You may be asking yourself, what do I do or say to fill these stories? There are two books I recommend to use should you not be able to link your story to a hot topic. Celebrate Today by John Kremer and Chase’s Calendar of Events. These two publications show holidays you didn’t know existed. For example, did you know that July 3rd is Air Conditioning Appreciation Day?

Key #2 – Killer Press Release

Once you have an idea for a story, it is time to type it up. It’s important that the press release be in the correct format. On the top right, it should read “News Release”, followed by your contact information. On the top left it should say “For Immediate Release”. The headline is the most important part of the press release. It needs to be juicy. The whole press release should be only 1 page and double-spaced. At the end of the page, put 3 centered # signs to signify the end of the release.

I highly recommend that you use a cover page that states that your organization is a non-profit. The Radio Stations & Newspapers have to legally give Public Service Announcements (PSA). That is how I was able to get dozens of free newspaper articles and free radio commercials on NPR & WMTR for Toastmasters.

Free examples of press releases can be downloaded at http://www.getfreeads.com.

Now you have your own press release in your hands, but what now? You need to develop a list of fax numbers. You can do that by going to your county library and looking in their reference section for the following books: Bacon’s, Gebbies, Editor and Publisher, and Broadcast and Cable Yearbook. There you will find a wonderful list of contact information for magazines, newspapers, TV & radio shows. I recommend that you create a word document with just the fax numbers and get a subscription to Efax (www.efax.com). This software allows you to send faxes just like email, so you can easily send dozens of faxes with a single mouse click once you have your distribution list created.

Key #3 – Eliminating the Middleman

Now, the person on the other side of the fax is known as the “Assignment Manager”. In a word, this person is BUSY. They are listening to nine Police Bulletin radios for stories, the phone ringing off the hook, the fax is printing non-stop, and it’s their responsibility to send a dozen news crews out to cover stories.