"89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases"

Lesson #23:  The "Top 10" list

One way to almost guarantee that you'll get publicity for your product, service, cause or issue is to write a press release about a "Top 10" list.

It can be the "Top 10 Best" or the "Top 10 Worst" or "The Top 10 Most Romantic..." or anything else you can dream up. It doesn't even have to be 10. The numeral can vary.

The media love these lists. Almost anybody can create one. "Top 10" lists are one of several types of publicity tools I discuss in "Briefs, Fillers & Quizzes: How to Write Them and Why Editors LOVE Them."
 

The list: The Top 10 Retirement Cities

Publicist Barbara Kimmel of Next Decade, a publishing company, wrote the press release below about her client, Dr. Warren Bland, a geographer at Cal State and author of the book  “Retire in Style, 60 Outstanding Places across the USA and Canada.” It was distributed by Paul J. Krupin's press release distribution service.


The result:

Within the first 90 days of this release, the author appeared on about 30 radio shows and in almost 50 newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune (twice), New York Daily News and the Dallas Morning News. He also appeared on Bloomberg, CBS Marketwatch, Fox News, MSNBC and CNN American Morning. He was also written up on several websites including mortgage101.com, Yahoo real estate news, Remax.com, CNN.com and Bankrate.com.

Notice that the release also includes the criteria, which I've highlighted in yellow.

***IMPORTANT: Barbara wrote 10 different versions of this press release--each highlighting one of the Top 10 cities--so the name of the city was in the headline and the lead paragraph. That's called customizing your press release, and the time it takes is well worth it because journalists read the press release written for their city and think, "Aha! This is about our city, and it's perfect for our audience."

Here's the release:
 

New Survey Results Show the Top 10 Cities to Retire

CHESTER, NEW JERSEY (Feb. 1, 2005) -- Warren Bland, PhD., an award-winning geographer at Cal State, has just released his new “Top Ten” U.S. picks.

Topping this year’s list are Boulder, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; San Antonio, Texas; Asheville, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; Boca Raton, Florida; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Surprised about Pittsburgh? Don’t be. According to Bland, “the Pittsburgh renaissance is a reality--the city has evolved from Steel City to a corporate headquarters and service economy, and its air is now cleaner than that of most large American cities. It offers residents excellent transportation, retail services, health care and a mix of cultural and recreational activities unmatched by cities of its size. And the best part… you can enjoy Pittsburgh’s many amenities at affordable prices."

Dr. Bland has carefully selected 12 criteria most important to retirees in his new book “Retire in Style, 60 Outstanding Places across the USA and Canada.” They are landscape, climate, quality of life, cost of living, transportation, retail services, health care, community services, cultural activities, recreational activities, work/volunteer activities, and crime. Each place discussion includes 5-6 pages of text, plus a beautifully crafted illustration page featuring a climatic table, a 12-variable rating table, and a map of the city and its surroundings.

Bland is a well-known expert in his field. He has been quoted in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Consumer’s Digest and U.S. News & World Report, to name just a few. His book, which is published by Next Decade, Inc., and retails for $22.95, is available through all major wholesalers, at leading bookstores and on the Web at a variety of electronic bookseller sites, or direct from Next Decade at (800) 595-5440.

Press Contacts: Next Decade Inc., Barbara Kimmel
(publisher),(800) 595-5440
 

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Opportunity #23: Fund-raising report

Remember yesterday's Opportunity #22, which was a fund-raising kick-off? Keep the momentum going by writing press releases throughout the campaign to let people know how much has been raised so far.

Tomorrow: The 'free advice' press release

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***Have you missed previous lessons in this tutorial? You
      can find them below:

Lesson 1     Lesson 2     Lesson 3     Lesson 4     Lesson 5     Lesson 6      Lesson 7     Lesson 8     Lesson 9     Lesson 10    Lesson 11    Lesson 12   Lesson 13   Lesson 14    Lesson 15   Lesson 16   Lesson 17    Lesson 18
Lesson 19   Lesson 20    Lesson 21   Lesson 22

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