Hello and welcome to day three in our look at viral marketing. Without a doubt, the single best way to get the ball rolling and to get people talking, is to be in the press. I’m not talking about the Village Magazine here, I’m talking on TV, on the news, in major newspapers, in the various publications of whatever industry you may be in. This is where you need to be. And the easiest way to do this is with a press release. So how do you make one?

Well, I’m going to plug in something now. It’s not my own product, I don’t care whether you buy it or not, but I use it and I know that it’s very very good. It’s called (ready for this? Oh no you’re not…) Press Release O Matic. I know, it’s a lame name, but it’s a great piece of kit. It lays out the text for you, tells you what bits should go where, and generally takes the hastle out of it for you.

However, you still need to know how to spin things. For example (shameless plug, and this one IS me…), with The Music Challenge, I’m NOT using the spin of “One guy in his bedroom makes a record. Can he sell it?” because to a journalist, actually, that’s dull. Nobody really cares. But, people WILL sit up and take notice if it’s “One guy has an idea, and with his friends and associates, brings it to life.” THAT has potential.So I’m going to outline three basic rules and things to think about for you here:

1. Think from a journalistic point of view. Ask yourself these questions:
   • Is this a good story?
   • Would I read it in a paper.
2. Look at press releases with similar themes and break them down and look at them. These are releases THAT HAVE WORKED. Copy the style, but try and add your own variations to it.
3. See who reads those publications. There’s no point in arguing a left wing standpoint to a right wing newspaper, or similar such things. Don’t try and sell stake to vegetarians.
4. Get it proof-read by a good writer. Make certain that at least two other people look over it, just like you would have done in High School or Grade School. They’ll pick up on things that you won’t.

Hopefully this gives some basic ideas. Next week, I’m going to be looking at the press release and Page Rank in more detail, but until then, have a think about this. And I’ll see you tomorrow, when I’ll be talking about how to keep the word of mouth going.

Pete

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