(The fundamentals of good music public relations)
Hopefully, you all have read the first blog I wrote on music/band pr, which was more of a personal bitch from me about the little things bands do that wrong when it comes to marketing/pr (though they have the right intentions).
This post will hopefully read as a ‘how to’ for bands/musicians/DJs that want to get some media coverage.
Some of you will probably be thinking to yourselves, ‘pffft, I know how to get us in the paper – we just send the media an email a couple of days before the show, with our myspace address on it, so they can take the photos from there, it’ll be all good’.
WRONG!
Leave it that late and you’ll get bugger all exposure.
Let me be clear, have everything ready at least TWO WEEKS before the show, if not longer. Sending a press release 2 days before the event is pretty much guaranteeing your press release will not get printed, followed-up, or even read. Most likely, it will be sent straight to the delete folder.
First thing first…you need a story that will generate interest. If there is no ‘new’ news, no ‘wow factor’ then it’s a dead story. You might get a tiny mention in the gig listings and that is it. Find a ‘hook’, something that will grab the reader (and the journalist) and want them to keep reading on.
Now, following the ‘inverted triangle’ method of journalistic writing (google that term), start with the most important bits first – What, Where, When and Who.
This should be your introduction and only take up to 35 words. Don’t be too fancy, just summarise the story in a short paragraph, you’ll have the rest of the press release to put in the fancy stuff.
Once you have the introduction sorted, now start ‘fluffing’ (PR term for making things pretty) out the story – basically putting in the Who and How. I usually have 2 more paragraphs after the intro that have the ‘hook’, before introducing a ‘speaker’, which brings us to the next part…
Have a member of your band act as a spokesperson for quotes that the media can use. It doesn’t have to be verbatim (word for word), as it’s your press release you can make something up, just as long as it’s in the vein of the press release story.
Two or three good quotes, all related, are all you really need.
By now you should have a decent story lined up. But remember to mention the actual event, the date, the time, where it’s at, how much, and what will be so good about it.
To end the press release, usually for event articles I mention the ticket costs and door times, then end on some ‘fluff’ like – get in early as this promises to be an awesome night of music – experiment with lines like that.
Now, as a general rule, I always put an ENDS after the last paragraph, and after that the contact details of the author (phone number and email always!) and also the band/musician/DJ’s myspace address.
Now go over the whole press release and check the spelling, grammar, and flow of the story.
Once you’ve done that, it’s time to give your press release a title. The header should be one sentence, short and snappy, and tells the reader what the story is about. Don’t capitlise every word, just the first word and any names. Use a bold type, and have the font size at about 16.
Above the headline, put a little header ‘Press Release’ and also the date that the article is sent.
Use a font such as Arial or Times New Roman, something clean. Don’t get fancy with fonts as it will just frustrate the journalist/editor.
Save it!
Now, go find a HIGH RESOLUTION promo pic decent for the media (300dpi please…DO NOT send in something off the web ie at 72dpi as it will not be used).
You got the basics now, so start looking for contacts to send to. Look at the websites for the targeted media you are using, and look for contact details. Most news stories will be sent to something like – editorial@suchandsuchnews.com.au, but double check to make sure. Collect as many contacts as possible into a database (just a word document will do, but an Excel spreadsheet will be better) and get their phone numbers and street addresses too, not just the emails.
Now write an email to the contacts, just explaining who you are and please find enclosed (or below, depending if you decide to cut & paste the press release into the email, or attach it) the press release for such and such event. Also attached is a promotional pic which you can use. For interviews I can be contacted on bla bla bla. Then sign off.
You can send one email off to a group, just be sure that you BCC (blind carbon copy) the email recipients, so that they think they’re the only ones getting the email.
If possible, in the options for your email program, select return receipt so you can tell if the release has been read or deleted or ignored. Hotmail doesn’t support this function, unfortunately.
Send if off and hope for the best.
Please don’t use an email address such as hotnsteamy69@hotmail.com, as that’s just crap. You should have a designated band email address, just like you would if you were applying for jobs.
After a day that the press release has been sent, do a follow-up call to the target media and check to see 1.)they’ve received the email 2.)they’ve read the press release and 3.)that they’re interested in running it. Don’t get frustrated or disheartened if you get knocked back, as there will be plenty of times when you will. Just keep trying. Most street press will run stories on bands, or even just mention them in the news section, but if you can get into a daily paper, then that is awesome.
Treat the journalists/editors with respect, and offer any assistance if they need it. Remember, you need them more than they need you, but you should try and make it feel like the other way around.
Ok, that’s it. Good luck. Please feel free to have a look at a couple of the quick media alerts and press releases currently on my blog and use them as a template.
Or, if you just can’t be bothered, get me to do it…but it will cost you (not too much though 
).
Tags: how to write a press release, Music Public Relations, Press Release
