Katrina Olson

Strategic Communications

Market Boldly 012 – Amazon, Product Launches, and Building Loyalty with Mower’s John Favalo

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Market Boldly
Market Boldly
Market Boldly 012 - Amazon, Product Launches, and Building Loyalty with Mower's John Favalo
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Join me with guest John Favalo vice president of Mower and leader of its B2B practice. Mower is one of America’s largest privately held full-service marketing, advertising, PR, and strategic consulting agencies with nine locations throughout New York, and in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, and Cincinnati.

A former agency owner, B2B veteran, and award-winning marketer, John shares some of Mower’s guiding principles for competing in today’s highly competitive, fast moving and rapidly changing world of distribution and manufacturing.

In this 45-minute podcast, you’ll learn:

• How distributors can avoid be swept away by the Amazon tsunami: https://www.mower.com/insights/can-your-brand-survive-the-amazon-tsunami/
• The 3 qualities of Mower’s transformation Brand as Friend (BAF) philosophy (based on behavioral science research)
• How to manipulate and leverage the 3 drivers for each of those qualities to create a competitive advantage
• The answer to the question, “Does the human element still matter?”
• How to structure a “progressive product launch”
• The 6 dirty words of product launches and how to avoid them
• What John thinks about awards programs, contests, and product endorsements.
• How and why to build customer loyalty in a price-sensitive environment.
• John’s advice to marketers: “You can never know enough about ____________.”

To learn more about the topics we discussed, download these free resources:
• Can your brand survive the Amazon tsunami? – AmazonChallenge_1102
• New Product Launch Think List – NewProductLaunchThinkListV2

Market Boldly 011 – What about your business is uncopyable?

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Market Boldly
Market Boldly
Market Boldly 011 - What about your business is uncopyable?
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Join me with Steve Miller, marketing consultant and author of the 2017 Amazon #1 Best Seller Uncopyable: How To Create An Unfair Advantage Over Your Competition. Steve has consulted with clients ranging from entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 companies including Proctor and Gamble, Caterpillar, Starbucks and Coca- Cola in addition to several large, North American exhibitions. He has been featured in Fast Company, Business Week, Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

In this episode of Market Boldly, Steve and I discuss:

• the 3 traps most companies fall into when trying to find their competitive advantage
• why “partnership” doesn’t work anymore
• what distributors can learn from the Broadway show, Hamilton
• what revered total quality management consultant Steve hung out with when he was a kid
• what then-high-tech device Steve’s dad invented
• the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic benchmarking
• what fourth element a business needs to succeed in addition to quality products, excellent customer service and a decent price
• what it truly means to be uncopyable and 3 strategies for creating an uncopyable attachment to customers

And if you stay tuned until the end, Steve offers you an ethical bribe to buy his book, Uncopyable. It’s a bonus worth $197 — in addition to all the great stuff you’ll learn from this podcast and in his best-selling book.

Market Boldly 008 – “Solar is hot in the Midwest & Beyond” with Tim Montague

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Market Boldly
Market Boldly
Market Boldly 008 - "Solar is hot in the Midwest & Beyond" with Tim Montague
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Solar energy is experiencing a burst of growth in Illinois and throughout the Midwest thanks in part to current state and federal incentives for homeowners, businesses, schools, colleges, local governments, nonprofits, and others who invest in solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems.

Meet Solar Expert, Tim Montague

Tim Montague, commercial solar developer with Continental Electrical Construction Company of Oakbrook, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago discusses the benefits and incentives associated with solar energy. Continental started its renewable energy division in 2009 and is one of the largest installers of solar PV (rooftop and ground mount) systems in Illinois. Recent projects include retailers like IKEA and Abt Electronics, a 10-acre solar array at IKEA’s Joliet distribution center, plus several schools and colleges.

Why Solar Makes Sense Now

  • In recent years, the cost of solar technology has dropped significantly. It’s now less than 60 cents per watt; compared to $100 per watt in 1975.
  • Payback periods are the shortest they’ve ever been—only 4 to 6 years, compared to 10 to 15 years just a few years ago.
  • Federal and state legislation are making it possible to get into a solar array for as little as 10 to 15 cents on the dollar.
  • Combining state and federal incentives can fund as much as 80% of a solar PV system.
  • Companies can reduce their power bills by anywhere from 50% to 75%!

