Why Press Releases Benefit Your Interiorscape Company

Does your interiorscape company use print ads or have you inquired about placing one? If so, you know how expensive that type of press marketing can be. 

In my area, the local newspaper and magazines charge between $200 to $500 for a business card sized ad. If you want your ad in full color or included on their website, you’ll pay even more. Despite the millennial generation using less and less paper, newspapers are going strong. According to Nielsen research, newspaper circulation has increased to 70% of the population reading newspapers regularly.

Based on that statistic, Forbes believes print media advertising is still a good return on investment. Chris Ake from Grand Apps writes that using local magazines is the best choice when investing in print advertising.

With the experts saying print advertising is very effective, especially when combined with other marketing campaigns (read my article on The Poor Horticulturist’s Guide to Lazy Marketing) – what do you do when you only have a shoestring marketing budget?

Create a Press Release.

With my first interiorscape company, I could promote my business for free at the local Times Union. I’d have half pages with full color pictures. Advertising like that would now cost several hundred. Unless you want to pay a company or individual to create a press release (there are several to choose from online), all you’re going to spend is your time. If you have good writing skills, you won’t have to expend much effort to create a press release.

What is a press release?

According to Wikipedia, “A press release …. is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something ostensibly newsworthy.”

Basically, a press release is a document you send to a paper describing an event, product, or special knowledge about your company. For instance, many years ago, I wrote my local Times Union a press release explaining sick building syndrome and why it’s beneficial for the skyscrapers downtown to have
professionally maintained plants inside. The paper quickly responded and sent one of their photographers to add pictures of my company designs inside the tallest building in Jacksonville.

How to write an “ostensible” press release

Lucky for us, reporters love it when a good story comes across their desk, especially when most of it’s written for them. That makes their job so much easier. That being said, just because you send a paper your press release doesn’t mean it will get published. There could be many reasons why an editor ignores your story. To help your chances, make sure the press release is interesting to other people besides yourself. Good examples are stories about a fundraising event, how plants benefit our lives, new varieties of plants, or insider tips for plant care.

One of my writing professors once said, when writing an article, there are five things your audience wants to know – who, what, where, when, and why. While being as concise as possible, I always try to make sure I’ve answered those questions. People want to know who’s involved, since it could be someone they know. They want to know what time and where this is happening as apposed to their location. They want to know the reason behind the topic, event, product, or company. Now if you are talking about plant care, you probably won’t need to answer all five, but if it’s an event, you should go through the list. The best way to capture an editor and audience’s attention is by writing something that can pertain to their lives.

A quick note on length: on average, you should keep your press release to about a page long. Our attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, so keeping your information to under 800 words is best if you want to retain the audience’s interest.

How to submit a press release

Start with the papers and local magazines that you think share your target audience. My city is divided up in several suburban areas with their own unique characteristics and papers. Knowing most of my clients live in San Marco, I target their monthly flyer.

Once you’ve identified the papers you’d like to publish your press release, find the right editor or reporter to write to or email. Some print media companies will have a specific email address for freelancers like yourself to submit your work. Usually, this email address is located on the first inside page of the paper. If such is not the case, choose the head reporter or head editor of the section most related to your story. Large papers usually have a home & garden section that consistently needs articles pertaining to our industry. Keep your press releases relatable, succinct, current, and, of course, grammatically correct. Proofread and the free press will happen.