Public Image Media Training Basics of Communicating your Clubs Message with the various Multi-Media News Organizations

Read, See, or Listen….all about it! Not so long ago, these were your only choices for spreading the word.

So Many Other Choices And now we have so many others

And even though there are so many new options…

The basics remain the same for news releases, or simply spreading the word about your event.

With some exceptions…

Dear Dan Taylor, The date (August 23, 2017) 6pm   WOW, are you registered yet? The Fort Worth Rotary Clubs will be holding our first Annual Rotary Party at Joe T's, with an "all you can eat Buffet" only $25.00 and a cash bar This will be fun and a family event, we will have lots of drawings and a 50/50 Ticket drawing too, thousands of dollars of prizes from each of the 7 FTW Rotary Clubs. The Stockyards Rotary Club and District Governor Chris McLucas are welcoming the World Famous Author & Old West Story Teller and local Rotarian, Jack Edmondson who will be walking us through the history of Texas. This will be a fun event, support Rotary, enjoy some great Fellowship and enjoy some great food. Click the link below to register and reserve some raffle tickets too. Click Here for Tickets Thank you For District 5790 How many remember receiving the email. It was generated through ClubRunner. And it’s something you can do for any events you’d like to promote district wide.

Who Sends the Release To Avoid Confusion Assign One Person Normally it’s a good idea to assign one media person in charge of sending press releases – or several people assigned to take turns… if you have multiple people sending releases can become very confusing.

Media Outlets Prefer Email So they have to type it. If you fax it or mail it someone will have to type it.

Remember the 5 Ws Remember the 5 W’s when sending basic information – Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Although you may not always need all the W’s ask yourself if you’ve covered all important information. Also include a phone number in case people have questions.

Avoid Unnecessary Information Don’t offer unnecessary information – If it was a beautiful or cloudy day, was that really relevant to your event? However, if you’re offering a rain check, that is important.

Send photos as a .jpg attachment Unless otherwise instructed, photos should be sent as attachments in a .jpg format. Make sure to include – in the body of the e-mail – the names of all people in the photo. Do not embed photos in a Word document or in the body of the e-mail.

Avoid Subjectivity Go to next slide

“This will be the best event ever” Avoid subjectivity at all cost – i.e. “This will be one of the best events ever” or “a good time was had by all.” Adjectives in general are unnecessary (“great,” “wonderful,” “beautiful,” “powerful”) and will most likely get deleted. Extra zeros aren’t necessary. Ticket prices are $10.

Write in the 3RD person

Avoid “we”, “us”, “our meeting” Write the release in third person – avoid using words like “we” and “us” and “our meeting.” Instead say “The group will meet at…” or “The club is sponsoring one scholarship this year.”

What time is it? Formatting the time for your event- Times should be written as follows: 4 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. If an event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. please write it like that… “From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.” And, be considerate and don’t send the reader to the calendar, by including the day and date of the event, i.e., Wednesday, Mar. 17.

10:00 am – 4:30 pm 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Use the correct format 10:00 am – 4:30 pm 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Which is correct?

Avoid the extra zeros. They aren’t necessary

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. is correct-no need to add the extra zeros No need to add zeros.

What day of the week is Dec. 25, 2016 So you don’t have to send people to a calendar add the day of the week when announcing the date of your event

December 25 falls on Sunday. If you’ll add the day before the date it will help. December 25 falls on Sunday. Sunday, Dec. 25, 2016 is correct