Here’s a Breakdown

Following is a breakdown of incentives and rebates for years one through five of a solar project.

Federal ITC (Incentive Tax Credit)                  30%

SRECs (Renewable Energy Credits)                 20%

Smart Inverter Incentive ($250/kW DC)        10%

MACRS Depreciation                                          30%

Electric Bill Savings                                             20%

As a result of all these incentives, the up-front cost to purchase and install a solar PV system can be reduced by as much as 90%!

Incentives Aren’t Forever

Manufacturers, distributors and contractors who want to get into or build their solar businesses need to act while the incentives are still good. Some payouts decrease each year and expire in as few as five years. Listen to the full podcast to learn how to take advantage of these opportunities while solar is hot.

Summary of Available Incentives

  • Illinois Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) passed in 2016 and enacted in 2017 funds $200 million of cash incentives in Illinois project owners who get 20% of project value back as a cash incentive. FEJA also provides for rebates for smart inverters for distributed generation projects. (http://www.futureenergyjobsact.com/about)
  • Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) – Provides for accelerated depreciation for business owners, worth about 30% of project cost. (https://energy.gov/savings/modified-accelerated-cost-recovery-system-macrs)
  • Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) – This is the Illinois state incentive that gives solar system owners a cash rebate worth 20 to 25% of a solar PV system. (https://energy.gov/savings/solar-renewable-energy-credits-0)
  • Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC) – This Federal tax credit of 30% for businesses and residents is available through 2020 for qualified solar projects, but phases out starting in 2020 down to 10% for businesses and zero for residents. (https://seia.org/initiatives/solar-investment-tax-credit-itc & https://energy.gov/savings/business-energy-investment-tax-credit-itc)

Use the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE®) to research the financial incentives available to you.

For More Information

Check out these resources in Illinois, the Midwest and beyond to learn more about opportunities in solar energy.

  • DSIRE® – Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency – free resource maintained by North Carolina University with information on thousands of policies and incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency (http://www.dsireusa.org)
  • SEIA – Solar Energy Industries Association – national trade association for the U.S. solar industry (https://www.seia.org)
  • NABCEP – North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners® – national certification organization for renewable energy professionals (http://www.nabcep.org/)
  • ELPC – Environmental Law & Policy Center – regional environmental organization focused on Midwest policy for clean air, water and transportation (http://elpc.org)
  • IBEW – International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers – union representing employees in the electrical and utilities industries (ibew.org)
  • ISEA – Illinois Solar Energy Association – non-profit organization that promotes solar and other forms of renewable energy through education and advocacy (illinoissolar.org)
  • MREA – Midwest Renewable Energy Association – offers one of the country’s top solar training programs and runs one of the largest grassroots sustainability events in the nation (www.midwestrenew.org)
  • WOW – Wind on the Wires – works to create new opportunities for renewables to participate in the energy marketplace in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North and South Dakota, and Wisconsin (https://windonthewires.org)

UPDATE: 30% Tariffs on Imported Solar Panels

The week after we recorded this podcast, the Trump administration imposed a tariff of 30% on imported solar panels. This will impact the $28 billion solar industry, which gets about 80% percent of its solar panel products from imports. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) predicted the tariffs would increase prices and cost approximately 23,000 US jobs. SEIA represents manufacturers as well as installers, sellers and others in the field.

When asked about the new tariff, Montague responded, “It’s bad news, but not fatal. It might kill 23,000 jobs out of 260,000 so just less than 10% of the industry. We’re fine in Illinois because we have SRECS, but it certainly throws a wet towel on the industry.”

Market Boldly 001 – PR Talk with LEDVANCE’s Glen Gracia

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Market Boldly
Market Boldly
Market Boldly 001 - PR Talk with LEDVANCE's Glen Gracia
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In this episode, I talk with Glen Gracia, head of media relations at LEDVANCE (formerly OSRAM SYLVANIA) for the Americas including North, Central and South America. For about 15 years prior to joining SYLVANIA, Glen worked in several public relations agencies on accounts including HP, Compaq, Sony, IBM, 3M and McDonald’s. Glen and I discuss the role of PR in manufacturer and distributor marketing and how you can use public relations in your business.

Subscribe to Market Boldly on iTunes or Google Play Music. Please share this podcast with your friends and associates in manufacturing and distribution.

