If you want to get free publicity, you need to send a press release to the media. But a press release is basically your calling card to the media. It is a sales pitch that contains the hook of the story and some basic facts. It covers the broad strokes, not the details. So if you really want to increase the probability that your press release will be read, you may want to add in a fact sheet as a separate item.
For this reason, many people who are serious about getting publicity create what is called a press kit, which may include, among other items, a photo, a list of suggested questions and a fact sheet.
One of the most powerful tools in your press kit, besides the press release and photo, is the fact sheet. It is easy to create one, all you need to do is make a list of facts that relate to your press release.
For the sake of this discussion, let’s say that you’re a real estate agent or broker. You could create a fact sheet that has the following types of information:
Median price of a home in your area
Media price a year ago, six months ago
Average length of time a house is on the market this year vs this time last year, and so on.
If you are beating the competition, you may want to list some facts about your company, which might include:
How many homes you’ve sold so far this year, or the monthly average
The average number of homes sold by all the real estate companies in your community
When you started your business
The number of agents in your company, and so on
One of the many good things about fact sheets is that you can create as many different ones as you like, each of which can support a specific press release. Use them well and you will be able to get free publicity on a consistent basis. Just remember what the used to say in the old “Dragnet” movie and the TV show before that, “Just the facts, ma’am.
Danek S. Kaus is a veteran journalist and publicist, and the author of You Can Be Famous! Insider Secrets to Getting Free Publicity. Get more tips at his Blog Find out about his Services Don’t reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.
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