.

6. Pull Quotes – Your one opportunity to tell us something useful died in your pull quote. I’m glad your family rescues abandoned animals, but that tidbit has nothing to do with the news at hand. Someone goofed.

7. Stuffed Keywords – I hardly think that “redundant cycle” is a keyword phrase worth chasing after in the SERPs. Apparently, you do as I found the term scattered in five places throughout your piece. Yes, I am still annoyed!

8. Banished Boilerplate – So, you think that the press release boilerplate should be played around with, do you? Trust me, no one is interested in learning about every single unrelated product your company offers. Stick with the top performers and please keep it consistent from release to release.

Some 950 words later, I managed to sift through your release and determined that no “newsworthy” component could be found. That in itself is sufficient reason why you could have saved yourself and everyone else a whole lot of trouble.

See Also — Are Press Releases Still As Important As Ever?

It is also the site which draws the most attention from said PR folks.

Disseminating News, 21st Century Style

I had an experience two weeks ago that should grab the attention of corporate executives who understand the importance of disseminating news, perhaps in ways they aren’t accustomed to doing. Yes, I mean via blogs — the new media way of getting news out to people who have embraced the worldwide web, which means almost everyone.

In this particular situation I was contacted by an automotive aftermarket parts company, the type of business who develops products for passenger vehicles that are sold after the sale (e.g., sun visors, grill guards, performance exhaust systems, etc.) I’ve gotten numerous press releases from this company in the past and have, on occasion, shared their product information with my readers.

On occasion, I get to actually sample a product, but I don’t make that a condition as to whether I’ll share information on my site or not. What interests me are those products which I believe would be helpful to my readers, something they might consider buying for themselves. I don’t receive money to publish this information and, if a preview copy or product sample is offered, I’ll tell everyone when I used one.

But, it doesn’t mean that I’ll automatically write a positive review about that product either.

Why I Did Not Go With Their Story

Back to my story – when I received the company’s latest press release, I read it and discovered that they were offering a new product for pickup truck owners. I liked what I read, but I also liked what I saw – two attractive *jpg photos were included with the release, pictures showing the product installed. So, I wrote back to my contact and asked for additional information to learn which make/model trucks applied.

My contact quickly responded and noted that the company’s marketing manager was receiving a copy of her message to me. Two hours later the marketing manager emailed me directly with answers to my question. She also said that she was available to offer additional assistance.

I Was Interested And Wanted More Information

Sure enough, I decided to press the issue further, expecting that the new information needed would be enough to help me write up a story. I asked for two things: additional pictures including at least one showing how the product could be used and I also wanted to obtain a unique quote from either the person who developed the product or at least get a statement from management about the item.

The information in the press release was helpful, but I wanted to build up a story instead of regurgitating what someone else already said.

One day went by, then another one. Finally a week passed and I knew that my request fell on deaf ears. No acknowledgment of my message, no follow up on their part. I decided to ditch the story and went with something else.

Three Points To Consider

So what’s my point? I have several, actually:

• If a company is trying to get the news out, they need to be thorough. Don’t expect people to be happy with simply reposting your news without working on reporting their own angle.

• Also, keep in mind that the people you come in contact with tend to remember what you did for them, but they’ll also remember when their requests were ignored or turned down.

• Finally, can anyone really afford to lose out on a free publicity opportunity? After all, we are going through a deep recession – if you don’t know how to do the p-u-b-l-i-c part of public relations, then why bother?

Thanks for reading my rant. I’m tempted to forward this link to the marketing manager, but I’ve decided to let it (and the company’s story) go.

You may also want to read — Lessons From The Great Cuil Failure

I’m not your average blogger nor am I your typical freelance writer. I maintain six active blogs, four of which are updated daily, with the remaining two updated once or twice a week; I’m also currently serving as the automotive columnist for a pair of print publications.

Most particularly as when the news has something to do with cars, I’m often the recipient of requests to review a product, make an announcement, tell a story or share something else with my readers.  Admittedly, I can’t respond to every request personally and I sometimes miss the announcement completely.

To that end, I want to share some tips with those of you whose responsibility it is to disseminate news, particularly when you’re trying to see if I will follow up with what you have.

