Time to think about the holidays

It may be fall, but it's not too early to start thinking about the upcoming holiday season and whether there's an opportunity for you to make news. So much of news is generated by the calendar and is based on nothing more than a little creative thinking.

So, grab a legal pad and a pen and start making a list for ways you can generate a press release or photo op between now and the end of the year. Here are just a few examples:

• Your business or organization has a connection to the holidays or to the time of year (winter). Let people know about your expanded store hours, sales or special events. Let them know how you can make their lives better.
• Create a check list of things people will want to have on hand during the holidays or ways they can make the holidays go more smoothly.

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Even if these were announced in earlier press releases, some in the media no doubt missed them. 

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• Highlight accomplishments of the past year (breaking sales goals, new product launches, expanding into new communities or markets, hiring more staff) or other highlights of the past year (winning awards, attending conferences).
• Announce your predictions for your industry or profession for next year. What will be your biggest challenges? What new technology will emerge? While you're at it, you can look back to see what predictions you made last year and reveal how you did.
• Summarize company highlights, awards earned, new customers and new product launches. Even if these were announced in earlier press releases, some in the media no doubt missed them. 
• Take the opportunity of the generally slower news cycle to re-purpose a blog post or speech into a press release. The media are always hungry for news, so give them something to report.
  

You can see that there are several ways to take advantage of the holiday season to make news. Don't miss out!

MackCommunications.com | @mack_comm