Are Press Releases a Waste of Time? If you fear your press releases are getting stuck in the round file, try something new: Write the article yourself.

I was sending press releases all summer...and getting noresponse. I changed my approach, and now I have my own weekly liveradio show starting this month.

Wouldn't it be great if you had to keep customers waiting atyour door because you were too busy? I think it's everyentrepreneur's dream to have qualified buyers ringing the phoneoff the hook. Attracting good customers is always a better strategythan finding good customers; the question is, How is that done? Formany businesspeople, the use of a creative press release has been astaple of any low-cost marketing campaign. Media exposure andpublicity is the most cost-effective way to market your productsand services. More important, it helps build credibility becauseyour audience is more likely to trust an independent third partylike an editor, broadcaster, columnist or reporter.

I added a press release component to my marketing mix lastspring. These releases reflected on me personally, so I reallywanted to make sure the campaign was professionally done. I did afew things upfront to make sure the campaign worked. I subscribedto a well-known national media list that was updated each quarter.I did my research and learned how to write newsworthy releases,followed the standard format and then started sending out myreleases.

The news was my "VirtualSelling Radio," an Internetradio station for entrepreneurs and small-business professionals. Icrafted five different press releases and sent them to the entirelist approximately six weeks apart starting in June. The list Ipurchased is accurate and updated quarterly. I had strong headlinesand titles in each of the releases, and they were newsworthy, nothyped sales pitches. I made sure that every release was formattedproperly and contained all my contact information. Yet my campaigndidn't work!

I got one phone call in November. A sales rep from a magazinethat received the press release called to sell me space in theirmagazine. Why was my campaign so unsuccessful? I had the last threereleases checked out by two public relations firms before they weresent out to make sure I was doing things properly. I did everythingby the book and still didn't get any response-until I decidedto do something differently: I broke the "no call"rule.

In all my research on writing and sending press releases, thisrule is the one thing that's stood out the most. Most articlesand books advise against calling the media or publication thatyou're sending releases to. I broke the rule and startedcalling the editors, broadcasters, columnists and reporters in mymedia database last month. But I didn't ask them if theygot my press release. Instead, knowing that reporters, editors andproducers are always looking for good content, I offered tocreate content for them.

You can do the same for yourself. Follow these steps to createyour own publicity:

• Focus your list. Pick only the radio/TV stations,newspapers, magazines and trade journals that fit your targetmarket. Which of these publications would you like to contributeto? Does their audience fit your target market?
• Leverage your existing content. If you're alreadywriting articles, producing audio or video content, doing liveworkshops, or are an expert in a particular field, see how thatknowledge or expertise can be used in a different format.
• Get to know a local editor, producer or reporter. Ask ifyou can conduct an interview. Find out what they actually do whenthey're at work. What are the three things they like anddislike and the types of stories they cover? Treat it as a realinterview, and get a behind-the-scenes view of what their jobreally entails.
• Create a content stream. Decide on a stream of news orinformation that you can provide to them on a regular basis.Propose a weekly/monthly/quarterly article that you would write.Become an on-call expert for your target publications and mediaoutlets.

Unfortunately, the majority of what the media receives each weekgets filed. With an average of several hundred press releases beingsent to them each week, it's hard to break through the noise.If you're serious about publicity and want to improve yourbottom line start to think outside of the box. Take thisopportunity to create your own publicity.

James Maduk is one of North America's leading salesspeakers. He is the host of the "Small Business Heroes"radio show, creator and publisher of more than 80 online salestraining courses, and author of 52 Secrets Your Mom NeverTaught You About Selling. You can reach James at (613) 825-0651or visit his Web site at www.jamesmaduk.com.