Why are there so few women in leadership positions in PR?

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By Katrina Olson

Last week we learned that, although women make up about 70% of the PR workforce, they hold only about 30% of the industry’s top positions, according to a study of 250 PR firms by The Holmes Report.

Here are a few more highlights:

  • Of the 20 larger firms in the study—those with revenues of $100 million or more—25% are headed by at least one woman.
  • Of 39 firms in the study, with revenue between $40 and 99 million, nine (23%) are run by women.

Looking at the top 10 PR firms, the study found women in leadership positions at high rates:

  • Weber Shandwick has 13 out of 20 (65%) females in leadership positions.
  • Havas has 4 out of 8 (50%).
  • Fleishman Hillard has 12 out of 28, or 43%.
  • The remaining “top 10” agencies range from 19% to 33%.

The only notable exception is Ogilvy—where none of its four top leadership positions are occupied by women.

If women hold 70% of jobs in PR, why don’t they hold 70% of the leadership positions?

Following are a few possible explanations for this gender gap in public relations firm’s C-Suites.

1. The strategies that work for men don’t work for women.

A study by Catalyst, The Myth of the Ideal Worker: Does Doing All the Right Things Really Get Women Ahead? compared career advancement strategies used by women and men to determine if using the same strategies led to the same career outcomes and found that:

  • Men benefited more from adopting proactive strategies.
  • When women did all the things they have been told will help them get ahead—using the same tactics as men—they still advanced less than their male counterparts and had slower pay growth.

The rules are different for an act as simple as talking. A 2012 study from Yale University (http://asq.sagepub.com/content/56/4/622.short) found that the total time spent talking positively affected men but not women. For example, when a man speaks up he’s considered powerful, but women are often criticized for speaking more than others.

2. Women appear to lose their aspiration and confidence after two years.

A five-year study by Bain and Company (http://www.bain.com/publications/articles/everyday-moments-of-truth.aspx) revealed that 43% of women aspire to top management positions in their first two years of work, compared to only 34% of men.

However, over time, women’s aspiration levels drop by more than 60% while men’s stayed the same. After two years, 34% of men still aspire to executive position while only 16% of women do. Correspondingly, females’ agreement with the statement “Have the confidence to reach top management” dropped from 27% to 13% after two years, while men’s agreement with this statement dropped by only 3%.

3. Women are less likely to ask for a promotion.

A PRWeek poll conducted in March 2015 asked female readers if they would be willing to ask for a promotion. Of the 289 respondents, more than 25% said they were either “not very willing” to ask or would rather set up their own company.

Forty-five percent of respondents said they would be “very willing” to ask, while only 27% said they would be “fairly willing.”

4. Women’s approach to leadership can work against them.

A 2014 study by VMA Group (http://www.vmagroup.com/news_and_community/events/view.php?id=12343) revealed that women tend to focus on relationships while men tend to put their energy into demonstrating results of their work. Further, women don’t call as much attention to their own achievements and are more likely to encounter backlash when they do.

5.  Sexism still exists in the workplace.

The results of a 2014 Pew Research Center survey released in January 2015 reveal that 43% of respondents said women in top executive positions are held to higher standards than men. Pew surveyed 1,835 people, split evenly between the genders.

  • http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2015/01/2015-01-14_women-and-leadership.pdf

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, New York University and the University of Utah found that men with stay-at-home wives tend to hold negative views of working women.

Specifically, when men with stay-at-home wives were asked whether men alone should be responsible for providing household income, 57% of them said yes. That bias likely carries over into their interactions in the workplace.

Further, gendered behaviors have become mainstream with terms like “manterrupting” (women being interrupted or having their ideas shot down or taken by men) making their way into everyday language.

What’s the solution?
Approaching the issue from several different angles:

  • Women can choose to be more aggressive, asking for promotions and perhaps adapting their leadership style.
  • Men can be more aware of workplace gender bias and their own implicit bias.
  • Companies can take responsibility for diversity by creating diversity committees or task forces, being accountable for diversity goals, and promoting a climate that explores where subtle prejudices and stereotypes may exist.

But mostly, it will just take time. After spending the past 10 years teaching PR classes to young men and women, I am very hopeful about the future. More than any generation before them, today’s young people (especially the men) appear to be much more accepting and open to women in leadership roles. They appear to be less threatened by “alpha females” and to carry less bias toward women in general. Or maybe they just feel outnumbered because they’re in the minority.

