It was Emma Warren, who first told me about Janet Murray. She’d been travelling up to our meeting at Daylesford a few months ago, and she told me she’d been listening to podcasts by Janet Murray. I like podcasts and regularly have a video or podcast rumbling in the background during the day. She recommended a couple in particular, so I duly listened. And they were brilliant. And with nearly 200 to listen to (a time of discovery!) I was pretty much hooked… and continue to be. That’s how I ‘met’ Janet. The author of ‘Your Press Release Is Breaking My Heart’, founder of Soulful PR…and a whole lot more…

So what has ‘Your Press Release Is Breaking My Heart’ got to do with anything?

Well, Janet is known as a PR expert and draws on her journalism experience, working with magazines and newspapers, to help people get coverage. There’s a lot more to it than that, but in summary, that’s what she does. Have a look at her website to find out more. She’s incredibly knowledgeable without being cocky and doesn’t shout about her excellence… you see it through her actions, and I like that. I can’t really tolerate the other kind. So she ticked another box in my world. Janet does a lot of things, the podcasts are a teeny part. She also has groups, courses, offers products and one to one. And she’s written a book called ‘Your Press Release Is Breaking My Heart’. And I bought it.

Why would a press release break anyone’s heart?

I have to say that I do write quite a few press releases, and I think I do them pretty well. They achieve the desired results when I send them to people I have spent years building up relationships with. I have also honed and tweaked the format, length, style and construction of these press releases, through speaking to editors, to make them as user friendly as possible. However, I see a LOT that are, well, pretty awful. They’re long, they’re boring, they don’t focus on the point – actually – some don’t have a point… I could go on. The book confirmed this to me. It actually made me a lot more confident in what I do and why, but that’s an aside. It was easy to read. It was helpful. It was accurate and the techniques Janet suggests work. They really do. Badly written press releases break my heart a bit… and they’re just the ones I see that waft into my inbox. If I was working as an editor or as a journalist at a newspaper where I was barraged with them every day, they would completely break my heart too! The thing that comes to the fore, as Janet explains so well, is that editors and journalists are really busy people. This means the format you present the information in matters A LOT, but there’s more to it than that. And, actually, you might not need a press release at all to get your message out there.

So you’re saying Janet’s book says I don’t need press releases?

Yes and no. It’s a genuinely brilliant read for anyone interested in getting press and column inches for their business, and it’s a really refreshing read for PR and marketing professions as it shows the proper way to deal with the press. As much as PR people and businesses want to get those important column inches, journalists have space to fill. Presenting the information correctly, doing your research, putting the time in can help solve both of these issues. And that’s what the book will help you to realise.

Why do I love ‘Your Press Release Is Breaking My Heart’?

Because it echoes what I have found from speaking to editors and journalists and honing my style over the years. And anything that reinforces what we feel to be true (even if it’s a break from convention!), is always nice. However, Your Press Release Is Breaking My Heart does more than this. It’ll challenge your thinking, encourage new ideas and additional exploration and is bursting with practical tips to help editors and journalists take your press release and stories more seriously. It helps you form real connections that will serve you and them better, to help everyone win. And if you’ve followed this blog for anytime at all, you’ll know I do like win/win situations.

Find out more about Your Press Release Is Breaking My Heart on Amazon.