News Releases & Where to Send Them

News Release Templates

The first step in marketing anything is to make people aware that it's available. A news release (also called "press release") immediately comes to mind. Submit a write-up to your local papers, if only as an ego-trip - "New book by local author/publisher shows how anyone can ...". Submit a non-local version of the same press release to the various free online PR-distribution sites to drive traffic to your website, and your booksellers.

Press releases are not difficult to prepare. The following templates conform to what most "how to" articles deem appropriate. The "cut 'n paste" version is useful when submitting your information online. Save a copy for each site as a record of your your logon information, and what you submitted there.

          • Example Press Release for online press release submissions
          • Cut 'n Paste template for online press release submissions


Suggested Media Kit

Provide downloads useful to editors on your website, and provide a link to these materials in your publicity. Your media kits should include at least the following items. Provide images in TIFF format at 300 DPI, and in assorted sizes.

          • Author Image(s)
          • Cover Image(s)
          • Logo Image(s)
          • Press Release, .doc format
          • Press Release, .txt format

Here's an example. Download the media kit to see how that works.


Press Release Sites (23+ Free Services)

At the time of this writing (August 2007), the following free services were available:

          • local newspapers
          • 24-7pressrelease.com
          • 1888pressrelease.com
          • clickpress.com
          • express-press-release.com
          • freepressrelease.com
          • free-press-release-center.info
          • freepressreleases.co.uk
          • i-newswire.com
          • malebits.com
          • mediasyndicate.com
          • pr9.net
          • pr.com
          • prbuzz.com
          • pressabout.com
          • press-base.com
          • pressbox.com
          • prleap.com
          • prurgent.com
          • przoom.com
          • seenation.com
          • theopenpress.com
          • xtvworld.com

The submission process is similar among these services, requesting a title, summary, and body text in separate fields of the sumbission form. (Hence the "cut 'n paste" version of your your news release.) Most services require you to register and log on, and will review your submission prior to publishing it. When composing your news release, avoid hype and address the prospective readers' interests - what's in it for them. Press releases should be news, not simply an advertisment for your book. Editors will not be eager to publish what is essentially an advertisement.

[-=glw=-]