The fifth in my September PR Master Class:

Technology companies have entire departments — not to mention hired-gun agencies — charged with spraying bad press releases onto the media.

A lot of money is paid (not made) by firing off bad press releases.

So when I tell companies they should just stop going through the motions, they get really stressed out. “But that’s what we do.”

OK — quick quiz — If I asked you to think about one of the most beloved, successful and popular consumer technology companies, which company pops into your mind?

Me too. Apple.

Now…Guess which company doesn’t distribute press releases as a hard rule?

Yep. Apple.

Not only that, but Apple pretty much makes it a rule never to comment in the media on anything. Ever.

For them, it builds interest.

You aren’t Apple, so you should probably continue talking to the media.

Just don’t send them blasted press releases.

Journalists hate them. They receive 100 per day. And they’re almost all terrible.

Further, I’m pretty sure your public relations people hate writing them! I am confident of this because most press releases read like high school essays students didn’t want to work on, waited until the last minute, and then threw something together at the last minute just to have something to turn in so they don’t get a zero.

So don’t send press releases.

And don’t send group emails. Don’t send anything to a group of recipients you don’t know using the BCC field in your email. That’s lazy.

Instead, send personal emails. Make personal phone calls. Invest yourself in tell you the media about the results your product creates for people. Tell the results story. And tailor it to each journalist’s interests and focus.

I know. That’s more work. More time. Don’t be afraid of that. What you’re doing now is generally terrible. So try this instead.

The fourth in my September PR Master Class Series.

Yesterday I introduced the concept of Results Stories.

Instead of pitching, tell the media about your products’ results stories.

That is:

• How does it improve people’s lives.
• Real users. Real stories.
• How do your customers use this product?
• What do they do with it?
• What value has it brought into their lives?
• How has it changed their lives.

To craft your Results Story, ask people:

• Can you give me specific examples of how use our product / service?
• What are you usually doing when you use our product / service?
• What do you tell people about our product? (If they don’t talk about it, ask them “How would you tell your friends about our device / service?)
• What has our product / service done for you or your family?
• How has it improved your life?

Listen to their words. Capture them. That’s where the magic is.

Then, simply mold their feedback into your communications with the media.

Don’t talk about your products’ features. That’s boring. That’s PR death.

Rather, tell your consumers’ stories to the media. Directly and unabashedly.

Scream your results stories to the media.

Never pitch the product.

If you’re trying to get your product or service in front of journalists in the form of a press release, one of the most powerful things you can do is not talk about the product.

“Come again?” (That’s you’re part in the conversation.)

Don’t talk about the product. It’s not that interesting.

You might think it is, but the writers and editors you’re pitching? Your product is just one of 100 they’re going to to see that day. And chances are your press release is pretty terrible, like the rest of the releases these poor people read. (And they are poor,  in any number of ways.)

So, don’t talk about your product, because it’s not interesting, and it makes your pitch just like everyone else’s.

Rather, talk about what your product does for people.

Talk about what happens to people after they use your product.  (Don’t know? You better find out. Don’t know how? Ask. People love to tell their story, and they’ll be pleasantly shocked you’re asking.)

Talk the results your product creates.

Talk about your customers. Tell their stories.

I call this your Results Story.

Ever see the Shipping News? It’s a great film where Kevin Spacey gets a job in Newfoundland as a newspaper reporter. He’s charged with writing up the contents of the ships that come into town (that’s the shipping news). He rightfully decided that that was boring and began relating the stories of the people who owned the boats. Their lives. Their families. Their dramas, successes, failures, marriages and divorces. That was interesting. Within the context of the movie, he revolutionized the way these shipping reports were done.

Revolutionize the way you do press releases by focusing on the people who use your products, instead of the products.  It’s easy. It’s really interesting. And journalists will be happy to relate your story, and by extension, your product details, to their readers, viewers and listeners.

Tell your Results Story!

Most press releases are terrible, even though professionals write them!

Please reread and think for a moment about that sentence, because it’s a stunner.

Companies who make excellent products hire presumably trained experts to publicly relate to the media, who can then pass along your message to consumers.

But as a former Chicago Tribune columnist, and as a current host of a nationally syndicated daily tech radio show, I can tell you that 95 percent of press releases are useless:

• They’re ill-conceived conceptually.
• They’re poorly written.
• They’re usually filled with grammatical errors — and they’re sent to professional writers and editors!
• They’re not interesting. No. They’re boring.
• In the tech field, they’re sometime impossible to understand. Sometimes, not only do I not know what the release is trying to say, but I don’t even know what the product is!
• They fail to capture the recipients’ attention.
• They play “the numbers game” — pitch as many journalists as possible and hope somebody bites. This is NOT a good way to interest the media. (A better way would be to take your story and shape it for each recipient, whom, ideally, you know well. More on this tomorrow.)
• They often talk about the products and specs, which almost nobody cares about.
• They rarely tell a good story.

And I repeat: it’s professionals, internally and externally, writing these horror shows for companies who invest billions in product development. How embarrassing!

Now imagine getting press releases this bad, 100 times per day.

Now imagine why reporters and editors HATE getting press releases.

Now ask yourself this question: Do you think it’s easy or difficult to stand out in this horrid crowd?

I’ll answer the question: It’s beyond easy.

You just have to do a few things better.