Time will tell.

Why are there so few men in PR?

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By Katrina Olson

In 2012, Pennsylvania State PR student Alexis Morgan wrote an article, “Why are there so few male students in PR classes?” for Lawrence Ragan Communications, Inc.’s PRDaily.com. Her professors offered the following explanations.

“PR is more of a conservative field, while advertising is more relaxed,” Manuel observed. He believes men are more attracted to the casual advertising environment than the fast-paced PR world,” said Steve Manuel, adding, “Women are seen as more sensitive, more approachable, and as being better listeners than men.”

However, Manuel explained that men continue to dominate the upper echelons of PR due to the glass ceiling, also citing the significant salary inequality between the sexes.

Penn State Professor Ann Major Major noted the decrease in males during her 30-year teaching career. “During the last few years, only one or two males are enrolled in my senior-level courses, and I taught a class last fall with all-female enrollment,” Major said. “When I started teaching at Penn State in 1995, typically 30 percent of the students enrolled in my classes were male.”

Major attributed the decline of male students in part to the increase in women enrolling in colleges nationally. But she echoed Manuel’s observation about the lack of women in upper management.

“Women are prevalent in the profession at entry-level and junior-level positions,” Major said. “However, from mid-level to upper-level management positions, men still dominate the profession.”

Knowing I was a PR instructor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, then-PR Daily writer/editor Matt Wilson asked if I would like to write a response to Morgan’s article.

To prepare, I surveyed my students about why they chose a PR class, what they found intriguing about PR, what skills they might bring to a PR career and what they might NOT like about a PR career. Here’s what they said:

“The conflict. I like the idea of getting the juicy tidbits on people and having the power to make or break people.”

“I think that it would be a great career to be the leveling force of a company and be trusted as the moral compass.”

“PR is used to manipulate public opinion from behind the scenes and not letting the public know you are trying to manipulate their opinions.” (Note: we had watched “Thank You For Smoking” the previous week so their perceptions may have been tainted by this “mocumentary.”)

I also conducted a focus group with 15 students to ask their perceptions about men’s and women’s motivations for pursuing careers in PR. Here are the results:

“There are more jobs in fields tailored to women more than men. I’d like to do sports PR. Women have more choices within the field.”—Alex (male)

“Men seem to avoid confrontation, and PR is very confrontational. You can’t be afraid to start fights or dive into a fight.”—Janelle (female)

“Men are confrontational, but do it in less strategic ways.”—Anonymous (female)

“I like being busy; women tend to be better writers, and they like managing stuff.”—Anonymous (female)

“Women are drawn to more abstract ideas.”—Anonymous (female)

“Empathy is the big thing; that’s why there are so few women in engineering.”—Anonymous (female)

“Women are more empathetic. Men are lazy and just don’t care.”—Nathan (male)

“Women are more social.”—Hannah (female)

“The writing part doesn’t excite me as much as meeting objectives and pretty much everything else aside from writing. I mean once you get in the upper levels. It’s about manipulation, strategy, and gamesmanship. To get in is hard, and then I have to work my way up.”—Alex (male)

My informal, non-scientific research revealed that the guys’ motivations were based largely on the desire for power, excitement and responsibility.

This may at least partially explain why, although women make up about 70% of the PR workforce, they only hold about 30% of the industry’s top positions according to The Holmes Report (http://www.holmesreport.com/long-reads/article/why-aren’t-there-more-female-ceos-in-pr). Further, only 30% of CEOs in leading PR firms are women (http://everything-pr.com/women-public-relations/).

If you’re wondering why, catch next Monday’s Marketing Momentum.

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Olson is a veteran marketing and public relations consultant and practitioner, freelance writer,  former college professor, principal of Katrina Olson Strategic Communications (KatrinaOlson.com), and a regular contributor to TED Magazine’s print and online editions. Katrina has worked in marketing for the retail, service, publishing, healthcare, financial services, automotive and electrical distribution industries in addition to running her own marketing communication agency and consultancy for more than 20 years. She has 39 local, regional and national awards for her work. Katrina can be reached at Katrina@katrinaolson.com.

