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If you want to generate free publicity for your range, write a press release. Media announcements—when done right—are valuable tools for promoting good will for your facility in the community and building trusted relationships with members of the press.
Have a nose for news. The high school golf team is warming up on your range this season and you’ve spotted a budding star (local sports page leads with teen honing his skills on your tee line). You’re hosting a “family fun” tournament to christen your newly renovated miniature golf course (a sure bet for the “weekend” calendar and possibly follow-up coverage). Your facility is hosting a women’s golf clinic, with a portion of proceeds to benefit breast cancer, and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is coming up (local angle for a national story). It’s snowing like crazy, but you’ve got diehards in the tee boxes (live coverage at noon and repeat at 6—pick up the phone; no time for a release).
Develop a database of media contacts. Once you have a story idea, don’t procrastinate. If you don’t have time to carry through, permanently assign publicity to a staff member or free-lancer who will make it happen. Keep an active database of newspaper, trade journal, TV and radio reporters, sports editors and editors of event calendars and community news. Often, contact information and news submission guidelines are published in the paper or available online. Don’t hesitate to call the media outlets and ask for the appropriate contacts. Addressing your news releases personally to a specific reporter or editor greatly improves your chances of getting coverage.
Format and writing style matter. Start with an attention-getting headline to pique the reporter’s curiosity. Put thought and creativity into your lead paragraph, while answering several of the six most important questions in journalism: who, what, when, where, why and how.
Provide additional detail in the next three to four short paragraphs, answering the remainder of the questions, but don’t go over two pages. Think of your press release as an inverted pyramid, with the most compelling information at the top, supported by elaboration, background and secondary information.
Write objectively and in the third person—as if you’re the reporter. Run spell check and have a colleague critique the release. Submit the final announcement on company letterhead with the header “For Immediate Release,” followed by a contact name and phone number. The first paragraph of the text should start with your city, state/province, typically in bold or capital letters. The last paragraph may conclude with a standard line about your facility, its mission and location.
Be politely persistent and follow up by phone with the reporter or editor to see if they received your release and plan to build it into a story. If you’ve done your job, you’ll reap the rewards of free publicity for your range. |
