You need to distinguish between what you/your company/your client feels is important (but is deadly boring to the rest of the world) and what, with a bit of lateral thinking, could actually be extremely newsworthy.

As far as press releases are concerned, the fundamental guide to whether or not you should issue one is to use the ‘so what’ method. It’s vital to find that ‘creative bridge’: linking what is interesting to you, your company or your clients with what is interesting to the journalists you are sending releases to.

Here’s an example which has done exactly that. What is interesting to the issuing company is the launch of its new product. What is interesting to IT Managers (and therefore the trade journals they read) is avoiding major hassles with their cabling. The release links the two: it has found the creative bridge.

The new Category 6 cabling standard could present IT managers with a major containment problem in buildings where smaller diameter cables were originally specified, according to xxx, the longest established structured cabling system manufacturer in the UK market. As a consequence of heightened performance sensitivity in the Category 6 standard, network performance is liable to suffer should installers attempt to cut corners.

It’s only later on that the company mentions that it has launched a product which will “ease Category 6 cable network installations in space constrained environments”.