A press release to
help your resale or consignment shop aid Katrina's victims
Some sources Don't forget to email, fax, or (last choice) mail your press releases to your local newspapers big and small, radio and TV stations, and closest big-city paper and media as well. Personally phone local newspaper columnists and radio commentators, angling your release towards their topic, and ask if they would like to receive your release or interview you on your event. |
The basics of a press release:
One-inch margins all around, double-spaced (that’s space between lines). I haven't used that here to save you some scrolling.
Plain white paper. (If your letterhead is a pale color, that's okay. But make sure your release can be easily and quickly read.) Times Roman is the best font to use for legibility.
Don’t use all caps. The only all-caps words are shown in our example below.
### is the press-savvy way to indicate your release is at an end. If you want to be traditional, you can use -30- . By the way, if your press release goes onto a second page, identify that page with contact name and title of the press release. Better yet, don't let it go over into a second page. Simpler is better.
Photograph: If you can take a good, clear, high-contrast digital photo, do so. For the following example, a photo of the owner holding the Round Up jar for a customer’s child to drop pennies into would be good. Get the parent’s permission, and their names and phone numbers. If you can’t manage a photo, don’t worry.)
|
(Use your company letterhead, if you have it. If not, create one in your word-processing program with name/ address/ business phone number) Contact name: (Fill in) Contact information: (Fill in, adding shop, home, cell, fax, e-mail) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE [Consignment/ resale/ thrift shop] finds a small way to help customers cope with overwhelming tragedy
The first sentence must make the reporter want to read on. Think of this as your "tagline". The first paragraph of the press release should contain in brief detail what the press release is about. This is the "what" question answered. YOURTOWN: What can a small business, so far from the affected areas, do to help with the devastation of Katrina? [Shop name], at [address] is fighting back, one sale at a time. They’re matching penny for penny every bit of spare change their customers put in the Katrina jar. Second paragraph is the meat of the information: why this matters, how to help, where to help; when to participate. Dime by dime, quarter by quarter, the spare change [Shop
name]’s
customers might have flung in the bottom of their purses is filling
their Round Up for Relief collection jar. The total, which the shop
matches with their own donation, is being sent to the Red Cross each
Saturday evening. Third paragraph is a place to credit any helpers or mentors. In the case of our TGtbT example, I do request you include this paragraph: [Owner’s last name only] developed her idea while reading on the industry web site Too Good to be Threw, www.tgtbt.com, how resale shops across the continent have been pitching in to help. "There were so many ideas there, and this one is so doable. One shopkeeper in California has even posted a sign we can download and use for our jars. The resale industry knows how to make a lot out of a little, and that’s what we’re doing here, today, now. I hope everyone will stop in and help fill the jar." [Owner’s last name only] laughs. "Know where I can find a bigger one? Maybe a resale shop?!" The last paragraph sums it up and includes more on your business and clear contact information. [Shop name], at [address or locator line], has been part of [town]’s community for X years. Call [number, including area code] for further information. If you would like to donate any amount, [Shop name] will match all contributions from a few pennies to $5. Stop in any day from 10 until 6, or send a check to [address] if you would like to participate. ###
|
Now that you have a format, alter it to suit. For example, your quote could be:
"There are children who have not only lost their clothing and toys, but their home and even their parents as they have arrived here in [hometown] to stay with relatives. We can’t do much, but we can help that child with clothing and toys."
Or maybe you’re offering shopping sprees to evacuees in your area:
As the days go by, and people are evacuated safely from Katrina’s ruin, [your first and last name], owner of [your shop] at [your location] is coming face-to-face with the loss.
"Our customers are taking in relatives, neighbors of relatives, even employees of relatives. And these people have just the clothes on their backs. That’s awful, and of course clothes might be the least of it, but at least that is something my shop and my customers can help with," says [your last name only], who has owned her shop since [year].
The shop has been helping evacuees shop. Piles of donated goods, as seen on television, are fine,[your last name only] says. "But being able to shop in a real store, to choose what you want, that gives the person more dignity." Shoppers can choose what they need from the shop’s stock. "We need to pay our consignors," [your last name] says, "but we’re not taking any profit. It’s one person, one family at a time. But so is tragedy."
If you would like to help [shop name] cover some of these costs, stop in at [address] between [shop hours] or call them at [phone number].
If you are accepting salable goods to be put in a Katrina account, a good aspect to emphasize would be that the necessities and basics of life are what’s needed most. Townspeople might have items to donate that are not exactly what’s needed at the moment in the area, but you can sell them and donate the proceeds. Be sure to include where the money will be donated, what you can sell, and what you will do with items that may not be salable. Use this headline to spark your own press release: Turning ball gowns into diapers or Silk ties become sneakers at [ShopName]
Deb in California: I made signs for the store that may be helpful to others. (Note, 2007: The graphics file for this image is no longer available) |
| New
About
Us
Professional Resaler SHOP
The
Picker Who Perished Mystery
Sharing
Board Links Site Map HowToConsign.com, our Consumer-Friendly site AuntieKate The Blog Home © 1999-2008 Too Good to be Threw 4736 Meadowview Blvd. Sarasota FL 34233 Voice: 941-924-4142 Email Kate |