Newsletter: Press release vs blog post

NewzEngine.com – Anyone can write, but not everyone can write compelling, interesting content on a regular basis. So, when the commitment is made to the blank page, you want to get the most value out of your time (or the time of the person you may be paying to write your content). What is the best bang for your buck – a press release or a blog post?

The answer is simple. It can be both. You can start with the same idea, the same information, you just need to alter the style.

A blog post is conversational – it’s like chatting to a friend about your topic. A press release is a formal statement – it’s like a cover letter for a job application, you are out to capture and retain the attention of an audience who are unlikely to know you, who have many people competing for their attention, and for whom you want something very significant (in this case a professional writer or broadcaster to think your content is worthy of their time and effort).

This is a blog post, so the headline is informal. If it was a press release, the headline might be “Press releases and blog posts differ in style, not content”.

The first sentence would change too, for example: “Effective content writing takes into account stylistic differences.”

Of course, this isn’t a press release because it isn’t newsworthy. And that is another critical difference between these two content types. A blog post seeks to be informative, while a press release seeks to be newsworthy. The latter announces a new product, new survey, new appointment, new investment, new event, and so on.

If you are creating content for your business or organisation on a regular basis, then you will write many blogs, and only some of them will turn into press releases. And, when they do, you can send them out using NewzEngine.

Find out more about writing press releases check out ‘8 Steps to Writing an Effective Media Release’ here.

Newsletter: Media release etiquette

NewzEngine Newsletter: It would not be appropriate in an office to shout at the person next to you, and it would be ineffective to whisper when you’re on stage taking part in a panel discussion. When sending an email, ‘all caps’ are only to be used in extreme circumstances and using a smiley-faced emoji at the end of a sentence in which you’ve criticised the recipient is passive aggressive

The etiquette of office life is generally well understood, but what about when communicating with journalists via a media release, what’s the etiquette for that? Here are a couple of quick thoughts.

While there are no hard and fast rules, in generally it’s best to avoid jargon. Journalists are usually people who got into the profession because they love words, so try to avoid phrases that are overused and bit cringeworthy. The first time someone talked about “going forward” was probably OK, but it’s safe to presume this term has now been overused. Ditto “best in breed”, “window of opportunity”… anyway, you get the point.

The second is to think about the journalist’s audience. It’s kind of insulting if you don’t. You want them to take an interest in what’s happening in your world, so you should probably think a little bit about theirs.

At NewzEngine we have split our media distribution lists into sections for this very reason. There as 11 regional locations as well as ‘National news’ and 12 sectors to choose from, as well as Māori media. Users can tick more than one box. For example, if your media release is about a tech event in Palmerston North taking place on a marae, it would be entirely appropriate to tick ‘Manawatu’, ‘Technology’ and ‘Māori media’. If it was focussed on health applications and featured entrepreneurs in the speaking line-up then ‘business’ and ‘health’ would also be good boxes to tick.

NewzEngine also enables ‘All NZ locations’ and ‘All Sectors’. These buttons should be ticked only in rare circumstances. They are like the equivalent of a megaphone at the office. Reserved for very big news. Before ticking those boxes, you need to ask yourself, is my news of interest to everyone from the reporter covering the environment round to the food editor? If not, then best leave those buttons alone.

NewzEngine Newsletter: The media release habit

You’re posting to LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, with maybe a little Snapchat on the side. You’ve got the SEO keywords sorted, the Google adwords paid for. You’re rocking the social, so why not go that next level and let the media know about what you do and why?

From the great newspaper mastheads that have migrated online, to exciting new publications borne in the digital age – the role of media remains as relevant today as when dear old Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press and the age of mass communication was borne.

Providing independent media with information about your business or organisation can enable you to reach hundreds, thousands, and even millions of potential customers, investors, and stakeholders. While there is no guarantee your release, or the information it contains, will be published, it does make it more likely that your organisation will be taken into account when a journalist next writes about your sector or area of interest.

Getting into the habit of writing and distributing media releases provides several benefits, including:

• Your organisation is noticed by journalists covering your sector and area of interest.
• News releases provide fresh content for your website – on the home page, in the news section and repurposed as blogs posts.
• A release that is written with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) in mind – but not to the detriment of readability – can promote your organisation in Google rankings.
• Writing a media release crystalises what you want to say about a new product, service, appointment, milestone, or event. Having distilled your message, you can re-use this content when reaching out to customers and stakeholders in other communications.
• As you begin to write more releases you will become better at identifying a news angle and deciding what is ‘newsworthy’ and what isn’t.

Find out how to kickstart your next marketing communications activity by downloading NewzEngine’s free whitepaper ‘8 steps to writing an effective media release NewzEngine’s free whitepaper ‘8 steps to writing an effective media release’.