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You’ll read it again in the most exciting places!

There are times when you need more than an instant bio (Do 52).

Those times are:

• When you’re doing something newsworthy

• When the release is for a specific event

The press release is not just a general fact sheet. It’s focused.

You send it to TV stations, radio stations, newspapers, and newsletters.

You can usually use your letterhead. However, if you want a third-party look, like it’s from a publicity or press agent, print out a letterhead using only your initials. That makes you an exclusive agent for y-o-u.

Centered at the top, in caps:

PRESS RELEASE

Like your bio, your press release should be one page double-spaced. Unlike your bio, it needs a headline.

That’s easy. Just consider your focus. A current speaking engagement? Your latest promotion or recent award? That’s where you start.

Your headline, in bold, no period:

Tim Harland to Speak to Valley Chef Society

Leona Patterson to Coordinate Chamber Mixer

Then move on to your accomplishments. Here’s how you might do that.

Mr. Harland has 10 years of experience working with some of the most highly rated chefs in Connecticut.

Leona has worked as an events coordinator for high-profile conventions in

Dallas for five years.

Did you notice something here? Right there in the Leona release. Events coordinator is not upstyle (Events Coordinator) the way it would be in a resume. It’s downstyle (events coordinator).

That’s how publications like it. AP (Associated Press) style. To be sure, call the publication if you don’t have a current issue to review.

Speak the language of the media you seek.

Include information about what you’ll be doing. Refer to yourself in the third person (he or she). End with this simple statement:

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Use your letterhead information even if it’s at the top.

Finally, proofread the release. Read it aloud. Did you catch any typos? Does it sound the way you intended it to? Did you give it to someone literate to double-check spelling and grammar? (Do 5.)

Do your press release well, and publications might even publish it verbatim.

Great free publicity in the most exciting places!

Do 54: Crashing Parties at Hotels

Businesspeople staying at hotels are there to improve their bottom line and to relax. What better place to permit them to interview you?

Like all travelers, they are there to experience new things. Away from office pressures, they listen more attentively and focus on change. Clear heads, open minds.

So let’s get it done!

Most cities have around a dozen properties where your presence with business cards and a pen are all that’s needed to interview instantly. (Callback cards for additional penetration too. Do 14). You just have to time visits to coincide with major events.

Call the hotel or meeting center and ask who’ll be holding an event there. The larger events are on daily schedules given to the operators. Ask about where to park (free, if possible) or where guest parking can be validated. If you’re not sure whether you want to attend, park in the short-term convenience (free) parking near the entrance and scope things out.

As long as you stay in the common and public areas (hallways, lobbies, restaurants, shopping malls, or vendor areas), hotel security won’t care. The security guards are actually quite helpful if you act as if you belong there. You won’t be acting, either.

Many events encourage the public to attend. They include jewelry, art, and antiques. Every participant has a table, and you can interview freely. Follow the job-fair techniques (Do 51).

Private parties require a little more creativity. Blend in and mingle, using the chamber of commerce method (Do 56).

It’s fun to discover an offeror! Could it be that nice lady ahead of you at the appetizer table? Offer to hold her drink while she serves herself. What about the guy with the wild shirt and tan? It’s easy to picture him in a suit and even easier to approach