The power of a well written release
In trade and business publications,
editorial and advertising are two very different mediums. And smart companies
that are publicity savvy take advantage of both.
To put it simply, advertising is space a
company buys for branding purposes. This means you can put pretty much whatever
you like in the space you have bought, as long as it complies with general
standards – and as long as you pay for it, of course!
Advertising is generally as eye-catching as
possible, includes logos for branding purposes and gives an overall idea of
what a company or particular product is about.
Editorial, on the other hand, is free. It's
an invaluable form of publicity, as readers are more likely to believe
something about your company when someone else says it – rather than yourself.
But don’t think you’re asking for something
for nothing… editors are always on the lookout for good quality, informative
editorial – it's the way they get readers to keep coming back to their publications.
In trade and business press, editorial
usually takes one of three formats:
- Product news – this informs readers of new product releases that
are of most relevance to the publication's readers (the industry that the
publication targets).
- Feature articles – longer articles that are issues or product based
and tend to go into detail on a particular sector of the relevant
industry.
- News stories – the latest news from government or industry players
that could impact the publication's readers.
Media releases are an essential way for editors
to find out what is happening within an industry, as they can't write about the
latest merger or ground-breaking new product unless they're told about it first.
The right media release is an invaluable
investment in free publicity. And targeting trade and business media is a way
of getting a message out to a very specific audience.
It's important to bear in mind, though,
that the editor is the keeper of the editorial, so unlike advertising, they
edit editorial submissions to suit their format and style of the publication –
even the space they have available.
That said, there are a number of ways you
can write and structure a media release that make it less likely an editor will
completely re-write a submission, as trade and business publications tend to
favour a particular style and format.
Check
out our other tips for hints on how to structure a release so it's more likely
to be published – and with a minimum of changes!