Customer Reviews

Bulletproof News Releases: Practical, No-Holds-Barred Advice for Small Business from 135 American Newspaper Editors

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I've read Bulletproof News Releases at least four times. The insightful advice by editors throughout the book is invaluable at driving home the basics every business needs to know to get their publicity efforts off the ground and then score repeatedly. Bulletproof News Releases has helped me publicize my businesses, Peachtree Movers, Inc. and Office Moving Systems, Inc., in seven trade journals and business publications, and last year I scored big with an article in The Wall Street Journal.

I've read many other marketing books and have been frustrated with their lack of substance. I've practically worn out my copy of Bulletproof News Releases scribbling notes and comments in the margins. This book not only tells you what to do but how to do it.

So you own your own small business. You don't have a lot of money for advertising, but you need to promote your business. Read Bulletproof News Releases. Kay Borden explains to you a) What editors look for in a good news release. b) How to write a release that gets the editor's attention. c) Brainstorming on ideas for releases. d) How to follow-up with editors.

What made me plunk down my money for the book is that Kay includes quotes from over 100 newspapers editors on what they like and don't like about releases. There are many books about writing news releases, but they are by marketing people. Bulletproof News Releases gives you the advice of the people who determine exactly what gets printed in the paper.

I used the advice from the book and my first news release resulted in a feature article on me and my business with a color picture. This was in a regional paper with a circulation of 80,000. The day the story appeared, I received a call from a prospect that resulted in a $5,000 order! That alone was a 26,000% return on the $19 book investment. To run a color ad the size of the article that appeared would have cost me over $700. The article was free and most people believe the articles more than they believe the ads.

If your business needs publicity - get this book!

This book is full of wonderful advice. I was able to secure publicity for my new business venture in the two largest local newspapers! Bulletproof News Releases is extremely easy to read and packed with valuable information from cover to cover. I especially enjoyed Chapter 4, "News Under Your Nose," which helped me tailor my news releases to the local audience.

If you're in business, and you think that press releases are just another form of advertising, you're probably shooting youself in the foot.

This book tells you who the one person is that you need to target your release to (the editor), and what they're looking for (something newsworthy). Most press releases are badly disguised marketing copy, and consequently get thrown out almost immediately.

By following the instructions in this book on how to find something newsworthy about your company, and how to present it for maximum impact to the editor, your press releases will stand out from the crowd, and you will 'get ink'!

It worked for me!

I was truly shocked when I read this book yesterday. Within the first page (the first paragraph, really), it was apparent that the author couldn't write. Hoping that the beginning was just a fluke, I continued reading, only to find that the poor quality of the writing persisted throughout the entire book! At times the poor quality was merely laughable; at others, it actually impeded understanding.

I have engaged in much successful publicity for my small business, as well as for a traveling film festival. I have also helped nonprofits and community groups get publicity for their organizations and events. In my experience, a prerequisite for successful press releases is clear writing. So it is rather ironic to publish a poorly written book on news releases.

There is precious little content to be found in "Bulletproof News Releases". The pages are set in a rather large font--much larger than in a typical book. The side margins are almost half the width of the page--meaning that almost half of every page is merely white space! I can't tell you how many pages are in this book, because a strange numbering system takes the place of traditional page numbers--perhaps so you don't realize how few pages there are. I can tell you that the book is very thin.

I'm not sure where other reviewers got the idea that this book was useful for businesses. Many of Borden's examples are for political causes. References to the first Gulf War are numerous. She even sites an example of how a small community in Georgia reduced it's crime rate by requiring all its citizens to own guns! These are not the kind of examples that will help the small business owner succeed.

There is no magic to writing a good press release. First, write well. If you can't write well, contract the work out to someone who can. Second, send out press releases about something original and newsworthy. Third, be sure to include all the relevant details--who, what, where, when, why. Include a few morsels to entice an editor's curiosity. And be sure to include your contact info.

Now isn't that better than spending $20 on a book?

This is a great PR read. I bought this when I was just starting out in PR, and I can't tell you how many times I have referred to it since then. What I like best about the book is that it doesn't just give you pie-in-the-sky objectives like "develop your brand." What the book offers is specific actions you can take and ideas you can springboard off of to create publicity for your small business or non-profit. REAL ideas, not just puffery. The authors suggest specific stories for certain times of the year, they outline news cycles, they try to teach folks how to distinguish from real news and self-serving fluff.

"Bulletproof News Releases" provides exactly what the title indicates - advice from 150 American Media Professionals that details what gets a news release published and what gets it trashed. Author Kay Borden details why so many people, advertising companies, and publicity firms spend so much money on news releases and get nothing for their efforts. The last part of the book covers writing the release, and how to target it to the selected audience so that it will be printed. One of the points that is made very clear is that a news release that does not contain something of interest to the newspaper or magazine's readers will not be published.

The thing I liked best and found the most useful about the book were the comments by various editors included on just about every page. Since the comments are set in the side margin it is very easy to open the book and read through them as a quick review of what editors are looking for, what they don't want, what causes them to discard an otherwise good release, and how to get your release published. "Bulletproof News Releases" is a recommended read.

I really enjoyed this book, but I am very very new to the publicity game, and I needed an actual example of a news release. Borden suggested and critiqued news release content, but I was really hoping to find out what a news release actually looks like. I know I'm supposed to have a "dateline," but I don't know what that is. What should I use as a header? Should I single space or double space? If I'm announcing the publication of my book, should I put myself in the first person or third person? Should I use printed stationery? Does the news release fit all on one page? I just wanted to see a couple news releases by pros in proper format.

I finally found out that my professional organization (Science Fiction Writers of America) does have sample news releases available, thank heaven.

Ms. Borden asks for feedback, but it isn't easy to contact her. Provide an e-mail address, perhaps?

The book was also quite entertaining. The story of the bride who didn't want to reveal her groom's name in wedding announcement was worth the price of the book.

All in all quite good.

As president of a PR firm that has promoted over 1000 authors- I have to tell you- This book is a must for every author. I wish every one of my clients had a copy of this book BEFORE they came to me- Buy it....you will like it! (Rick Frishman- www.plannedtvarts.com)

Publishers promote books with review copies and news releases. When sending books to reviewers, we always include a release: our version of a review. This release prompts the reviewer to some of the important points. Often the release is printed word-for-word. So our mission is to write a great release the reviewer will want to use and one that will prompt the reader to buy the book.

For coverage, click on Table of Contents in the left-hand column of this page.

Kay Borden has been a newspaper reporter, news editor and senior information services representative at Lockheed. She has both written and received news releases. She shares what she has learned in this book.

As the author of 113 books (including revisions and foreign-language editions) and over 500 magazine articles, I recommend this volume to publishers. DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com.