You slaved for hours crafting the most informative,

beautifully written, and concise press release to ever cross

an editor's desk. But you wait, and wait, and still receive

no calls from journalists or bloggers. You follow up with

the newsroom and editors give you the brush off. You

followed all the rules, you followed the standard press

release format, and you distributed it widely. What

happened? Uh oh. You forgot to ask yourself "Is my story

newsworthy?"

Here are the top 5 questions to ask yourself before sending

a press release:

1. Is my story timely? Just like a Christmas tree recycling

story won't fly in July, a press release that deals with old

news isn't going to cut the journalistic mustard. Know lead

times. If you want your Veteran's Day story in a magazine,

you will likely have to send your release months in advance.

For newspapers and broadcast, editors and producers will

usually still need a couple of weeks lead time unless your

press release deals with breaking news.

2. Is geography on my side? The opening of an innovative new

small business in Small Town, Indiana may not make national

headlines, but local and regional media outlets are always

on the look out for a "local kid makes good" story. Always

check the geographic angle. If the dashing young inventor

you're profiling grew up in one state, went to school in

another, and now lives and works in another, pitch to all

three areas. The same goes for a product that may be

manufactured in one place and sold in another. Just because

a story is not national news doesn't mean that it can't

garner quite a bit of local press.

3. Will this story appeal to the masses? While a story about

a $2,000 car will appeal to millions, a story about a brand

new aerodynamic knitting needle is only going to appeal to

knitters. Ask yourself if your story has wide appeal. Even

if it doesn't, if you can pinpoint your target audience, you

are in luck. There is probably a media outlet out there with

the exact same target.

4. Does my story deal with a hot topic? Ten years ago when

the economy was booming nobody was puzzling too hard over

ways to save on their power bill. Back then, your

energy-saving hot water heaters might have interested

plumbers, contractors, die-hard environmentalists and nobody

else. Now though, "green" topics are in the news. Read

widely to discover trends and tailor your press release

accordingly. While you may have once simply announced a new

line of hot water heaters, now you can get attention by

touting their "green" properties.

5. Does my story connect emotionally with readers? You can

be sure that very few Americans were following "Britain's

Got Talent" until the YouTube clip of Susan Boyle singing "I

Dreamed a Dream" surfaced and garnered over 60 million views

and counting. Something about Boyle connected emotionally

with readers, and if your story has the same emotional

resonance, you are in luck. Perhaps you are announcing a new

medical procedure. Connect emotionally with the audience by

relating the tale of an against-all-odds underdog who beat

cancer after undergoing the new procedure. Editors,

producers, journalists and the public are, after all, only

human. If the story tugs are your heart strings, chances are

it will tug at theirs, too.

If you can answer "yes" to one of these questions, then you

have the makings of a newsworthy press release. If you can

answer yes to all 5 of them, then what are you waiting for?

Distribute that release right now and wait for the calls to

start rolling in.

Yours till the chocolate chips,

Mickie Kennedy
Founder, eReleases.com
CEO, eReleases.com & Press-Release-Writing.com