Saturday, September 26, 2009

Creating Press Releases

Have you done any press releases? I never did until this past 2 weeks and a friend of mine got me started and it is mind boggling but it is fun and fast.

I have done 3 press releases now and for some reason I am surprised by the hits I got. Why I don't know but it just surprised me I guess that anyone would be interested in what I am doing.

If you would like to take a look at them I will leave the web links to them at the end of this post.

Why would we want to use a Press Release? Doing press releases has always been the standard method of communicating any newsworthy announcement to the media. This amounts to free publicity.

Large companies have always used press releases as one of the most effective forms of their marketing methods. So why shouldn't we.

This form of marketing can help to launch your new products, or in my case as a non-profit we can announce fund-raising events and activities, and entertainment companies use press releases to promote the release of everything from games, books, music, and films. So I would say we need to follow what the big boys do, right?

What I am understanding is if the large companies know about this maybe we should follow suit and learn from them, if they get publicity why shouldn't we? Isn't that the best publicity?

Here are the links to the press releases I wrote
Renita Challenges You to Step Up to the Plate
Financial Peace University Come to Harvard
Renita Farrall Guest Speaker at Center City Chamber of Commerce Luncheon

I now challenge you to go out and try a press release for your business.

Have fun writing,

Renita Farrall

Monday, September 21, 2009

Oh No, I have 2 Imperfect Granddaughters

This weekend we made a trip to Southwestern Iowa, Imogene for short, the home of the Imogene Hub, my sister-in-laws newspaper. If you want an enjoyable paper to read this is the one. Imogene is a small town near Shenandoah, Iowa. I think all that is there are a tavern, the local grain elevator and the big Catholic Church and maybe a few residences.

My brother and sister-in-law live on a beautiful little farm with a few cattle and horses near Imogene. For the last 5 years or so they have been brave about inviting Neil’s extended family to the farm for a day of food and getting caught up on family news as well as horseback riding. A few years ago when this all started the old timers, my brothers and sisters and me all had to refresh our memories of riding horses in our younger days. But this year I noticed only one of us, besides my brother who owned the horses, even got near one.

I was able to ride around with my sister-in-law in her golf-cart. I tore the lisfranc ligament in my right foot this summer; I am on the mend with it and on crutches yet. Veronica gave me a ride in the golf-cart to see what the grandkids and others were doing. That was great together time and we were able to catch up on what was going on in each other’s lives.

Every one had a good time and came home very tired.

Well, I thought everyone had a good time, but as I was writing up the article to put in the local newspaper for the entire world to read I had to call one sister to find out what her son’s address was that was there so I would have the town correct (heaven forbid if I would get that wrong). We was visiting about the weekend and how much fun it was when she dropped the bombshell, I have 2 imperfect granddaughters. Oh, my goodness. I would never have dreamt that in a minute.

To be kind to my sister she was much kinder then that, but I need to have you read this post, right?

Anyway what happened is these 2 nine year olds HOGGED the horses they were riding. They thought they owned them. They would not get off of them and let anyone else ride them. It just happened that one of the horses was the lead horse and whatever that horse did the others did. So if it went to the barn because the person controlling the steering didn’t know how to steer, then the rest of the horses followed much to the dismay of 2 teenage cousins who couldn’t be in control.

This made me think of our lives. Isn’t that what happens in real life. If we aren’t in control of our destiny we complain to someone (our mother in this case) who can’t do anything but tell the next person (the grandmother in this case) who can’t do anything but chose to relay the message onto the fathers or the man in charge of the horses (my brother) who by next year will have forgotten the whole thing.

What is the right thing to do? Should the teenagers have complained immediately to the next in line (fathers) or gone up the line to the person in charge of the horses (my brother)?

What happens in your case? Do you keep your mouth shut until you get home and expound to the person there or do you go directly to the person in charge that could resolve the problem immediately? Most of the time we do the keep quiet thing and then blow up at home and hope the people that messed up know we are upset and then we let it fester and nothing gets done until it is to late and everyone is mad at each other.

It is interesting to see how we all do the same unless we are taught differently. It doesn’t matter if it has to do with horses and kids or business and adults it is all the same.

Just a little something to think about. Have a great day and start to develop your Legacy .

Renita Farrall