Journalists are extremely busy people, and they love it when they can get interesting articles in their newspaper - which doesn't involve hours of them phoning people, researching, sending photographers etc. This is fantastic because as an amateur dramatics group you want people to know about your productions, about your group, and you want the press article to be relevant, free and make your drama group sound fab!
So … write your own press releases … it's extremely easy to do once you know how and here are a few top tips on what to do!
• Plan your press releases … newspapers will not want to print information about the shows etc months in advance the best plan is to send your first press release at an appropriate time. E.g. if it's a weekly newspaper then send it 3 weeks before the show, send the second press release 1 week before the show, and another small reminder the week of the show.
• Try to send a picture with the press release … make the picture interesting (i.e. cast shot, dress rehearsal, previous production) and ensure that it's good quality colour. It is better (and cheaper) to scan the image yourself. If you do this then make sure you use the highest scan settings so the quality is brilliant … otherwise poor quality pics won't get printed.
• Think of an angle for your press release. Why are you doing the show? Are you donating some profits to charity, has the drama group reached a special anniversary, has a member won an award, competition etc. A human-interest angle is always a winner to get a good bit of article space … the better the story - the closer you'll get to the front page.
• Send the press release and picture electronically … this way it's free (saves postage) and the journalist doesn't have to re-type the article. Send it in an MS Word document, Times New Roman, Font 12 with double-line spacing. Always include a word count at the end of the page and your name and a contact number in case the journalist wishes to find out more information.
• Try to use "buzz words" in your press release like 'fantastic', 'outstanding', 'extremely popular' … avoid all negative words!
• Always write a press release after the show summarising what the show was about and how successful it was … obviously be honest - don't say 300 people came when only 50 turned up. But at the same time don't say "only 50 people came to the show" - don't mention the amount of people who came, instead just say "the audience were thrilled by the performance …" Within this follow-up mention your next planned show, how to find more information, when tickets are available, how much they'll be etc - remember it's another opportunity to have exposure!
• Always include contact details for readers to get in touch with you … if you have a website address then use it. If you don't have a website then visit your local major regional newspaper website they are normally part of the "this is" sites … ie the Nottingham Evening Post's website is http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk and there is a community feature called "beehive". This is a free, easy to manage, dedicated web site to local community groups and very good! For examples of how they work visit: http://beehive.thisisnottingham.co.uk/blueballoon (this is my website!). And don't forget the amdram.co.uk website, it's free to post production information, have your group in the database, etc.
• Always make sure that you ask the local newspapers to include you in the "what's on" section of their paper - usually the newspapers share a "what's on "guide and so you'll find the production will be advertised in other papers etc. Some areas have a local amateur theatre magazine, for example in East Anglia there is Curtain Call, once you subscribe you can usually get featured every edition for free!
• It doesn't hurt to phone the journalists up and offer them a free ticket to the show and to say thanks for printing the article. However, also see if you can arrange for one of the newspaper photographers to come along and take pictures. If the newspaper sends someone then you can guarantee at least one picture will appear in the newspaper, but also you can order these pictures from the newspaper and use them for your own publicity because they will be high quality, good pics!
• Our local newspaper has a character called Lancelot the Lion who does a children's section … they have a Lion costume and everything. If you are doing a production relevant to kids (panto etc) then see if the paper has a character costume and whether you can book it to attend your matinee section. The kids will love it when the come to the performance, the adults will think it's great, and the paper are likely to do a much bigger article on the performance and say how good it is - audience attendance should shoot up!
Good luck with writing your press releases!
Other articles from Matt:
Advertising
Branding
Fund Raising
Gimmicks
Image
Posters
Starting a New Group