How to Get Your Local Company in the Local Press

Congratulations on having a successful company! You make doing business and making money look easy, and that ISN’T easy.

However, you are struggling getting your company’s news in the local paper. Perhaps you need some tweaking to your press releases or maybe you need a story pitch and not a sales pitch. Never fear, this article will have some answers so that your news will get read and shared.

Let’s take for example that you own a local hair salon and you have recently had your staff undergo training in order to provide a new color service that isn’t widely available in your area. Now this sounds like a great story, however, it is essential when writing the press release to make sure that it doesn’t come off as a sales pitch. Journalists will immediately stop reading if they feel like the article only benefits you rather than benefitting their audience – their readers and advertisers.

Instead let’s craft a story around it. Ask yourself why the average joe in the local community would care about this story? Perhaps your store is located in a revitalizing part of town. Or perhaps the local economy is becoming known for outstanding local businesses and you are one of the success stories. The human interest aspect is great for readers and, therefore, reporters.

For all press releases, keep these tips in mind:

• Start with a great headline. Write your headline to be between 60-80 characters and keep it factual and interesting. So instead of “Local Salon Now Offers New Color Treatment” try “Exclusive Color Treatment Only Available in Townville.”
• Follow your great headline with the 5W content in your lead. This means the who, what, when, where, and why of your story. For example, “Local salon, Shear Cuts, recently underwent rigorous training with L’Oreal Paris to offer exclusive hair color services. No other salon in the county has this accreditation.”
• After the lead, follow with your less important information. Include information on why your company went this route with products or services.
• Include a great quote from someone either in the company or a satisfied customer. Be sure to include the quoted person’s name, title and contact information.
• End with a brief description of your company and your contact information.

Other ways to keep your press releases in front of journalists is to write a how-to article or to appeal to emotion. Make sure that if you are emailing your press release to have your snappy headline in the subject line and to included your contact information in the email.

Have you had success getting your news in your local paper? Tell us about it in the comments.