News releases are a boon, which can draw attention and hit to your website, business, book, blog, etcetara. However, you cannot present a news release on nothing. The best advice that we have been presented with is to think like a reporter with your PR.

Reporters will only keep your news release on their desk ( and not put it into some file for filler and puff) if you have a story to tell, or, more specifically, if you have a story for them to tell.

In history songs, and stories were what survived the sands of time while the people and the things that they were about faded into obscurity or fell to dust.

How can you ensure that your news release is what your company needs?

If you are an aficionado of all things Elvis, then you should have no problem reconstructing his rise to fame, his fall, and all of the complicated relationships that he encountered, and how they affected his life, career, waistline, eating habits and on, and on. The same for any hobby or enthusiasm. But if you start affections about those things and your involvement in them without considering the interest that others have for your subject or what is different about you then your words will go right by, or worse, those that hear them will not listen again when they hear you talking.

You'll be, "The Elvis Freak."

Objectivity may be difficult when you are looking at your own product or passion. It is necessary if you want to get ink.

Consider what you are doing that is different. Think about how you can make those differences interesting.

Some of the decisions that your business makes will effect what opportunities you have to get the word out about yourself.

Give all of the information that a reporter needs to say something about you. Something good. Make his job easy and he can have tons of attention directed to your purpose. In a sense it is your calling card.

In the body of the news release use names of individuals.

What they did, or are doing that is so important, and what the purpose is of getting the word out.

Use the inverted pyramid technique - Most important to least important = Who, What, When, Where, How and Why.

Do not make it sound like advertising or self promotion. people have a built in filter for such things and they will stop listening if they thing that your news release is a commercial. Your book will go unread and your website will get fewer hits.

Doing a news release the right way can be like a giant fishing net. Make sure yours does not have a big hole in it and the sea is yours.