Best event promotion press release 

1. You included too much hype, self-laudatory praise, pithy quotes, useless testimonials,event promotion press release. Get rid of it.

2. You may have also identified prior media coverage, which indicates it's no longer a new issue. Get rid of it. Let each news release stand on it's own two feet.

3. You tried to impress and be clever or innovative but you come off naïve, less than expert, biased, flippant, arrogant, or crazy. Tone it down. Get straight.

4. You made vague and unsubstantiated claims, or wild and outrageous claims, or you included a statement that simply rubs the media the wrong way. Get rid of them.

5. You are trying to be different, just for the sake of it, but you come off eccentric. Forget it. Don't create a false or inflated image. Be yourself.

6. You wrote a rant and rave, worthy of a letter to the editor, instead of a problem solving tips article, worthy of a feature story. Decide what you want, put your best effort into it.

7. You are simply not credible. It could be your ideas are simply not well thought out, or that you've offered old well-worn material, or that you are too extreme or controversial, or not qualified. You may not be expert enough, or sufficiently qualified, to make the statements, compared to others in your field. You need to present information that qualifies you properly and adequately.

8. You provided poor contact information. You need to identify the best single point of contact and the correct phone number so interested media can reach you and get the best possible attention and response from you to meet their needs. One key person, one phone, no fax, one email address, and one URL (with no long string addresses).

9. You did not include a clear media call for action. You didn't tell the media what you want them to do with your news wire. You need to tell them what you are asking for or suggesting or offering. Then you need to offer the media incentives value-added reasons to do so, like  review copies,PAID test samples, interview questions and answers, media kits with story angles and stats and data, relevant photographs, etc.

11. You did not incorporate and integrate a primary response mechanism. You need to include a value-added reason, which motivates the editor to publish or mention your contact information, which will generate calls, traffic, interviews, or requests for more information. This usually means something unique and of special value to the audience, that the editor feels good about mentioning. Use an offer for a PAID problem solving report.

12. You sent the Business wire to the wrong media. Target the media that your clients read, watch and listen to when they are in the right mood, that is, receptive to hearing about your news, and willing to take action when they get your message. Work with your publicist to target the right media.

13. You rely on a single fax or an email to produce an avalanche of media calls. You conduct no follow up. Get real. Follow up properly and you can triple or quadruple your media response rate. Better still, you can ask the editors "what can I give you to support a feature story and meet your needs".

Finally, the biggest reason for news release failure is one of attitude. How do you define success or failure? It's called unrealistic expectations.

Get real. You won't get rich off one news release. You're chances of getting famous are just about as slim.

You might be able to break even.

If you want to be on the Oprah Winfrey Show, then you'd better pray because chances of doing it off one news release are very slim, near zero in fact. Get real. If she calls, then congratulations are in order. But don't count on it.

If you wrote an advertisement and wanted a feature story and interviews, don't be surprised if the only media to call is the advertising manager offering you a package deal. You get what you ask for. What you offer is often times what you will get.

Even if you do get publicity, it may not come out exactly the way you want it. More often than not, the bigger the media, the less likely they are to run contact information.

Often times, the quality may be there while the numbers are not.

One or two quality media responses may be what you want or need. If you get that, it's a success.

One article in USA Today may out perform ten articles in small dailies and weeklies in the mid-west.

On the other hand, it may not. The small high quality articles may outperform the small mention in the big media.

Similarly, one quality 30-minute interview on a well-liked talk show on a radio station in the middle of nowhere out in the mid-west, will likely outsell a five-minute interview on an Arbitron rated radio station in the middle of the morning talk show in a major metropolitan area. You can't tell the listening quality of the audience.

So when you write a news release please review it against these criteria to see if you've made any of these errors. Then fix each and every one of them yourself, and when you are done, feel Paid to send me your final draft. I'll be happy to take a look at it.