I’ll detail them in postings over the next week.

New month, new focus: press releases.

Imagine you’re a journalist.

Imagine you’re in the newspaper industry.

You’re constantly thinking about your job security — and about the fact that you’re trained to work in a dying business.

You’re under never-ending deadline pressure.

You think and craft and mold your piece all day long. And when it’s finished, there are no compliments. There’s no dap. There’s only the next story to start working on. (News rooms are notorious for their silent management style. If you don’t hear from your editor, it means you’re doing fine. How’s that for positive reinforcement?)

You’re constantly fielding phone calls, emails and press releases from people who want you to write about them.

A hundred press releases daily. Sometimes more.

And now imagine that 95 of those press releases are flat-out terrible.

So bad that it’s painful to try to read through the headline and the first paragraph — which is why most journalists don’t.

Chances are, you’re probably sending journalists mass-mailed press releases or pitches.  Chances are you’ve never talked with many of the recipients of your releases. And chances are your releases and pitches are typically terrible.

Now put it all together and imagine how horrible your chances are of turning your terrible pitch into a story with that journalist.

And here’s the saddest and most exciting part: it’s incredibly easy to immediately and dramatically improve your media pitches.

Tomorrow, I’ll detail more specifically the many problems most press releases have.

Then, on Friday, I’ll start detailing how to improve them.

And I repeat: it’s frighteningly easy. But it does take a bit effort. The question is, do you want to improve, or do you want the easy way: the way it’s done now?

This old video of Steve Jobs talking marketing has been making the rounds online over the last few days.

It’s vintage Jobs, introducing Apple’s 1997 Think Different marketing campaign.

Watch the best marketer in the world do his thing…

Yesterday, I presented the difference between convincing consumers and exciting them.

Today, the visual. This is what the two approaches look like.

Which one is more attractive to you?

Most consumer technology marketing and PR is focused on convincing consumers to buy your products.

That’s the wrong way.

Convincing consumers involves pushing your products at them, hoping they’ll accept them by opening their wallets. Consumers are naturally defensive about this style of marketing and communications.

Rather, your marketing and PR should focus on exciting consumers.

Motivating them.

Energizing them.

Intriguing them.

This style of marketing pulls consumers towards your products.

If you are trying to convince consumers to buy your products, they have a yes/no decision — to buy or not to buy. That’s it.

If you are successfully exciting consumers, they will:

1. Buy your product.
2. Look into your additional offerings.
3. Talk about your product.
4. Alert others about your product, spreading incredibly valuable word-of-mouth.
5. Be more committed to your product and company. Excited consumers are loyal consumers.
6. Be more forgiving about your mistakes.

There’s no comparison, really.

Excite consumers. Don’t try to convince them.

Pull them in — attract them, like gravity — instead pushing your products towards them.

If you want to create passionate, loyal consumers, aim to excite them instead of convincing them.

The way I see it, there are types of product categories in consumer electronics:

1. Kingless Categories
2. Categories with Kings
3. Mature Categories

Definition of Category King: The undisputed leader of a product category, with a huge market share advantage over the next closest competitor.

Here’s what each category looks like. More details below the illustrations:

Figure 1: Kingless Categories

These are either usually newer categories without an established dominating power (for example, the 3DTV category), or less interesting markets (like, say, wireless routers) which don’t really excite consumers and/or don’t enjoy heavy manufacturer investment.

In the case of newer, fresher categories, many lesser known companies (a,b,c,d in  Figure 1) are working feverishly to become the Category King. The market is wide open, and no dominant leader exists. If a King rises, there will be endless opportunity and profit. This is the most exciting kind of consumer electronics category. It is, essentially, an untapped market of consumer need.

One year ago, the tablet computer market was a Kingless Category. Apple changed all that. Before the Kindle, the book reader market lacked a king. And don’t tell me the Sony Reader was king, because nobody owned one!

In the case of categories that are kingless due to a lack of consumer interest and energy, there are few companies working to lead that category. These industries are either aging with high consumer penetration (modems, routers, PCs; that’s right, I said PCs); or simply not terribly exciting (hard drives, flash memory).

Figure 2: A Category with a King

This is what you want to become. These are large markets with high consumer interest and media attention.

The Kindle is King of its category. The iPod is the King MP3 player. The iPad is King. Google is King of search. Google is also King of web mail. Microsoft is King of operating systems, for whatever that’s worth these days.

A King is the undisputed leader of a category, with a huge market share advantage over the next closest competitor. A Category with a King is usually a newer category, one where a single company leapfrogged everyone else and connected with consumers. With time, almost always, the competition catches up. But before that happens, the King can make a boatload of money.

Figure 3: A Mature Category

Mature categories do not have undisputed leaders. As popular as the iPhone is, it is not King of the smart phone category, because Blackberries and Android devices are also popular.

The wireless carrier industry is an example of a mature industry: Four companies enjoy the title of “big wireless company.” A fifth carrier, US Cellular, has recently entered the discussion. But none of these companies can become King without buying a couple of the other companies.

Computers, HDTVs, digital cameras, and video game consoles are all examples of mature categories, where it is all but impossible for a King to rise.

You want to be King — but to do so, you must capture the imagination in a new or developing category, of which there are very few.

It’s great to King. It’s just damn hard to become King.