January « 2010 « Arizona Phi Beta Lambda // The nation's largest student-business organization

Writing Press Releases

Posted on January 30, 2010 in General

by Kim Stearns

Press releases act as a simple way for those working in the media (e.g. bloggers, reporters, journalists, podcasters) to fill their newspaper pages or blog sites with news-worthy information. Press releases can be distributed in a variety of formats; the most effective of which is sending it directly to any media contacts you may already have, such as editors of school newspapers. Other avenues for distributing press releases include newswires and
free press release distribution sites, both of which allow bloggers and reporters to find your press release through search engines.

Just as important as the channels you distribute your press release on is the format in which your release is presented. There are plenty of resources out there for properly formatting your release. All of them include these few core components:

1. Make sure to mark your release with “NEWS RELEASE” along the top. This will help to distinguish from the hundreds of other emails your media contacts receive daily
2. Provide specific contact information at the very top of your release including email and phone number should they need more information
3. Make your headline stand out!
4. Keep your release to one page, and end your release with the standard “-30-” this will indicate there are no more pages to your release

The most important thing to remember when creating a press release is that these reporters and bloggers receive hundreds, if not thousands, press releases per day. Your challenge as a PR or marketing professional is to ensure that your press release gets noticed and published. The best way to make this happen is to write about something unique and give your press release an intriguing title. Simply stating facts and quotes is easy, but digging and telling a true story about your newsworthy item is what will give these important media contacts something valuable to write about.

Editor’s Note: We encourage local PBL chapters to create press releases when they have exciting news to share with the local community.

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Kim Stearns is a former Phi Beta Lambda member. She is currently the Marketing Director at Forty Agency in Phoenix and is also the President/Founder of Commpose.

Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kimstearns
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kimstearns

Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stylianosm / CC BY 2.0

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Winter Leadership Conference 2010

Posted on January 19, 2010 in Conferences, General

ASU Main Campus, Saturday, February 13th, 2010, 9am-3pm

ASU Phi Beta Lambda invites chapters from across the state of Arizona to Tempe for a day of competition. If your chapter plans on attending, please let us know as soon as possible. The registration deadline is Friday, February 5th, 2010. The registration fee will be $10 per student. Please fill-in this spreadsheet to complete registration. Inside of the spreadsheet you can find a list of all the events that will be offered.

Tentative Schedule

8:30-9:00: Registration
9:00-9:30: Opening Session/State Officer Reports
9:30-11:30: Written Tests/Performance Events
11:30-12:30: Lunch (the Memorial Union has numerous places to eat and is just a minute walk away)
12:30-2:00: Written Tests/Performance Events
2:00-2:30: Voting Session
2:30-3:00: Awards

Visit asupbl.org for more information.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Brian Ackerman – centralvp@azpbl.org

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Recruiting with Elevator Speeches

Posted on January 11, 2010 in General

About six years ago when I was in FBLA, a PBL member visited our group at nationals and talked about what it was like to be in Phi Beta Lambda. I had not heard about PBL before, but afterwards I was curious to learn more. So when a friend invited me to an ASU PBL meeting, I went.

Now, as the spring semester is beginning, PBL chapters will begin another round recruiting. A lot of chapters will lure people in with free pizza or guest speakers, and those are great ways to turn the heads of a lot of people. But, the best way to guarantee someone gives you their attention and time is by simply chatting with them about why they might like PBL, and inviting them to a meeting.

After all, you’re not in PBL because of free food (well… not only because of free food); we’re here because of friends, competition, trips to nationals, networking, or any number of reasons. So when recruiting this Spring, you’ll want to be able to quickly and effectively get people interested enough to take the time to come to a few meetings: enough to get hooked.

In business, this quick pitch is known as an elevator speech. The idea is if you happen to be in the same elevator as a potential client/employer/whomever, you should be able to make an informative and persuasive pitch. When that CEO gets off the elevator, they should be convinced that you and your product are AWESOME.

In reality, we do this everyday when we convince friends to try a new restaurant, participate in class discussions, or beg parents for money. A good elevator speech isn’t something so polished it sounds robotic; instead, think of them as persuasive conversations. You’ll want to sound natural, informed and genuine.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting different tips and techniques for making your elevator speeches persuasive and easy. I hope members of Az PBL will be able to use these tips recruiting new members in the spring, or impressing your next boss.

John Tyler

State Officer Liasion

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