Resources for Etsy Teams

Etsy Team Guide: Write a Killer Press Release for Your Team Event

What is a Press Release?
A press release is a statement prepared for distribution to the media. It is kind of a mini news story that demonstrates to editor or journalist the newsworthiness of a person, event, service or product. Press releases can be sent by e-mail, fax or snail mail. They can be sent alone or as part of a full press kit, accompanied by promotional items.

Getting Started
Choose your targets. Who are the people you want reading this story? What is your target demographic? Brainstorm all the places on- or off-line that people in your target demographic might visit to find news. Narrow the list down to the eight or ten on- or off-line publications that you think get the broadest visibility.

Identify your Contacts. Many newspapers, magazines or news web sites will have information somewhere about who to send your press release to. If your press release is for a crafting event, you may want to find the lead arts and entertainment journalist for the publication. Make a few phone calls and be nosy. Finding the right person or department to send your press release to can make a big difference.

Write the Press Release:

• Closely follow the standard formatting of a press release. Look at this sample press release for formatting. Since journalists receive so many press releases each day, they have set standards and expectations that you must conform to just to have your release read, let alone published.

   

• Write in the third person. Emulate the language/headlines you see in the publication you'd like to be published in.

   

• Think and write like a reporter! Your goal is to do this so well that the journalist will want to publish your story "as is." The reporter is looking for a story that will satisfy an editor and the readers. They're not interested in promoting you, only in crafting a story that will make readers or listeners stop and say "Wow, that's totally interesting." What makes your story different and special? What's the angle?

   

• The lead paragraph should include the who, what, when, where and whys of the article. If you're promoting a specific event, make sure to include dates and location on your materials. State whether there's an entry fee or RSVP.

   

• Once the details are established, include a quote or statistic if possible to ground your piece, and pertinent links whenever applicable. Go ahead and link your story to the "big picture" - what about this small event or story links it to larger newsworthy issues? Why is this storynews, as opposed to simply being an advertisement for your event?

   

• While the press release itself has to adhere to strict formatting rules (again, see here don't forget the link), your additional promotional materials can really help the story to shine. Find out what the newspaper/magazine/blog's requirements are for image size and resolution, and stick to those guidelines. Use beautiful photos and fun graphics. Don't overwhelm the reporter, just include a few strong images. Help yourself to the Downloads section, where you'll find Etsy art to incorporate tastefully into your package.

   

• Show your press package "proof" to anyone you know who is a good writer and harsh critic. Make sure it passes muster before you send it out into the world.

Angles/Big Picture issues:
You may want to explore any of these themes are relevant to your Team, to give your press release a connection to larger news stories.

The handmade movement - thousands of people all over the "first world" are rejecting the unsustainable and alienating effects of mass production, and are getting passionate about making things themselves or buying from local artists and crafters. How can your story address this? You can also compare the handmade movement to the sustainable agriculture movement in which millions of consumers are choosing to obtain food from local and/or organic farmers in resistance to mass-agriculture, GMO's etc.

Environmental and human-rights awareness - you can spin your story to address climate change, caring for the environment, resisting sweatshops and unfair labor practices, etc. Do the crafters and artists on your team use recycled products or shipping/packing materials? In what ways do your events and products offer healthy alternatives to less sustainable and mass produced events and products?

Local Interest - if you are doing an offline event or story, what are the issues of local interest that your story speaks to? What need does it answer in your community?

Etsy - Etsy itself is a great news story - it is the biggest and most successful marketplace for people who buy and sell handmade on the internet. That thousands of people per day register with Etsy signals a sea change in the way people want to shop in these days of melting glaciers, sweatshops, and overwhelming megastores. Etsy buyers know where their dollar is going, and enjoy a personal connection with the makers of goods.

Etsy Teams - Etsy Teams are an unusual and fascinating thing in the larger world of the crafting movement. Talk about how artists and crafters on Etsy come together and build communities and networks of formidable size. Your Etsy Team can be the axis around which this larger story revolves. Explain what your Etsy team is - a group of independent artists who met through a website who's mission is to help people make a living making things. If your group has something else of interest in common, explain that, as well (ie, you make things from recycled objects or you donate as a group to xyz charity, etc).

Have a wonderful event!