how to write a press release

How To Easily Remove Writer’s Block in 10 Steps

By Tatyana Gann

Writer’s block?

Did you know that there is a simple way to remove a writer’s block and have natural flow of thoughts?

No I am not talking about hypnosis or listening to some mind changing meditation Voodoo tapes.  Have you ever sat down to write and felt your mind was empty? You had no ideas and not even a hint of topics you want to write about…You take a note pad, a nice looking pen and get comfy ….Blank…Blank..

Nothing happens. You get coffee, some cream and even get some chocolate hidden in the cupboard. You get excited thinking “This is IT. I will be great” …  But nothing happens. You begin to worry how you are going to come up with the ideas for your next article, press release and blog post.

You feel tension is building up and you feel overwhelmed. You write couple ideas and then start writing. Your phone rings, your kids are at home asking twenty questions in less than 5 minutes.  Life goes on.. but you have projects in your mind that need to be completed. You are looking out of the window, watching clouds and getting nowhere..


Are you still in a dream land?

Much of what you are going through with a writer’s block is totally normal. Even the best writers get them. It is NOT something you have to worry. What I have discovered that people need to follow few steps that are so simple to practice and all you need is YOURSELF to do it on a daily basis. Yes I said on a daily basis.

Here is the simple formula that will help to remove the writer’s block and open your mind to seeing things differently with a fresh perspective.

1.       Make sure to REST: The most important factor that determines your creative flow is REST. You must have rest in order to function and that includes your writing, especially if you do it for living. You must rest during the day. Some may not agree but taking few short breaks and even nap if you work at home can help you to feel refreshed and recharge. It can remove the block when you let go.

2.       Tell funny stories : Funny stories related to the topics  might be ice breaker with your customers. Make sure they are REALLY funny and not just for you.

3.       Research what your customers talk about your products and services or even remember interesting stories they shared previously. It does not have to be totally new.

4.       Make a video: Video is an excellent way to speak what you want to say because later you transcribe it. You can even use older videos because  by listening it might give you ideas what to say and how to say it.

5.       Make Audio and then transcribe as well.

6.       Use photos for publicity. Often making a photo blog post can be quite effective because it shows your life or lifestyle of your clients/customers

7.      Famous authors: Read books of famous people in the same niche as you are.  Contact authors and ask them for permission and then tell them you wanted to interview them too. Then, write a book review and the review of the interview. You can blog  about it or send out as an event press release.

8.       Book reviews: Write reviews about the books on Amazon and then post review on your blog or talk in your press release. Amazon gets a lot of traffic and your reviews can be quite helpful. You will be attaching yourself as expert to the community of Bloggers or a business owners who also blog about their products. It is a huge plus!

9.       Gozillion of topics: Do not focus on writing zillion of topics. Take the hot related topics from Google.com/trends and talk about on your blog or even video.

10.   Total relaxation: Sometimes all you need to take 2 days off and enjoy time with your family or your friends and let it come back to your naturally.

When you are ready to write, it will come together. When your mind is ready, it is ready to let the ideas out one idea at time. I usually feel them coming as natural flow and I write them down, record them. I have paragraphs come to my mind easily when I am relaxed, but focused. I do not feel tension. I feel smile inside and it becomes easy!

Ready to smile and enjoy the writing journey?

Enjoy it!

Tatyana Gann

Tatyana Gann & Smokin’ Hot PR http://www.smokinhotpr.com/ Ready to get access to the simple formula for creating a proven marketing and online PR campaign? It’s time to get back to the basics and enjoy simple PR and marketing methods that work around the clock. Learn how you can tap into the markets you never thought possible and how to establish your online credibility very fast. Tatyana and SmokinHotPR consulting is an online PR service on steroids – it gives you a quick and simple formula to do your own PR and eliminate marketing headaches.


Press Release Rules: How To Write A Press Release

By Tatyana Gann

When it comes to writing a press release many business owners often feel stuck in the area of press release distribution.  How often did it happen to you? You felt your head was spinning with ideas and what each company could do you for you. You make a list of them, look at prices, features and get more confused. You do research and all you see everyone says they are the best service since the sliced bread. You give up, right? Does it sound like you now?

Taken From Flickr.com

Well, let me tell you a short story…

A few days ago I was talking to my client who was using  PR distribution services couple years ago but it did not work for him as he wanted to.  He gave up on PR services though he truly believed it was a way to go to share his story, his product concept. He knew he needed PR for his business but he did not know where to go. Can I tell you it happens often? Customers try PR services for short period of time and then get discouraged and cancel everything. They forget one thing. Publicity results are not always instant. It takes 60-90 days to bring the results.

You have to have a plan. If you do not have a publicity plan like in anything you do, you will fail and your expectations for PR services will be low. Writing a good press release takes efforts. Some people say you can write a press release in 30 min but for me it is a piece of art. It is a masterpiece. Why?

First of all you have to have one idea in mind. You write to an ideal buyer. If you are in a business of selling healthy chocolate and you want to write a press release to a buyer who is looking for gluten free chocolate, you must talk to a customer who wants that feature in their chocolate. They want to know how gluten free chocolate tastes before they even buy it, and what others say about it, such as experts in gluten free chocolate business. Your press release is not a generic dry story that you cannot even stand reading. It must be all about your customers and how you make them feel. You must research your niche, your keywords.

Secondly, when it is done, edited, you seek the ideal places. I personally recommend to use SEO releases services for press release distribution such as PRWeb.com or Ereleases.com and also  social media online PR rooms such as Pitchengine.com They are low cost, effective and they are authority. Depending on your budget you can use these services to distribute your press releases. Then, later on you can add new services. These are proven resources I use and recommend.

