[Hidden-tech] Is the Press Release Dead?

[Ron Miller]

I know as a journalist I am much more likely to pay attention to an  
email from someone I know (like Jeff for instance), who has done his  
homework and clearly understands my needs as a writer. Like any  
business, PR is really about building concrete relationships. I would  
say more than 90 percent of the press releases I get in a week (and I  
get a lot of them) are completely irrelevant to me. But give me a  
story idea like Jeff describes here and a person I can talk to, and  
Wow!, you've made my life easier. Of course I'm going to pay  
attention to you.

But all that said, I think one good point that David Scott makes is  
that the audience is not just me and my fellow journalists any more  
and you can find ways to publicize your clients that go beyond the  
traditional ways of getting a client buzz.

I think this is a fascinating area (which is why I interviewed  
David), but I think Web 2.0 concepts like the ones David discusses  
are applicable beyond PR and marketing, and have the power to change  
everyone's job and how we interact with one another. I think that  
social networking in particular has powerful implications for small  
business owners like the folks on this list because it can give you a  
chance to connect with others and let them know what you are up to  
(in a professional, friendly or collegial fashion), and for those of  
us sitting at home in front of a computer, it gives us a gateway to  
the world that is much more dynamic than email.

Ron


Ron Miller
Freelance Technology Writing Since 1988
Contributing Editor, EContent Magazine
Staff Writer, Daniweb.com

email: ronsmiller at ronsmiller.com
my blog: http://byronmiller.typepad.com
Daniweb Blog: http://tinyurl.com/5hozlr
web: http://www.ronsmiller.com

Winner of the 2006 and 2007 Apex Award for Publication Excellence/ 
Feature Writing




On May 21, 2008, at 3:14 PM, Jeff Rutherford wrote:
>    ** The author of this post was a Good Dobee.
>    ** You too can help the group
>    ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>    ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
> Thanks for sharing Ron.
>
> I think that press releases tend to be overrated too - and in many  
> cases one step above spam. In all the media relations/PR work I've  
> done, I've always had the best success with a personal, targeted  
> email or phone call based specifically on what a reporter routinely  
> writes about and is interested in. And, I often forgo a press  
> release for a concise email with 2 or 3 relevant bullet points of  
> why a reporter should care about what a company is doing.
>
> And, I definitely agree with Amy re: reaching audiences/potential  
> customers via online media/blogs/podcasts and bypassing  
> "traditional media" altogether. But, I also think that you can  
> strategically use blog discussions to pique the interest of  
> reporters at much larger media organizations.
>
> I've had success in the past emailing 4 or 5 blog posts about a  
> specific topic to a reporter at the New York Times, and said, "You  
> really should take a look at this. This discussion/controversy is  
> growing in the blogosphere, and it's something that you should be  
> paying attention to, and by the way, I have a client who is an  
> expert on this that you should talk to."
>
> Jeff
>
>
>
> Jeff Rutherford
> jeff at jeffrutherford.com
> 413 369-4128 - phone
> 866 677-4108 - fax
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrutherford
>
>
>
>
> On May 21, 2008, at 11:41 AM, A - Z International wrote:
>
>>  ** The author of this post was a Good Dobee.
>>  ** You too can help the group
>>  ** Fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>>  ** If you did, we all thank you.
>>
>>
>> Interesting Ron . . .
>>
>> I seem to be living/breathing PR these last few months and I'd say  
>> this is a bit extreme, if provocative.
>>
>> I think amateurs overplay the power of press releases. They're  
>> important for mass outreach. And they can be tailored for social  
>> networking sites, listservs, whatever . . .
>>
>> I do agree that the outlets for your information are shifting. In  
>> getting news out on the Climate Change Transport Think Tank at  
>> UMass next week I'm convinced that targeting listservs/Web sites  
>> of organizations will prove just as important as media coverage.  
>> But only time will tell . . .
>>
>> best,
>>
>> Amy Zuckerman
>> HT Founder
>>
>>
>>
>>> I did a Q&A with David Meerman Scott, author of the New Rules of  
>>> Marketing and PR, in my TechTreasures blog this morning. I look  
>>> at how Web 2.0 is changing the way marketing and PR pros do their  
>>> job.
>>>
>>> <http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2490.html>http:// 
>>> www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2490.html
>>>
>>> Ron
>>>
>>> Ron Miller
>>> Freelance Technology Writing Since 1988
>>> Contributing Editor, EContent Magazine
>>> Staff Writer, Daniweb.com
>>>
>>> email: <mailto:ronsmiller at ronsmiller.com>ronsmiller at ronsmiller.com
>>> my blog: <http://byronmiller.typepad.com>http:// 
>>> byronmiller.typepad.com
>>> Daniweb Blog: <http://tinyurl.com/5hozlr>http://tinyurl.com/5hozlr
>>> web: <http://www.ronsmiller.com>http://www.ronsmiller.com
>>>
>>> Winner of the 2006 and 2007 Apex Award for Publication Excellence/ 
>>> Feature Writing
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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