time to write a press release

I have recently joined a new company and Im struggling.
They pay me £25K p/a to market 7 different companies and products.

Each sector needs a weekly press release, weekly e-shots, monthly newletters, 1 exhibition, quartly workshops, one massive exhibition/con ference for all products, blogging, viral marketing etc etc etc and so on and so on. Its way too much. (especialy as they arent connected - property abroad to e-learning to government funding)

Suspecting that there are not actualy enough hours a week/month for me to do this, I have set aside 1 hour for an eshot, 4 hours for newsletters and 3/4 for press releases. Forgetting about everything else that needs doing, If these timeings are correct I need to find another 30 odd hours a month to actualy do marketing plans, research etc.

My question is this, are my approx timings realistic? Am I over estimating how long it should take me to do these things?

There is no hope of getting extra help, the company is loosing money - and Im supposed to save the day - God help me.

 

time for press releases

you say you need to write one press release per week - are you given the information for this or do you have to find it yourself? i'd say once you have the info it should probably take around half an hour to perfect your press release! hopefully this should give you a bit extra time to get everything else done!

Dannii

 

As Dannii said, if you're given the information your time spent on each press release will be dramatically reduced.

Keep in mind the job should theoretically get easier once you've got into the job itself. Right now it sounds like you're not too familiar with their products. Ask them for as much support regarding their products as possible. You need to understand their product then you'll be able to save the day and your job will be easier.

I would suggest to stop worrying about timing. Get the most important products finished first. Brush up on the products you least know and prioritise which products have a higher rating than others.

 

Probabbly you can cut short your time by reducing the duration of newsletters.

 

Hi

My advice would be that you need instead to propose a targeted strategy for these products.

Releasing 1 press release a week on the same product will only result in saturation. There is no way that you can have enough 'news' on a product to write a weekly press release. You will annoy your contacts by sending them what they will consider spam. 1 e shot a week will also annoy your clients, by filling their inbox.

Instead, I would talk to your manager and suggest a quality not quantity approach. Identify a series of real news hooks for your products. Link these perhaps to a topical event such as international xxx day or a product launch. By releasing less but more interesting releases, you will increase the coverage you get overall. You can also look at getting case studies for your government funding project and selling those in, or doing a profile piece in a trade journal of one of your high profile clients.

Less is more. Explain this to your manager, and suggest a more realistic approach for your time that will reap more results.

You can also seek guest writers for blogs. e.g. doing a call out to your mailing list, or asking different client department to submit a piece. then you need just prepare a schedule.

Hope this helps...

Kathleen

 

i just wrote a super long message and it has disappeared... do your messages get vetted before they are published?

 

Quick answer: Yes they do!

Thanks for your patience

 

Seven accounts is quite a lot...

...but it all depends on the number of clients and their demands. My advice, pick up the phone as much as possible and try to keep long meetings and emails to a minimum.

Make a plan for each day and don't suffer in silence. There might not be anyone to help you with your work load, but you can at least let people know that you're busy, so you're not given additional duties when you're struggling already.

Clear your emails and make a plan first thing each morning!

Best of luck with your press release writing and PR agency!

I hated long meetings and wasted time, hence why I've just started an online, no-frills PR agency!

(sales URL removed by Freelance UK please note T&CS)

 

Might have advertised either your product or services, that's why most of the moderators disapprove users.