Not all news is equal, but not all press releases and announcements are either.  This means that you have a better chance of getting a “read” and an eventual article placement if you follow my advice:

Contact me carefully — I no longer publish a phone number where people can contact me. My current clients have that number and I also give that information out to people who are part of my trusted circle of news providers. For everyone else, contacting me via my on site contact forms or direct email address is the best way to go.

I put a lot of weight on those contacts who provide all of the information I need from the get go including at least one related photograph. I just don’t have time to play email tag — be thorough and I’ll have a clearer understanding of what you want and can make my decision based on the information you supplied.

Please be patient — I don’t always respond to contact requests as quickly as I probably should. No excuses, but life does happen to get in the way. Juggling a number of responsibilities means that some tasks get pushed to the side. Plus, there are times I am on deadline and absolutely nothing will get me to stop what I’m doing to focus on your news.

More often then not, I’ll go through my inbox several times during the week to catch up on my messages. Yes, if I detect that something is spammy or isn’t relevant, I’ll simply delete it and move on.

Follow up with me — If someone has something that is very interesting or truly believes that what would benefit my readers, I have no problems with receiving a follow up note. Pushy people are usually ignored while polite folks get moved to the head of the line.

Just to let you know that I’m from the old school: I value personal relationships and I enjoy long term business dealings. I’ve been online steadily since 1995 and have managed my own sites since 2002. I like to think that what I do now will be something that I’ll be doing the rest of my life. I love my job!

I need your people — Got people? I hope so. From time to time I’ll rewrite a press release and add my thoughts to the conversation. However, I prefer the human contact (remember, I’m old school) and am much more likely to go with your story if I can speak to the name behind the story.

This means the person who designed the automobile, runs the division, created the concept or is heading up the ad campaign is of interest to me. I won’t take up a lot of their time (we’re all very busy these days) but if I can have ten to fifteen minutes, that will certainly help your cause. In some cases I’m satisfied with a brief quote sent to me via email.

The bonus round — Last of all, you can increase your chances of having your news published by writing a jam up press release in the first place (I toss away anything smacking of self promotion) and by offering to cite my article somewhere on your website or blog.

I’m not looking for a “pay to play” exchange but if I’m publishing something newsworthy about your organization, product or personnel you can bet that I’m providing a valuable path to your site, one that my readers will likely travel frequently over the weeks, months and, yes, the years ahead.

Photo Credit: Sanja Gjenero

Are you a writer? Do you aspire to expand your presence far beyond your personal blog or web pages?

I believe that mostly everyone who writes for a living understands that visibility is essential to being successful in this craft, but we aren’t necessarily good when it comes to our personal marketing.

In the competitive world of writing, standing head and shoulders above the crowd will soon establish a brand for yourself. Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can attract the business you deserve through your ongoing personal marketing campaign.

What Is Your Brand? — Is your brand your name, your person, your product, or something else? Well, it could be all of the above. For example, I am Matt Keegan and I am also The Article Writer. In addition, I am Matthew C Keegan, LLC and my writing qualifications extend well beyond articles to include: press releases, web content, blogging, copywriting, SEO, and more.

Sure, being The Article Writer can seem a bit limiting, but it really helps me out with the SERPs! Overall, I would prefer to be known as a freelance writer, a catch-all term with few limits.

Beyond blogging, which is a very important way for me to showcase my talents, there are other ways I can market my brand and so can you:

• Attending conferences and seminars as a guest speaker.
• Write a book, collaborate on a report, publish an exhaustive product review, etc.
• Submit articles to print publications including newspapers, magazines, and newsletters. Online versions work quite well too.
• Write personal press releases and seek out media attention.
• Hold seminars where you are the lead speaker. Leverage key guest speakers as needed — let some of their visibility rub off on you!
• Appear as a guest on a television or radio program. Podcasts are very cool and a terrific way to get exposure today.
• Network, network, network — social communities are a fantastic tool for marketing your personal brand. If you can only join a few, become highly visible in at least one.

Of course, appearing everywhere is one thing, but offering something of value (especially for free) is another thing. Contest giveaways, advice or assistance, and mostly any other service you offer for no charge will raise your visibility in no time. Friends will remember the good you did for them and talk about you on their blogs, mention you in their newspaper columns, and invite you as a guest for their upcoming seminar or conference.

Personal branding never ends, it is constantly changing, and it is the one task you must do or you will perish as the implementers step over the slackers. Marketing yourself isn’t always an easy task, but the benefits will positively impact your business and your bottom line.