On the Record: Press Releases Are the Cat’s Meow
This post is a part of our services overview series, “What the Heck Do We Do?”.
What starts as a regular yoga class becomes a twisted tale of feline frolic when curious kittens wander in and out of practice, purring and mingling with participants who are eager to be a part of something special. Each person who signed up for cat yoga was enticed in some way. Could it have been the novelty of marrying cats and yoga? Or maybe it’s the cause the fundraising event is supporting? Perhaps they just had to see it to believe it.
The likely answer is they read an article in the South Delta Optimist, saw a post by Daily Hive or Vancouver is Awesome, or they heard it straight from the organizer when she was interviewed on the radio. There’s no doubt animals sell news, but we like to think the press release we drafted and distributed for our client encouraged editors to share it with their readers.
Press releases are used to generate story ideas or are reformatted to fit a publication’s style, whether they’re highlighting cat yoga, celebrating a 100-year milestone, underlining the climate crisis, or otherwise. Knowing what is newsworthy, how to frame a story, and who to send it to gives your story legs, and once it hits the desks of newsrooms it can go viral in a lick.
The Purrfect Hook
A clever headline like “CAT YOGA FUNDS ‘SECOND CHANCE’ KITTY FOR SHELTER ANIMALS” or a playful lead — “Get ready to downward dog like you never have before at a yoga studio that has cats overseeing your Hatha practice” — is often the most important factor to garner immediate interest.
For Jenine Lehfeldt, owner of Sweet Serenity Yoga and Wellness, getting the word out was crucial to raising funds for her cause—the Delta Community Animal Shelter’s Tollie Fund—which supports animals at the shelter requiring out-of-budget medical procedures. She hired our team to consult on the subject, develop an angle for the campaign, interview multiple sources, put together the press release and a focused distribution list, and send off the story on her behalf. What she wasn’t prepared for was the immediate response her new yoga studio received.
“I was on my way to an appointment and caught the tail end of some DJs talking about my event on the radio,” she said. “I caught some more on it in the office a few minutes later, and then called in for open phones.”
Today more than ever, people like to go with the most current, relevant, and happening products, services, and/or businesses. They want to see you in the news, get to know you, and choose to work with you. Getting published makes you far more visible and gives you credibility. In this case, Jenine’s goals were surpassed, with a full house of cat- and yoga-enthusiasts and a surprise visit from CTV News.
”“What can I say, these girls know what they’re doing! They’ve edited many of my poorly worded documents with their magical wordsmithing and turned it into something publishable. Their skills at creating well-versed articles for publications and press releases are bar-none. With their services, I have been able to reach a wider audience than I ever could have hoped for on my own through radio, online press, and print.” —Jenine Lehfeldt
We’ve worked with Jenine on a number of her philanthropic efforts, including her Yoga at the Farm series, which raised funds to help Perfect Pastures Animal Sanctuary purchase and deliver food to animals impacted by wildfires. Then there was NamaSlay, benefiting the Deltassist Family and Community Services Society. Unlike the quiet, controlled, and meditative spaces most yogis are used to, the studio cranks Slayer to blot out the chatter of your inner thoughts, letting you reach a level of mindfulness only metal yoga can serve. Sharing values and causes with our clients gives even more meaning to the stories we craft.
The Pulse of a Story
After the hook sinks in, it’s time to dig a little deeper and provide more context. Often news is signalled when there’s change, or when a challenge has been conquered. Take Hall Printing, a full printing press shop in the West Kootenay that has experienced many changes since it was founded in 1920. To this day, windmill letterpress equipment is still used for numbering, scoring, and perforating. But in their modern print shop, the heavy lead type has given way to a network cable that connects multiple computerized production machines. The transformation over 100 years tells the history of print and demonstrates the company’s ability to adapt and grow.
“I think it’s amazing that a small business can withstand so many changes,” says Owner Ingrid Hope. “In 2008, when the economy went kaput, the U.S. lost 2,000 print shops. We’re pretty proud that we’ve kept up so well, especially technology-and-equipment-wise.”
Celebrating 100 years of business was a milestone worth noting, as was appointing her son as part owner. Ingrid hired Writer’s Block Solutions to develop a story that spotlighted their success, shared the centurion’s story, and gave justice to a celebration that couldn’t be done in-person during COVID restrictions.
We listened, chose strong quotes that boosted messaging, and wrote the story from the heart. We also consulted with Hall Printing on a call to action that promoted their 100th anniversary via a social media campaign. The press release prompted people to engage with historical human interest stories that spanned Hall Printing’s lifetime, as it turned back the pages of time and marked great impressions from the past 100 years.
”“Hall Printing is very happy with the work Val and Kyla did at Writer’s Block Solutions in preparing our 100-year celebration announcement. Thank you so much for your professional help.” —Ingrid Hope
Cozy Up to the Why Factor
Getting the point across is crucial, especially when crafting a story that uncovered a unified global response. When the pandemic temporarily halted many activities around the world, the positive effects on the environment were visibly apparent. A year later, a waste crisis surfaced. For some, this felt like losing ground freshly gained. For others, it underlined what they’d been saying for years: the climate crisis is here and the time to act is now.
Regional economic driver Lower Columbia Initiatives Corporation (LCIC) is leading the charge in developing systemic changes in North America and beyond to combat the climate crisis. They have rejected the ‘take-make-waste’ economic model in favour of a circular one. After their Metal Tech Alley development strategy was included in Environment and Climate Change Canada’s federal document, “Circular North America: Accelerating the Transition to a Thriving and Resilient Low-carbon Economy,” the timing was right to piggyback on the news to further position the organization as an international leader. They required professional writers to put together a release that explained the significance of this recognition.
”“Val and Kyla are always professional in their work. It is high quality and they really take the time to understand our needs for the final piece.” —Rebecca Richards
We have supported the LCIC with a multitude of writing projects, including building hype with pre- and post-event articles for their Industrial Circular Economy (ICE) conference, an innovative global business gathering that showcases Canada’s leading industrial circular economy and highlights resourceful, smart businesses that are salvaging and repurposing waste.
Other news releases announcing newly appointed positions, awards, organizational economic initiatives, and special projects continue to build their reputation. In addition to keeping their excellent work in the news, we helped facilitate an extensive — and successful — communications campaign.
“They are also very skilled at project management,” says Rebecca. “We hired them to manage a year-long Metal Tech Alley blog project and it was always on schedule. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
Featuring Your Stories
As writers, we know a little bit about a lot. Getting an assignment on something new gives us a reason to flex our research skills and sate our curiosity as we learn more about a subject and write for an industry-specific target market. We maintain existing relationships with press outlets and develop new ones with news agencies specific to our clients’ niches. We’re meticulous when it comes to staying informed and in-tune with a wide range of media, taking things like style and publication frequency into account. We want to get the story straight, so we follow the ethos of journalism and ensure our colleagues receiving releases from us can count on well-executed, factual content that purrs.
When our clients share their milestones, successes, and journeys, it’s a gift. We are inspired by their stories and take pride in producing press releases on their behalf. Do you have news to share, but you’re not sure whether it’s appropriate for a press release? Let us be the judge. The pawsibilities are endless — just reach out to get started.