Marketing Series: PR Tips - Getting Your News Published

As a business owner or manager, you don't have time to waste on marketing efforts that end up in the trash bin. But unfortunately, that's exactly where many news releases end up.

Learn how to craft your business' news releases to get them published in local media.

Reporter, editor and journalism educator Bill Smith, owner/publisher of Evanston Now, will give practical advice and share techniques for maximizing the impact of your promotional efforts.

This two-hour session will present PR tips you can put into use right away:

• Avoid style errors that annoy editors
• Recognize the difference between a news release and a promotion
• Understand the key elements of a release and proper formatting
• Put the reader's interests first
• Effectively reach the media

​Register for this Marketing Series session and learn how to start using your PR marketing time more effectively.

Bill Smith has worked as a reporter, producer and anchor for television and radio stations in major markets, and as a college journalism professor. Since 1994, he has worked in online media, including five years as a product manager with the search engine company Lycos.

Smith holds bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from Northwestern University and a law degree from Wayne State University.

Born and raised in Evanston, Smith returned to the community in late 2004 and launched Evanston Now in 2006.