Third, you want to make it exciting. You can embed videos and images with your press releases. What I love about my Pitchengine media room is that you can add your images, related videos, links related to the content you are sharing and make it fun and easy to see. For example in my recent PR story for my client I wrote a social media release that was designed for local optimization and his name.

You can see a press release example and discover how fun and exciting it can be.  It had videos, images that are totally optimized for search engines. Times changed and today you can be creative and innovative with your PR strategies. Your story becomes the center of the party. You are the host and people are listening to you! ( We had fun at Mari Smith birthday party who is our Facebook marketing queen)

Fourth, you must submit to social bookmarking services as Digg.com or Delicious.com to gain more exposure and links. I also recommend to submit your story to communities that can syndicate your stories. Hint. Take your press release you have written, write a review on it and post on your blog. Then take the blog post and submit to a blogging community..

Because  I am totally in love with public relations, writing publicity for my clients and bringing positive light that every business owner wants I have patience for working with people who are ready to threw in the towel.  I believe that PR is coming back full force and with new wave of PR 2.0 and upcoming PR 3.0 things will change in your favor. It will make it more easy, less expensive and easy for your customers to read and purchase your products.

Tatyana Gann is  the founder of SmokinHotPR E-zine and SmokinHotPR Boutique, specializing in PR consulting, mentoring and writing services for business owners. Tatyana is a mompreneur who resides with her family in Nashville TN.   Get instant access  to SmokinHotPR Ezine: PR 2.0 Secret Strategies, Creative and Innovative Marketing Ideas To Build Your Business.

How To Write An Exciting Press Release For A Book or A New Product

By Tatyana Gann

Learn how to write a press release for a book, a product, or even a new business that gets your customers inspired and excited!



Do you know how to write a press release that brings positive energy, motivating, encouraging and fun to read that you cannot wait to share the story with others?  Does your press release provides solutions to your customers in simple and exciting way?

Do your write a press release that never gets read because it is too stale and boring? Do you fall asleep while reading your own press release?

Then we got a problem….

Let me tell you a story. Last week one of my facebook friends asked me a question why she needed to write various press releases for her brand new business and her book.  She asked a question , “Tatyana, what would they do for me?” I asked her what did she want to get out of her product, her book and what was her vision. It was clear that she wanted more publicity but she needed to do homework in understanding the basic principle.

Press releases are like fashion trends. They change. Customers Change.

As you might have read online old ways of using press releases in your marketing campaigns are gone.  Press releases are like fashion trends and they changed the way customers seek and buy products today. No more faxes, no more writing to millions of journalists because honestly they get too much junk in their inbox and some good press releases never get read. NEVER! Sad,  but true..

They are  like precious beautiful flowers in the middle of desert that never get found! They never get noticed and recognized for its beauty.  That is why hoping your press release is EVEN noticed by hundreds of journalists is just a hope. Your goal is to write a press release about things people want to know more and buy more. Google is like open flower field that gives your press release advantages and inbox of an journalist is like a desert.  You got my point. Right? Do you want your story to be a story that is like this desert flower or a beautiful flower in the field along the paths where people stop by.

I get asked very often on how to write a press release that promotes a company product or consulting services especially for their new business.  Online business owners wonder what benefits do they have from such “old fashioned method” and my answer it can do a lot!

Remember this:

  • It is your footprints that you leave and it is written in stone instead of the sand. It is what everybody will see over and over.
  • It is something will give your customers opportunity to share it and buy products over and over! WHY? They can trust you. Do you love when customers trust you and you feel you want to do more for them? That is what writing a press release about: establishing instant trust because they see your intellectual abilities.

However, you must follow certain guidelines to writing an effective press release:

  • Determine the angle of the story: writing about event, product launch, expert revealing the truth.
  • Determine your buyers: what do they do on a daily and weekly basis and their lifestyle. Write what you know about them. It is your profile exercise. It will help you.
  • Your goal is to focus on your headline and press release description: that is what Google wants to see and what your customers will see. Create controversy and compelling to turn heads in YOUR direction.
  • The Purpose of Online Press Release: It is about seeking and informing buyers where to get what they need to get fast and efficient.
  • Your press release must be objective: write a press release in 3rd person. Writing about yourself will do more harm to you than you think. Keep your excitement under control.. You can express it in your quotes.
  • Write Quotes/your opinions: It is something you think about, said and mentioned to others. Use quotes as John Smith said, “your quote/opinion”
  • Media coverage: If you want to get media coverage explain why your product is unique to public and include few examples.
  • For Buyers: Give away  a FREE report, FREE e-book. Plus BONUS for the customers who act FAST.
  • 500 Words: Keep under 500 words but no less than 400 words. Your customers and media do not have time to read but they have to see if it is what THEY want. They will say YES or NO.
  • Interest score: If you were a journalist, a customer, would you read it and share with others? Make sure it has hot topic, debate, controversy. Good news is not boring stories that everyone talks about but what people are AFRAID to talk about.
  • Write with excitement and passion. Include videos, images of your products for your customers. It makes a story more personal and real! It speaks your customer language and meets their needs!
  • Where to submit a press release? There are many services available today and I personal recommend PRWeb.com for paid service MarketWire.com for regional and national distribution, especially they are great when your purpose is to get locally known first. They have great SEO press release options.

Enjoy your week!

Tatyana Gann

c) Copyright 2010 Tatyana Gann. All Rights Reserved

Tatyana Gann is  a social media and online PR consultant, a mompreneur who resides with her family in Nashville TN.  She provides PR and marketing consulting to local business owners in Nashville TN and nationally.  Get instant access  to SmokinHotPR training newlsetter and receive FREE weekly online PR traffic tips and business advice to grow your online business