June/ July 2010

~THE CAT’S MEOW~
The three C’s of effective communication

How do you communicate to your target market? And get media attention? If you focus on what you do best and how it benefits them you will be far ahead of the crowd. It is harder than ever to get free editorial from the media and consumers/clients are pickier than ever about whom they do business with, so you need to communicate your benefits if you want to stand out in the crowd. The way to do that is through the three C's of effective communication;

Clarity

How do you describe who you are and what you do? Can you describe it in 30 seconds or less? Being clear is about telling your audience what you do in as few words as possible -- and using that same crisp message in written materials.

Compelling

Promote yourself in terms not just of your experience and expertise, but how what you do benefits others. Focus on how your products, talents, services benefit others (including the medium you are pitching)—this should be written from a "what's in it for them?" perspective. When you make it newsworthy, your marketing materials practically write themselves.

Consistency

Once you have a clear message you need to maintain it in everything that you do; from word of mouth to social media to emails, website, and print materials, via the internet and in any other advertising and marketing media. Nothing is more disconcerting to prospects and media than reading inconsistent material.

What is a Press Release?

An announcement of news written in an editorial style and sent to the news media for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value. Typically, they are sent to assignment editors at newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television stations, and/or television networks.

What is a Media Advisory?

Also known as a Photo-Op or Media Alert it is a concise announcement with WHO WHAT, WHERE and WHEN sent to the media about a particular event or news item. It is typically more urgent in tone and contains detail in an easy to read format.

The use of Media Releases is common in the field of public relations, the aim of which is to attract favorable media attention to public relations professional's client and/or provide publicity for products or events marketed by those clients. A press release provides reporters with the basics they need to develop a news story. Press releases can announce a range of news items such as: scheduled events, personal promotions, awards, news products and services, sales and other financial data, accomplishments, etc. They are often used in generating a feature story or are sent for the purpose of announcing news conferences, upcoming events or change in corporation.

A press statement is information supplied to reporters. This is an official statement or account of a news story that is specially prepared and issued to newspapers and other news media for them to make known to the public. http://en.wikipedia.org

Get your message to the media

Cat*PR offers Media Writing and Distribution for press releases, media advisories and media alerts and can ‘get your message to the media’ through the use of media lists gathered from past experience and the use of PRNewswire MediATLAS mediatlas.prnewswire.com which can be customized by keyword, location or medium. Cat*PR will service an existing release, edit and / or create a release on your behalf and ‘get your message to the media’. Rates start as low as $100 per market per location and we can create pricing strategies and service packages to suit your exact requirements.

*** Cat*PR ***

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