I’m opening my floral shop, and I’d love to get a write-up locally, but I’ve never written a press release. Where do I start?

~Amy G., Washington

Courtesy of www.clker.com

Congrats on your recent accomplishment – what you’re doing is certainly newsworthy and most definitely worth sharing with the media.

Although I always recommend considering a professional to write press releases, you can certain give it the old college try yourself. There are plenty of press release samples online, and I’d highly suggest you read up on the importance of the inverted pyramid.

A few more tips to get you started:

1) Think like the media. Journalists are always on deadline, with very little time to review the potential hundreds of press releases that cross their desk. Keep it short, pack it with details early on, and make sure the title is sexy and attention grabbing.

2) Pick and choose who you send your press releases to. If you’re writing something about your wedding industry, then there’s no need to send it to everyone on your media list. Does it have a small business spin? Then by all means, send it to your business media contacts. But save your buddy over at the Men’s Health magazine the time to delete your release, by not sending it at all.

3) Be reachable. Should the release get picked up, make sure you have your proverbial ducks already in a row. Be available to be interviewed, and practice what you’re going to say. Does your release include other fellow wedding pros? Have their cells at the ready, as well as any other pertinent information that may be requested. It simply doesn’t end when you press “send” on your email.

Now that you’ve got a shiny new press releases, sexy title and all, what do you do with it? Distribution has come a long way in a relatively short time. Less than 10 years ago, we were still being taught to drop the release in the mail. Thanks to Al Gore’s Internet and Twitter, the name of the game is speed. Email continues to be a great way to distribute, although I highly suggest you head on over to PR Pro Steve Mullen’s Blog Post on Newswires, to give you a better idea of where to go with it.

Good luck to you!

Do you have a wedding marketing or wedding PR question that you’d like to ask? Simply post it below or email expert consultant Meghan Ely at info@ofconsulting.com.