Of all the ways that press releases can be utilized as tools, from sales and service to news and announcements, press releases are often the best, if not the only avenue for self-published books. Not always, but frequently, editors, agents and publishers will not look at books written by unknown authors, especially today. The book-publishing business has become more cloistered as giant publishing houses gobble up small presses and major moguls merge.

In this era of celebrity-driven book sales, the new or first-time book author becomes a disposable commodity to the publishing world. ‘Names’ sell books. Never mind that some celebrities who can hardly speak proper English, let alone spell it, become best-selling authors. All they need is a well-known name and a little cash to hire a ghostwriter. (We exclude all foreign-language-speaking authors and good writer celebrities, and there are many out there.)

But here you are, a hard-working and gifted wordsmith with knowledge or adventure to share, and you can’t get a nod from the publishing world, let alone the mainstream media. Here’s where the mighty press release comes in.

If you can come up with a clever angle, a unique twist or a first-time-ever happenstance, you can get attention from the media with a press release. So you say, “It sounds like quite a trick. How am I going to do that?” Oh, come on, you’re a writer. Remember? If you can plot a novel or organize information in book format, surely you can write a pithy press release about it. Remember, pithy means clever, yes, but also terse and to the point.

To give you examples of successful press releases we’ve written about self-published books, we’re including a few titles below that illustrate unique twists, timely connections and clever angles. You’ll get the idea.

Illustrative Examples:

New Book Unravels Mystery of Buying First Baby’s Layette: An Economic Survival Guide for First Time Parents

The idea is unique. Did you ever see an entire book devoted to baby’s first layette? How many new parents have you met who seemed mighty confused on what they will need? How many ask themselves how much it will cost? This book answers those practical questions and more. It’s also a timesaver and a money saver for new parents. This is the angle we concentrated on and created a release that had all the elements of a best seller.

New Book Spells out Key to Success Based on Your Name

The unique twist of this book is that your name can influence your success in life. Of all the self-help books out there, we’ve never seen one with this connection. This book uncovers intriguing ancient formulas that enable you to analyze your name and act on it to improve your life.

Find your own unique angle for your book and promote it with press releases. The media loves the unusual, as long as it makes sense.

Trying to decide if you should take a swing at writing your own press release? While writing a press release can seem daunting, PRW is here to help. We have put together this handy questionnaire to help you organize your thoughts and ideas into a coherent outline so you can create a clear and defined angle for your release.

1. What is your focus? In other words, what are you trying to promote? Are you launching a new web site, introducing a new product, publishing a new book, etc. Be sure you only have one focus.
2. What is your angle? Simply stated, why is this newsworthy? This can range from anywhere to pure entertainment or a new tech gadget that helps organize someone’s schedule, etc. You get that idea. Make sure you connect your product, service, news, etc with your audience.
3. Who is your audience? What type of media and consumers do you want to reach?
4. What are a few important points? List any pertinent facts, statistics, or history that will help support your angle. Remember, shorter is always better so try to keep it to 3-4 main facts.
5. Quotes. Use quotes! Try to find one good, strong quote for your release. A quote can be from a company spokesperson, previous customer/client, etc.
6. Background Information. Summarize the pertinent information regarding your company in two to three sentences. While this may not be directly related to your news, knowing your company’s history and background well help the consumer understand how you are qualified to speak on the product, service, etc. This will help add credibility to your release.
7. Contact Information. When it comes to contact information, include the kitchen sink. Include a contact person, phone number, web site, email, etc. You’re sending the release out in hopes of receiving positive response, so be sure that the media can actually respond to you!

For a handy print version of this questionnaire, please visit:  http://press-release-writing.com/questionnaire.pdf

The press release is rarely a one-shot deal. More often, to be effective, a series of press releases need to be sent. Each week, find a new angle for your release to keep your name or your company’s name or product out there.

