Dealing with the Local Media
Call your local media outlets and get all the current contact information.
If you have not contacted local editors and news directors for previous events in your church, now is the time! Call for an appointment. Since you will be working with this individual for years to come, a face to face meeting is appropriate and very beneficial. If an in-person meeting is not possible, ask to speak on the phone or ask if they want to suggest a more convenient time to call back. Personal contact is extremely helpful in getting coverage.
Create your own cover letter.
Thank them for their time and commitment to working for the community to keep them informed of special programs. Make it personal and warm. Build an ongoing relationship. Mention in your letter the the artist is available for radio interviews via telephone or that a featured article on the artist would be a welcomed benefit in promoting the concert.
This letter is the first page of your packet that you will deliver to the media outlets. Include in this Press Kit a copy of the poster and ticket. Print out the artists' bios page from the web site. And write a brief news release giving all the pertinant, who, what, when and where information. Customize it! Don't forget to mention the web site at least twice. Give the concert hot-line phone number. Make it clear who the tickets are used.
Deliver the Press Kit in person if at all possible.
Both the bio sheet and news release should be in the hands of media representatives three to four weeks before the concert date, to accommodate deadlines and schedules, and facilitate coverage. But even if you don't make the deadlines for the first concert, submit the information as soon as you can, and make contact with editors and assignment desks to keep them aware that your ongoing ministry to the community through concerts and programs that will enrich the community.
Your Press Kit should include the following:
1. A link to Publicity photos of the Morning Song Artist (http://www.mschristmas.org/pr/graphics/photos)
2. Artist Bio Sheet. - (Go to the concert site and click on the artist's name)
3. News Release for Concert Night - typed double space All details that the public needs to know in order to be aware of the event and drawn to consider attending should be in the local release. If needed, cut the top off the MS News Release and use it as a letterhead for a new article that you will write to suit the location and specifics of the concert. (eg. if it is a benefit concert, or part of a community guest day, or the beginning of an evangelist crusade.) Always double check to be sure that the information on how media people can reach you for questions or interview requests is clearly displayed.
4. A Community Bulletin Board Announcement and/or PSA - Since formats of these vary widely, adapt the sample to suit requirements.
5. Sample poster and postcard.
Press Kit Tips
If you end up mailing your press kit, then follow it up your press kit with a phone call before or after it is received. Of course the best way is to arrange an appointment so you can present it in person. In your contacts with local media, make it clear that concerts such as this one are planned as a ministry to the community at large. When asked who is sponsoring the event you are free to answer in either of two ways, either say the local church or give the name Morning Song Music. Explain that Morning Song is a non-profit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, which trains community groups in concert promotion. Give them our phone number if they want to talk with someone from the sponsoring organization.
Invite the editor or news director to attend the concert, underscoring its community-wide aspect, and the fact that you believe it will be a very special event.
Then put the editor on your personal prayer list and remember him and his family in your prayers.