Your News Release Checklist

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By Katrina Olson

This article originally appeared 11/9/2015 as an Exclusive Feature on tedmag.com.

If you’ve been following along the past several weeks, you know there’s a lot to remember when planning, writing and distributing news releases. That’s why we’ve developed this handy checklist. Whether you need inspiration to begin, something to jog your memory, or a nudge to tie it all together, use the extensive list below to help you get started on, round out, or finish up your news release.

PLANNING
☐  Is the content important to your geographic area?
☐  Are you targeting a specific industry?
☐  Do you know whom you want to reach with this release?
☐  Have you researched the target audience?
☐  Have you properly packaged the news release as an announcement, feature, hybrid, launch or other type?
☐  Is your story newsworthy?
☐  Is the content interesting, relevant, timely or unique?
☐  Will it make an impact on your intended audience?
☐  Is there a good reason why your target public(s) should care about this information or will benefit from reading it?
☐  Does the news release help achieve a specific public relations goal or objective?
☐  Do you know what you want to happen as a result of the news release?

CONTENT
☐  Do you have a strong lead or hook?
☐  Have you covered the basics?

  • contact information for media (including phones, emails)
  • “News Release” and “For Immediate Release” at the top
  • headline and subhead if needed for clarification
  • release date
  • dateline
  • answers to the who, what, when, where, and why questions
  • quotes from key players in the story
  • contact/follow-up information for reader (including addresses, phones, emails)
  • boilerplate: brief bio about your company
  • note to the editor (if necessary)

☐  Have you double-checked your facts, statistics and claims?
☐  Are claims and statistics factual, unbiased and accurate?
☐  Have you used reputable sources and attributed them?
☐  Does the news release contain specifics and avoid generalities?
☐  Does it contain pertinent, insightful or attention-getting quotes and are they attributed?
☐  Is it concise, not wordy, and to the point without unnecessary or off-topic information?
☐  Is it too salesy or promotional?
☐  Do you need to provide any “Notes to the Editor”? If so, put them after the “###” or “30.”
☐  Have you told them what they need to know to achieve your PR goal?

STYLE
☐  Did you write the news release in third person?
☐  Did you use the inverted pyramid, putting the most important information first with the remaining info in descending order of importance?
☐  Is there a human-interest angle?
☐  Have you eliminated the fluff?
☐  Does the content flow logically?
☐  Is it “on message”?
☐  Did you edit and proofread for clarity, word choice, grammar, usage, spelling and punctuation using Associated Press (AP) Style?
☐  Did you double check dates, days of the week, capitalization, facts, name spellings and company names?

FORMAT
☐  Is it single-spaced (digital) or double-spaced (hard copies)?
☐  If it’s more than one page, have you typed, “—more—” at the bottom of the page and subsequent pages except the last page?
☐  Have you included a slug (a condensed version of the headline and page number) at the top of the second page and subsequent pages except the last page?
☐  Did you signal the end of the release with the triple hashtags (###) or —30— at the bottom of the last page?

DISTRIBUTION
☐  Have you considered where to send your news release to be seen by those you want to reach?
☐  Have you considered the best timing for this news release?
☐  Have you used SEO optimization if distributing your news release online?
☐  Have you considered whether the recipients prefer emails or hard copies?
☐  Have you considered using a free or fee-based distribution service?
☐  Do you have s measurement or tracking tool in place to monitor coverage and/or placements?

Print this checklist, copy and paste it into a Word document or take a screen shot and keep it on your desktop. Keep it handy when you’re writing press releases and you’ll never forget something important.

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Olson is a marketing and public relations consultant, and principal of Katrina Olson Strategic Communications. She has written for tED magazine’s print edition since 2005, judged tED magazine’s Best of the Best Competition since 2006, and emceed the Best of the Best Awards ceremony for a total of seven years. She can be reached at katrina@katrinaolson.com or via her website at katrinaolson.com.

Tools and Tips for Distributing News Releases

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By Katrina Olson

This article originally appeared 11/2/2015 as an Exclusive Feature on tedmag.com.

