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When deciding to carry out a press / media campaign there are

5 basic questions to be answered;

who, what, why, where and when?

These can be applied to press in general as well as to your specific

press release. This guide will explore:

Who are you going to send it to?

What are you going to put in the press release?

Why are you doing press, why are you writing a press release?

Where are you going to send it?

When should you send it?

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Find out exactly who you are targeting within the specific press and

(online) media. Include the arts editors as well as section editors,

journalists, reviewers, researchers and bloggers. Check through the

press and online to get the appropriate names or phone them to find

out who the best person to contact. Be targeted in your approach and

find out their exact email address and telephone numbers. If it goes to

the wrong email or a generic email it may get lost.

Use social media to follow as many relevant people as possible and

engage with relevant posts. This way you are bringing your information

to their attention rather than waiting for them to find and start following

you.

Who

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…are you going to put in the press release? Again you have to ask:

who, what, why, where, when. You want to tell them who you are, what

you are promoting, why are you doing it, where it is happening and

when it is happening.

Keep it creative and interesting yet simple and informative. Write it in the

third person. Keep the first paragraph to a short snappy summary to

catch their attention as this may be all they read. Don’t put in too much

detail, you want to spark their interest and make them keen to find out

more, not overload them with detail. But whatever you do, do not lie.

This may lead to you being avoided in the future.

What

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Keep it to one A4 page if possible. Only go onto two pages if you have

extra information such as editors notes that you think are really

important. Date the release and make the heading in bold, add an image

if appropriate followed by the text and relevant details such as: event,

date, time, venue, price and box office.

Most importantly don’t forget to include your own contact details.

Remember to include the link to your website or online press kit. Make

things as accessible and easy as possible.

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Press and (online) media are important sources of free publicity that

will raise awareness and bring your organisation to the attention of

potential customers / audience. You have something new and of

interest to them and their readers, listeners and viewers; a new

business, product, service, design, theatre production, exhibition.

Remember, you are contacting a variety of media who are interested

in your art form or industry, as well as what is happening in and

around Scotland and beyond. They have pages to fill and their own

audiences to keep and update.

Why

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Know the press and the audience you want to target. Is it

newspapers (locals, dailies, broadsheets, weeklies, weekend),

specialist magazines, business press, websites, TV and radio? Know

exactly what you are wanting from them - is it a preview, review,

news story, feature, arts news or blog?

Where

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Send it out in plenty of time but not too early as it could easily get

lost. A recommended guide is:

When

• Dailies – 2-3 weeks

• Weeklies/Sundays – 3-4 weeks

• Fortnightly – 4-6 weeks

• Monthlies – 3 months

• Listings – 3 weeks

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Leave it 4-5 days then follow up by phone. Don’t be afraid to contact

them, start with the least scary option. Stick a smile on your face and

start chatting. Find out if they received the press release and use this

as chance to tell them a bit more about what you’re doing. Ask if it’s

of interest, would they like to review/preview it and let them know

you’ve got good images. If they didn’t receive it tell them you’ll send it

again and hopefully they will look out for it. If they did and they are

not sure what can be done with the information, ask when would be a

good time to call back. Just because they can’t use it this time

doesn’t mean they won’t be interested in the future.

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You are giving them information that is of interest and relevance to

their section and their readers so don’t feel embarrassed about what

you are doing. Have faith in what you are promoting. And most

importantly of all don’t pester them.

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Having a high resolution, striking image can also help decide whether

or not you get featured. The press love good photos so make sure

and let them know you have some available.

Images

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Online press kits / electronic press kits allow you to tell the press

about your company or product without having to send them

attachments and large files. If you have high resolution images,

videos/trailers and information that you feel they need to see in one

go then this is the best way to do it without clogging up their inbox. It

can include biographies, music/performance clips, promotional

trailers, high resolution images, reviews or interviews, tour dates and

contact information. These can be done online, be sent by email or

using an online file sharing service such as Dropbox or U Send It or

on disc.

Press kits

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Another way of making your information and images more accessible

to the press and avoiding sending large files and is by creating a

press section on your website. Some companies use a password for

this section that they forward on to the press so they have full

access. It should contain a full press release as well as any promo

clips/trailers and high resolution images that can be downloaded.

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These will be sent to specific contacts at the various press resources;

newspapers, magazines, websites. They are essential for an event

and don’t cost anything. If you get no other press coverage at least

you’ll have the event listed and reaching your target audience.

Every little helps!

Listings

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Please refer to the following relevant Cultural Enterprise Office

resources:

Defining Your Work

The Artist Statement

Next steps

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Disclaimer: Cultural Enterprise Office is not responsible for any advice or information provided by any external

organisation referenced in this document.