What do you call an announcement sent to hundreds of strangers in the hope that one of them will take notice? Spam. That’s exactly what press releases are: announcements that you send to hundreds of journalists you don’t know, hoping that one of them will write about you.
Let’s take a look at why we need press releases: you send them out because you want to gain visibility. You want the media to pay attention to your new company, product, service, announcement, or something else. You want them to be impressed enough to write about you.
At the same time, press releases are a terrible way to achieve this. They are dull and overly formal. There’s nothing impressive about them. Journalists sift through dozens of these press releases every day. They are simply overwhelmed by a flood of exaggerated headlines and fabricated quotes from chairpersons. Everything claims to be sensational, revolutionary, groundbreaking, and mind-blowing. Writing such things is the same as writing nothing at all.
If you need to get someone’s attention, it’s foolish to do the same thing everyone else is doing. You need to stand out. So why release press releases like everyone else? Why spam journalists’ inboxes when they are already inundated with tons of spam?
Moreover, press releases are banal. You prepare one and then send it to thousands of reporters—people who don’t know you and whom you don’t know. Are you really willing to send your message about yourself in this vague, clichéd wording to someone else? Is this the impression you want to create? Will you be able to stand out with such an approach?
Instead, call someone. Send a personal message. If you’ve read an article about a similar company or product, reach out to the journalist who wrote it. Capture their attention with your inspiration, interest, sense of life, or reality. Do something meaningful. Be outstanding. Stand out from the crowd. Be unforgettable.
This is the way to gain greater fame.