Avoid the "Blue Pill" Award

There are typically two types of quotes contained within your typical press release.

First are those that actually offer some compelling, interesting information that elaborate, explain, disseminate or further support what's being announced. Then there are those that really do nothing more than state the obvious, while stroking the ego of the person who the quote's being attributed to by making them and the person who wrote the quote feel good about themselves, and whatever it is they're announcing.

The first type are newsworthy, that is, they provide value to a reporter and ultimately his or her readership or viewership, and thus have high potential to be included in media coverage of the announcement.

The second type are what I've unceremoniously often referred to as recipients of the coveted 'Blue Pill' Award. Not sure what I mean? Think Viagra. Then think about how many times you've seen quotes in press releases beginning with the following words:

• "We're excited...."
• "We're ecstatic..."
• "We're pleased..."
• "We're very excited..."
• "We've very pleased..."
• "We're thrilled..."
• "We're.....um, you get the idea....

Most, if not all, experienced journalists consider these types of statements 'throwaways,' i.e., they're useless fluff that really don't say anything of substance, and thus don't help them do their jobs.

Why is this important, you may ask? Aren't quotes attributed to company executives in a press release supposed to be self-serving? Well, yes, when it comes to fulfilling the need to help drive revenue for your company. But, if you want to effectively fulfill that need, you also need to get coverage. And that means it's vital that you provide the journalists you want covering you with information they'll find compelling--compelling enough to publish or broadcast, that is, and, therefore, it's equally important that you always portray your company's executives as leaders in their industry who have something compelling to say.

Leave that 'exciting' verbiage to those companies and their executives who obviously don't care about saying anything compelling or newsworthy. While they're racking up 'Blue Pill' Awards, I can assure that you will be rewarded with better, more frequent, and higher quality media coverage versus your competitors. I'm sure you'll agree that will be something you and your company's executives can get really excited about--just be sure you don't quote me in a press release on that. ;-)

That's Mark's Mark for today. Have a great week.