Founder of modern public relations Ivy Lee reportedly sent the first news release to the New York Times in response to the 1906 Pennsylvania Railroad train wreck that claimed 50 lives. Although originally intended just for the media, today’s PR practitioners send them to whomever they want in a variety of formats including:

  • E-mail as a message or an attachment
  • Hard copy/mail
  • Website (especially for multimedia news releases)
  • CDs, DVDs or flash drives (especially for multimedia news releases)
  • Satellite
  • 3-D boxes, tubes, packages, Champagne bottles

Of course, how you distribute your news release may be dictated by your budget. But most importantly, you should send it to those who most need the information. Possible recipients include:

  • Local/regional media
  • National media
  • Specialized media (electrical, automotive, industrial, healthcare, agricultural)
  • Internal audiences like customers, vendors, members or shareholders

Not every news release should (necessarily) go to the same list. For example, if you’re announcing something specific to the industrial market, include industrial media and trade publications. However, if you’re releasing information relevant to the retail market, like a lighting showroom grand opening, consider more consumer-focused media.

Paid Distribution Services

Fee-based news release services including BusinessWire.com, PRNewswire.com, Marketwire.com and Cision.com. They will send your news release to major U.S. dailies plus AP, Dow-Jones, Bloomberg, Reuters and others—or to markets you specify.

These services maintain exhaustive and current databases of news media and key influencers. You can distribute your news release by geographic area, area of interest or industry. Of course, they can’t guarantee your news release will be published or even reviewed by a journalist; that’s on you to write a quality news release with a relevant and compelling headline.

Paid services also provide for automatic placement of stories in online blogs, newsletters and special interest outlets depending on the industry, topic and location. Some even offer metadata editing, social media posting, grammar checking and analytics. Fee-based services also offer greater credibility than a free service or an individual company.

Using a paid service to distribute your news release with all the bells and whistles can cost up to $1,000—or as little as $129 with options like PRNewswire’s iReach. PRWeb also offers a robust service option for around $200. Both offer activity and SEO reporting.

Free Distribution Services

You might consider using a free news release service instead of, or in addition to, a fee-based service. While they don’t have the cache of a fee-based service, free services can build on keywords, links, tags and metatags, which all help build traffic to your website and enhance your website’s rank.

Using a free service can also enhance your company’s reputation by moving up the news release’s positive information in search results for your company while pushing down any negative comments and posts. Some free distribution services you may want to consider are:

Note: These services are listed in alphabetical order. I am not endorsing or recommending any of them, but simply providing a starting point for you to research your options and make your own decision.

DIY News Releases

When distributing a news release yourself, follow these guidelines to increase your chance of garnering coverage.

  • Always send the news release to a specific person, by name.
  • Send only one copy to each media outlet (e.g. TV station, newspaper, magazine).
  • Find out whether your contact prefers email or hard copy news releases.
  • Send the news release 10 days before an event for print and broadcast media, and three to six months prior to an event for magazines, depending on their publication deadlines and editorial schedules.
  • Call to follow up only if you know the media contact, otherwise it might be seen as badgering.
  • Release the news on your website immediately before or at the same time it’s released in the media.
  • Archive old news releases on your website.

If you’re casting a broader, national net with your news release, consider using a fee-based or free news release distribution service.

Measuring Effectiveness

No matter how you distribute your news release, you’ll want to track placements, reach and effectiveness. Most paid services and some free ones offer tracking of news releases published by media outlets, monitor conversations about the subject matter or company, and/or measure reach and reader sentiment. This feedback can help you determine which media are most likely to run your stories in the future and direct your media planning.

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Olson is a marketing and public relations consultant, and principal of Katrina Olson Strategic Communications. She has written for tED magazine’s print edition since 2005, judged tED magazine’s Best of the Best Competition since 2006, and emceed the Best of the Best Awards ceremony for a total of seven years. She can be reached at katrina@katrinaolson.com or via her website at katrinaolson.com.

Are You Making These News Release Mistakes?

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By Katrina Olson

This article originally appeared 9/21/2015 as an Exclusive Feature on tedmag.com.

Remember your mom saying, “If Billy jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you do it, too?” Almost every company, organization or small business writes news releases; and many of them are atrocious. Just because you’ve seen others writing a certain way doesn’t make it good, or even acceptable.

Following are some common mistakes that you can readily find in many news releases.

Glittering generalities. Using vague, value-based wording to invoke emotion. For example, “These are confusing times. Everywhere you turn you hear a different story. Someone is making another promise. Who can you believe? Candidate Bob Forthright is the man to trust.” We don’t know specifically what is confusing, what stories are being told, or what promises are being made.

