Marketing Strategies for World Hypnotism Day: Using Press Releases

World Hypnotism Day was created for the purpose of getting media attention and increasing public awareness about Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy.

You should be focusing all your activities around getting media coverage, because this is going to be your best opportunity to get stories written about you and your business.  The media love stuff like this, and you’ll be doing them a favor.

Reporters, talk show hosts, news anchors… they all get bored with the same old news just like we get bored with the routine in our lives.  And Hypnosis is something that always makes people curious so it’s GOOD FOR RATINGS.

But… they won’t come knocking at your door looking for the story, you need to make it easy for them.  This starts with a Press Release.

Now, writing one may seem like a challenging task if you haven’t done it before, but with a few basics and a few samples, you’ll find it’s actually easy to do.  In my opinion, getting the press release to the right person is the bigger challenge, but now thanks to the Internet even that isn’t so hard.

Here’s the basic steps:

1. Write the press release

2. Send press releases out

3. Follow up (when appropriate)

Writing Your Press Release

A standard press release is one page.  This makes it easy for you since you don’t have to write a lot.  The challenge is to make it punchy enough to get a reporters attention.

Here’s the basic structure of a press release:

• Contact information
• Headline
• Sub head (optional)
• Body copy – 3-5 paragraphs
• Short Bio at the end

Rather than attempt to explain the layout, I’ve created a Press Release Template in PDF format (You’ll need the Adobe Reader which is a free program).   Download it by clicking on this link:

Free Press Release Template

HEADLINE:

This is the MOST IMPORTANT part of your press release.  If you have a boring headline, it will be ignored. It’s also  important to put keywords in it if you plan to release it on the Internet, so people searching on "World Hypnotism Day" will find it.

Just like in an advertisement, the headline is there to catch the attention of the intended audience.  There is a age old formula for writing good copy, which is still relevant today.   AIDA  (Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action).   This is what you want your press release to follow.

And the headline is how you get their attention.

Example of a Boring Headline:

Example of a headline designed to get attention:

Another one:

If you can do Stage Hypnosis, you’ll get a packed house and media coverage with a headline like that. 

Remember, the reason the media will carry your story is to help them get ratings or increased circulation.  And it allows them to sell more advertising, which is how they make their money.

If you send them a boring press release, you won’t get a response back.

Most press release sources won’t tell you this because they were taught to write boring ‘news’ press releases.  I’m a copywriter, and I know better.  Reporters are hit with as many messages and distractions in their day as anyone else, so you need to GET THEIR ATTENTION.  And you do this with a good Headline.

BODY COPY:

The most important part of the body copy is the first paragraph.  It’s the 2nd part of the AIDA equation.  You got attention with the headline, now get them interested with a good lead in to your press release.

Example:  Master Hypnotist (Your Name) will attempt to set the California Record for most people hypnotized simultaneously on Jan 4 2007, as part of the World Hypnotism Day celebration.  This event is free and anyone who would like to experience a deep trance is invited to participate.   (Your Name) swears no one will cluck like a chicken, and anyone who participates will not only leave relaxed and rid of any stress… they will sleep like a baby that night.

For the other parts of the press release, see the free template I’ve created for you.  It’s based on the one I’ve used to send out many press releases.

Sending Your Press Release

There are a couple of ways to go about this.  Until recently you either had to fax each one by hand, or pay a fat chunk of change to an agency to do it for you.  Since the advent of the Internet, you can use online distribution services and email.  It’s also much easier to find media contact information for most of the larger organizations.

Here’s what I would recommend… first, what do you want to accomplish?  If you just want local media to cover you, then you should go down to the library and ask them to help you look up the direct contact info of reporters and editors in the media you want to reach.

Every major library will have a copy of Bacon’s Media Directory.  For just a few local papers and radio stations, you should have all the info in a hour or so.  Again, make this easy on yourself.  Ask the librarians to help you find what you need.  It will save you a lot of time.

Try to find the reporter/editor who writes stories like yours.  Get their direct email/fax/phone info.  Use multiple contact channels to make sure you know they get your release.  Don’t worry about bothering them.  You are doing them a favor by alerting them to a news worthy story.

Send the press release, and then follow it up with a phone call. When you call, ask if they have any questions about the press release.  Tell them you would be glad to fill in any details, and invite them to attend your event.  Do not ask "did you get it?"

If you want to reach a larger audience, and get your press release included in Google News and Yahoo News, then use an online distribution service like PRWEB.  Send it out at the $80 level, as that not only gets you in the news listings, it also  gets sent out to bloggers in the categories you choose.

There are other PR services online, but as of this writing I haven’t used them, so I don’t want to recommend them.  PRWeb has been around a while, has been very reliable, and they provide very detailed statistics on how many times your release was read and downloaded.

If you want to potentially be included in a national story, or be on the radio, PRWEB is the way to go.  Right now if you search Google News for "World Hypnotism Day" there are only 7 total results returned, and only 4 of those are actually about WHD.  This means you have an excellent chance to be one of a handful of Press Releases on this topic and get noticed by news outlets.