BASIC STEPS FOR PUBLICITY
1. Choose only one person from your agency or organization to contact news media. Two persons contacting the same newspaper editor or program director will create conflict and confusion. However, if your media person is not available, do not hesitate to call the news media yourself. Getting the information out on schedule is the most important goal.
2. Be prompt in establishing personal contact with the right persons at each newspaper, radio, and television station in your area.
3. Write everything down! Train your memory, but don't trust it.
4. Be prompt in meeting every news deadline.
5. Be accurate. Double check names, dates, and places before submitting your copy.
6. Be legible. Erase and correct errors. Type news releases double-spaced.
7. Be brief, concise. Newspaper space and air time are limited.
8. Be honest and impartial. Give credit where due.
9. Be brave. Don't be afraid to suggest something new if you honestly believe you have a workable idea. Media people welcome original ideas when they're practical and logically organized.
10. Be business-like. Don't try to gain publicity by pressuring friendship, advertising, or business connections. Never ask a daily when a story will appear. In dealing with small weekly newspapers, however, this question is not unreasonable. Don't ask for clippings. Never beg for a story.
11. Be professional. Members of the press are always invited guests. Never ask them to buy tickets or pay admission. Their presence will help your campaign or goal.
12. Appreciate all space and time given your publicity. A thank-you note always improves press relations. Media people, like the rest of us, are quick to hear complaints when an error is made. A thank-you note sent to reporters and camera crews is appreciated. Even better, send your letters to the station managers and editors, with special mention of the reporter's name and the good coverage he or she provided.
13. Keep lists up to date. It is annoying for an editor to receive news addressed to the person he or she replaced two or three months earlier.
14. Proofread. You may not be a professional writer, but you should double-space releases, be accurate, provide a name and phone number at the top of the first page, and check your copy to be sure it includes 'the five Ws'-who, what, when, where, and why.
15. Make appointments in advance. People who work in radio and television stations are no different than people in business, except that they are usually more pressed for time. You shouldn't drop in unannounced. Show courtesy by telephoning first to find out when it's convenient for you to visit in person.
16. Know the deadlines for all media. Copy should be delivered (or mailed if absolutely necessary) well in advance, especially for weekly papers. Type a release date 'For Immediate Release' at the top of the page.
17. Don't flood the media. Study and experience teach the boundaries of news interest, and common sense dictates respect for them. If a business editor repeatedly receives stories appropriate for the news or sports editor, he or she loses respect for the source. A tendency of the inept, opportunistic publicist is to flood all media with dozens of releases in hopes of increasing the potential circulation and exposure. This reasoning is false.