Lack of purpose. Every news release should have a strategy and goal—a purpose. Who are you trying to reach? What do you want to happen after people read it? In a future article, we’ll discuss how to find news when it’s in short supply.

Not written in Associated Press style.  Journalists and public relations professionals write in AP style, which provides specific guidelines for punctuation, capitalization, abbreviation and much more. You can buy a (hard copy) AP Stylebook, subscribe online, buy an AP app for your phone and even an interactive s-book. Here’s the link: https://www.apstylebook.com

Poorly written. Even one grammar faux pas, spelling error or typo threatens your credibility; several will destroy it. This also creates more work for the journalist. They’ll remember you next time, and your news release will go right in the trash.

Not including the 5 Ws in the first paragraph or two. The most important questions a journalist and a reader want answered immediate are “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” and “why.” You should also include “how” if applicable. Readers don’t want to have to read the entire story to (eventually) find out what your release is about.

No news value. Is your news timely, unique, significant, important, interesting, relevant, unexpected, mysterious, exotic, threatening, revealing, previously unknown or unsuspected? Does it involve conflict, striving, tension, mystery, failure, success, surprise or marvel? If not, you probably shouldn’t send it.

“We’re proud to announce.” Firstly, no one cares if you are proud, happy, excited or thrilled. Secondly, a news release by definition is an announcement; so writing that you’re “announcing” something is redundant.

Wordiness. Especially in print and in most media, it’s important to be clear and concise. Concise does not mean brief or short—it means not using any more words than necessary. And sometimes, you need more words to be clear.

Not following format.  Does it have a headline? Is it written using the “inverted pyramid”? Is it written in third person? Does it follow Associated Press (AP) style writing guidelines? Does it include a boilerplate (company bio)? All of these and more are necessary for a properly formatted news release. (More on that in a future article as well.)

Too much fluff. This isn’t high school or even college literature class. Journalists have highly refined BS meters. They are also excellent writers and editors with a low tolerance for long-winded writing, unrelated information and blatant filler copy. Be concise.

Inaccuracies and untruths. Double-check everything. Use accurate quotes that have been approved by those quoted. Never, ever lie. Facts must be checked or vetted by the experts who provided them.

Unsubstantiated claims. Avoid making claims that aren’t supported with facts, citations or research. “According to experts, most American children are obese.” While this may be true, don’t assume readers will take your word for it. Cite a credible source such as the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Clichés. Avoid tired, overused phrases like, “The children are our future,” “In this day and age,” “above and beyond,” “when it’s all said and done,” “at the end of the day,” “first and foremost” and so many more.

(Over)using superlatives. Avoid superlatives like dynamic, leader, innovator, best, top, biggest, exclusive, premiere, groundbreaking, state-of-the-art, cutting-edge, most technologically advanced, extremely, outstanding, world-renowned.

A disguised ad. Don’t try to pass off purely promotional information as a news release. Journalists will see right through it and you’ll lose credibility with the media. Avoid promotional or “salesy” writing.

Not including complete contact info. Include an email (or two) and phone number (or two) and make sure that someone can be reached ANY TIME of the day or night. Some journalists work overnight and may have a last-minute question. It’s not unusual to list two or more contact people from your company.

Using non-specific, time-related words. Never use “today,” “yesterday,” and “tomorrow” in a news release. Even though you should have included a dateline, you don’t know when they’ll run the release. And using these words requires journalists to make corrections.

Acting like the media “owe” you. The media are under no obligation to run your news release. Don’t expect coverage, but be happy when you get it. Your mom may have also said, “You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.” Never complain to the media for not running your story or news release.

Technical or complex writing. If you have to write about a complex subject, make it simple, digestible and easy to understand for the reader. Assume your reader has an eighth-grade education.

Most people are only interested in information that affects them personally or is genuinely interesting. Of course, we all send news releases to announce employee promotions, new products and special events. Our challenge as marketers and public relations practitioners is to make it interesting.

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Olson is a marketing and public relations consultant, and principal of Katrina Olson Strategic Communications. She has written for tED magazine’s print edition since 2005, judged tED magazine’s Best of the Best Competition since 2006, and emceed the Best of the Best Awards ceremony for a total of seven years. She can be reached at katrina@katrinaolson.com or via her website at katrinaolson.com.