Pet Industry Marketing
In this issue...
3 Tips for Writing an Effective Press Release
Food for Indoor Cats Addresses 3 Common Problems
This Month's Resource
This Month's Statistic
Greetings!

 reportWelcome to the August issue of Pet Industry Marketing.
 
If you're like most business owners and managers, you're always looking for fresh, creative ways to promote your products or services. Unfortunately, we all have limited budgets. Advertisements, direct mail and radio or TV commercials can be expensive. So how can you expand your marketing efforts while working on a shoe string?
 
A simple press release can help solve this problem. With a press release, you can basically promote yourself for free.
 
In this month's article, I'm going to give you 3 tips for writing an effective press release. So let's get started!
 
To Your Success,
 
Rachel Monroe
Pet Industry Copywriter
3 Tips for Writing An Effective Press Release 
 

Press releases are an extremely simply and cost-effective way to promote your products or services. The exciting thing is, anyone can do it. You don't need a massive advertising budget. If you are a small, localized business, you can send a press release to your local newspaper. If you are a larger company, targeting pet owners across the nation, you can engage in a much wider distribution level.

 

A little bit of publicity can go a long way. If a newspaper or magazine decides to do a feature article on your business, you will probably see a huge increase in sales and customers.

 
So what exactly is a press release? A press release is a news story prepared by a company in order to promote their products or services. The goal is to provide the media with something of interest in the hopes they will print your story.
 

Unlike advertising, press releases are relatively inexpensive to use. A large advertisement may cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars. But if an editor decides to run your press release, you will be given that space for free.

 

Below are 3 tips for writing an effective press release:

 

1. Make it newsworthy.

Although the point is to promote your products or services, a press release is not an ad. And you cannot write a blatant advertisement.  Editors and journalists are interested in news and information. They will not publish sales pitches or marketing hype (at least not for free). So your press release must sound like a news story. Write in a factual, unbiased tone.  

 

2. Give your press release an attention-grabbing headline. 

Editors receive dozens or even hundreds of press releases a week. In order to make your press release stand out from the crowd, you need to develop a crisp, news-oriented headline. Your headline has about 5 seconds to capture the editor's attention--so make good use of it.

 

3. Keep it short.

Editors and journalists are busy people. They have deadlines to meet and mountains of paperwork to read. So keep your press release short and to the point. Ideally, your press release should be no longer than 1-2 pages. If you need more space 3 pages is acceptable. But definitely no more than that. The first paragraph of your press release should tell the whole story in a nutshell. It should explain the who, what, when, where and how. That way if the editor decides to chop up your press release, you will still get your main point across. Use the body copy to fill in additional details. 

Pet Industry Trends
 
Food for Indoor Cats Addresses
3 Common Problems 
 

Over the years the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Humane Society have encouraged cat owners to keep their pet's indoors. It expands their lives. And it protects nature. Well, people are listening. There are 90 million pet cats in the United States. Out of those 90 million 52% never go outdoors.

 

Many manufacturers have developed foods specifically for indoor cats. Consumers are delighted with this idea and it is really catching on. Indoor cat food is designed to address these 3 common problems:

 

1. Obesity.

Indoor cats are more likely to be spayed or neutered. This causes a shift in their metabolism. Spaying or neutering can cut a cat's daily energy needs by 20%. So food for indoor cats contain less calories, less fat and high levels of protein. Protein promotes healthy weight loss, because it requires more energy to be digested.
 

2. Hairballs.

Indoor cats shed constantly. They spend 30% of their time grooming themselves. And they swallow a lot of hair in the process. This causes them to constantly hack up hairballs. Indoor cat food formulas contain high levels of fiber, which keeps hair moving swiftly along the digestive tract. This prevents hairballs from forming.
 

3.  Litter box odor.

 Since cat's live indoors, people don't want the litter box to stink up their house. In order to reduce litter box odor, indoor cat food is made with highly digestible sources of protein. These include chicken, chicken meal, salmon and turkey. Conventional cat food uses a broader range of protein sources, which are harder to digest, resulting in litter box odor. 
 This Month's Resource
 
Got a press release? You can distribute it to journalists, editors and media professionals through www.24-7pressrelease.com
 
This is a very affordable service. It can cost as little as $10-$45, depending on your distribution level. They even have a section specifically for "pet" press releases. Check it out!  
 This Month's Statistic
 

The pet food market is estimated to be worth $19 billion by 2010.

 

Dog food accounted for 60% of total pet food sales in 2005, while cat food represented 34% of sales.

 
About Rachel Monroe: Pet Industry Copywriter
 

I specialize in writing crisp, persuasive copy for the pet industry. I can write your ads, brochures, press releases and more. I would love to work with you on your next project! Call or email for a FREE Information Kit. Or visit my website www.rachelmonroe.com I look forward to hearing from you.

 
Phone: (360) 870-1396