Do you write news releases that require six levels of approval before they can go out the door?
Do you labor over every word in your releases, and worry what reporters will think about the lame B.S. quote in the third paragraph—the one the boss insists be kept in?
If so, you might welcome the claim from Sally Saville Hodge that the typical news release, as we know it, is dead. Sally, president of Hodge Communications, Inc. in Chicago, presents a compelling argument in an article she wrote called “The News Release is Dead (Will Somebody Please Tell the Clients?)” for the Marketing Profs website.
“A short, personalized email—three paragraphs at most—to the targeted journalists with a to-the-point lead-in should not only outline the storyline but also emphasize its relevance to the outlet’s audiences,” she writes. “This personal approach is going to have a far greater chance of grabbing the reporter’s attention than a news release that’s written for the masses.”