For example, we did a press release announcing the release of a musician’s new album. He started getting phenomenal feedback from the press, radio and TV. The following week, we featured the news of the radio and television station coverage and when and where he would appear. Brief reminders of who and what the person or product is about should be included in each consecutive release, as a reminder. Change the wording of the repeat information and present it in a different way.

Each week, write a release following up on the media interest. When you run out of new interest, find a new aspect of your product or service and elaborate on that. Remember, keep it newsworthy to keep your name in the news.

Few written statements can serve as many different purposes as the mighty press release. You can use it to promote yourself or anyone else, to sell a product or service or to announce an event. You can use it to gain publicity through the media or to simply to gain the attention of the recipient. Just as a noun denotes a person, place or thing, the press release can promote a person, place or thing.

We’ve written hundreds of press releases for many individual clients and corporations, each one with a different purpose. Yet they all have one thing in common; they are selling an idea, a product or a person. Let’s examine how we angle the release if we are selling a product.

For the past several newsletters, we’ve concentrated on the title or heading of the press release, using specific examples from our staff-written releases.  This article will concentrate on how to create an angle to put power in your release.

This continuing feature series, therefore, will give illustrative examples of real press releases done by the professional writing staff at Press-Release-Writing.com. Our example this week will examine the angle of the entire release and how you, too, may create an angle to best serve the purpose of your release, not only in the title but also throughout the body.

For example, a client who had a product to sell to computer users commissioned us to write a press release. The angle was directed to the computer users, how it would benefit them and why they should buy the product.

That seemed simple enough. So the angle was to sell a product to computer users. We took it a step further. We angled it not only toward the computer users but also towards small businesses and corporations that owned many computers. What were the benefits to the bosses who hired the computer users?

We touted the benefits to both computer users and corporate bosses right in the heading, the first thing they would read: Eyesaver Program Helps Computer Users Ease Eye Strain, Increases Productivity. What computer operator wouldn’t want to prevent eyestrain? Comfort and health are important issues in any workplace. What business owner wouldn’t want to increase productivity? We all know that’s the bottom line. Increased productivity increases profits.

That got their attention. Now we had to follow up with that same angle in the body of the release. First we defined the program: “Eyesaver is an ergonomic computer program to combat Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS), an acute disorder that affects the general health of all computer users”

Next we quoted some powerful statistics to back up our claim: “CVS has escalated more than 200% over the past three years.” Here’s where research comes in. That little statistic took many hours of research. Just because the release is short does not mean preparation time is short. In fact, just the opposite is true. You must get lots of information into a very limited space and it must pack a powerful punch. The press release is brief but it must be 100% accurate. Know your facts and you can use them to angle your release.

Remember, press releases are generally written for media people. That’s why they are called press releases. But also remember, press people are human too. What appeals to the public will also appeal to them. Potential public interest is what makes the news, after all.

Do media people use computers? Would this be of interest to them on a personal level as well? Of course and that must be figured into your angle. Sell the reader with the angle.

Now that we got them hooked, we hammer home our credentials. We establish further credibility by stating that the program has been “tested by the American Optometric Association.” We gather some big names of people who use the program such as “Citicorp, Blockbuster, and The Prudential.” These are pretty powerful recommendations. Don’t you feel better about a product that has been recommended by familiar names?

We named the designer, an expert on CVS; we honed in on financial statistics, “Statistics show that companies nationwide lost more than $25 billion in direct productivity losses in 1997.”

Now it was time for the close, as they say in sales’ circles. We talked about price, a bargain considering the above statistics, “By purchasing Eyesaver for as little as $.07 a day, you can prove employee productivity and company profits.”

The whole angle of the press release was to sell a product to the individual and to the business owner. We focused on that angle all the way through the body of the release. We closed with the bottom line, price in relation to consumer benefits.

Angle your release to your audience, whether it is the media, the individual user or the company chief. Sell your product with credibility, accurate statistics and a consistent angle.