Picture this....

One of the biggest mistakes people make when sending out press releases is to forget about an image to go with it.

I would make it a golden rule to always include an image. It may not be used but in this era of online media many journalists will pick on an average story with a great image rather than a good story with a poor image, or no image at all. The reason is simple. A journalist has spaces to fill online and on paper and most online stories require an image.

In print,  a good image can make the difference between your story being selected or not, and a really good image could mean it receives greater prominence simply because it helps to provide a focus on the page or improves the layout.

If you are promoting lifestyle products -  fashion, home or beauty for example – a great product shot plus a few descriptive lines arriving in the journalist’s inbox just at the right time could mean your product will be included in a lifestyle feature or beauty update page simply because you’ve been in the right place at the right time – with the right eyecatching image.

Source a good photographer and request a selection of shots that could be used for different types of press releases. As well as product shots make sure you have images of yourself taken with your products, plus a good head and shoulders shot of you that can be used for advice columns or more serious news stories. Once you have the images you can hang onto them and select the best picture for each piece of PR you send out.

Make sure you think carefully about the types of PR you’re likely to send out before booking your photo session so that you can have as much taken as possible in one sitting. Product shots will obviously need updating as you release new ranges but your stock PR shots can be used over and over again.

Photography may be an expensive investment, but it is definitely going to be money well spent.