Press Releases as a Marketing Tool

By Loni Anderson, LAc

What exactly are press releases? What are they for? And how are they written?

If you ask a public relations (PR) professional, they will tell you that a press release is a means of communicating with the media and that their purpose is to share company announcements with the press. They will also say that there is a specific way to write them and distribute them. So who wants to hire a PR firm on a $1500 per month retainer? Show of hands? Anyone? No? Didn’t think so. The old model of press releases was indeed a vehicle to get news to the press that would then share or not share the information with everyone else.

The reason you needed a PR person is to help you get your message crafted in such a way that it will be distributed and seen by the buying public. Today press releases are a way to convey information, but they are geared toward a targeted audience, not the press. At least that is the objective of good press release campaign. Let me show you how to use a press release as a marketing tool to support your other efforts to generate leads for your practice and to use press releases to entice more patients to seek treatment from you.

What is a Press Release For?

A press release is a story that tells others something about you or your products. The myth of the press release being for the press only is very deep-seated. The historical news wire (some of you may recall these) was a teletype machine that spewed out press releases. Every newspaper had one, and trading desks had them, too. This is where the value of a press release was born. If a Wall Street trading company had a way to get stories about what companies were doing such that they no longer had to rely on word of mouth, or mail (remember this was before the Internet) they could make trading decisions based on more accurate information and dictate the success or failure of a company or industry through stock trading.

Newspapers, being daily publications, were a quick way to report on things that happen in the marketplace that affected trading. A presidential campaign may see a rise or fall in oil prices because of a victory of one candidate over another. Or a stock price of a drug company that produces vaccines may rise when a flu epidemic threatens. It’s basic economics. But where does that leave us as health care providers? It’s simple. The same thing happens but on a smaller, more intimate scale. People make buying decisions based on what they hear, read, or are told by the media. So media outlets get press releases, too, and editors make a decision to run a story based on…what? Truth be told, editors base their decisions on what sells newspapers and magazines. That means it’s not always about the truth, or newsworthiness of a piece, but about being the right piece at the right time for their AUDIENCE. So now you should be asking yourself, “is my story a good fit for XYZ magazine or newspaper’s target market?” A better question would be “Is XYZ’s target audience also my target audience?” Now you’re talking. One thing I work on with acupuncturists is getting them to define who their target audience is. Once you know that, everything else falls into place.

What is in a Press Release? Who do you send PR to?

So how do you write a proper press release, who do you send it to, and what is in it? Building a relationship with an editor is a must if you plan on making regular submissions to their publication. But, if you don’t have that in place yet, there are tools on the Web that will help you get the word out. I’ll go into those in a minute, but first, what is a press release used for? A press release in today’s world is a way for you to get your message out to your target market, but who do you send it to? The Public Relations Society of America (www.prsa.org) defines their service as follows: “the public relations practitioner uses a variety of professional communication skills and plays an integrative role both within the organization and between the organization and the external environment.” The press release is one of the many tools PR firms use, and if you hire one, they will prompt you to always have something in the pipeline that they can share with the world.

If you are looking for a low budget way to use press releases yourself, have something to offer that your target market would be interested in. In my business, Building your Business Qi, acupuncturists work with me to come up with strategies for business leads, which often include new service offerings, because doing so generates leads, and it is useful beyond just crafting a press release.

What are some of the things your patients or potential patients would be interested in? The list is long and differs from practitioner to practitioner, however, some of the items you may consider might be – research reports or case study results that support acupuncture for conditions you specialize in, new products or services you offer, special training you or your staff has acquired, awards received, donations to local charities (this has the bonus of showing what a generous clinic you have and advertises the charity, too, with appropriate links, of course)

Here is a list of sites that will distribute your press releases (some free, some for a fee). This is gold. No more large retainers to PR firms; we can distribute our information ourselves! Model your releases after those you see on these sites:

prnewswire.com, i-newswire.com, prbuzz.com, prleap.com, theopenpress.com

Rather than give you the components of a press release, let me show you one that was used to promote a convention. You could prepare a PR like this for a lecture or workshop you are giving. The size of the event is unimportant; getting your name before your target audience is your primary objective. Then when the lecture or workshop is over, send out a release offering a transcript of the event or some other outcome of the event that your audience might find newsworthy. Don’t just send a PR announcing “look we had an event” that offers nothing of value. If you gave away something, or a participant had a terrific outcome, you could send out a PR on this. Think about what you would want to see if you were your target market?

However, you could always include the “we had an event recap” note in a blog or newsletter, but be informative and interesting or your content will be off-putting to your readers.

Use a press release to drive traffic to your website or blog. In many cases it is best not to include contact information such as a phone number unless you are prepared to answer a lot of calls. Be sure to track your leads and record which marketing efforts were most effective, including PR. One thing I remind acupuncturists who want to increase their revenue is to always follow up on leads right away. As you build your marketing funnel, you can transition your leads seamlessly into your sales funnel. Press releases are one way to generate qualified marketing leads that become clients. Transform your practice, increase your exposure to your target audience; write a press release today.

Loni Anderson LAc, is founder of Building your Business Qi Professional Development. She offers CEU courses for acupuncturists as well as business development consulting. Learn more about her services at www.LoniAnderson.net