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Objective

The objective of the Zero Waste press release is to promote your Zero Waste community event and the concept of Zero Waste.

How To Do It

Step 1 (4 weeks before event): Become well versed, if you are not already, in Zero Waste. Determine what media/press efforts you believe would best support both your event and the advancement of Zero Waste in your community. A press conference? A media kit? Interviews by journalists with (if applicable) your guest speaker?

Step 2 (2 weeks before event): Write your Zero Waste press release. See the attached Eco-Cycle press release as an example. Include information about your community event, your contact information, a short and to-the-point description of what Zero Waste is, why your organization is holding your specific event, and quotes from your guest speaker and other invited guests (if applicable). Be sure that the press release is catchy, clear, and concise - it should not be more that two pages, double-spaced. Give the who, what, when, where and why of your event and its participants in a fashion that can be easily grasped by those who will see the press release. Remember that the editors may shorten your press release simply by cutting it from the bottom up-so try to get the most pertinent information into the first paragraph.

Step 3 (approximately 5 days before event): Fax your press release to your media contacts. Follow up with a phone call the next day. Confirm that your contacts received the information, ask if they have any questions, and try to set up interviews with your guest speaker, if this applies. If you are fairly confident that you will have a good turnout at your Zero Waste event, try to get a reporter and photographer to cover it. The goal of your press release (and other publicity such as PSAs and other paid media) is to generate stories and articles a day or so before the event--though not much earlier--to help create that final buzz and get your community excited about the event.

Tips

• Compile a list of media professionals to whom you will pitch Zero Waste. Track when you have contacted each of them, when the press release was faxed, and your general impressions of each conversation. This information can be helpful when "closing the deal."
  
• ZW is new and compelling, so reach out to journalists and media that you may not typically approach with your stories.
  
• BECAUSE ZW is new and compelling, however, it is still quite foreign to most people, so be prepared to work to sell your story. Be sure you are well versed in ZW and what it encompasses, and also that you have your pitch well practiced.
  
• Keep your contacts in the loop and keep yourself on their radar screen without being burdensome. While reporters and journalists tend to work on short timeframes, calling them to set up an interview three days before your guest speaker arrives, without any previous contact, is likely to get you nowhere. If you have been in touch with your press people all along, they will be prepared for your call and, if interested, will work you into their schedule.
  
• Create an "announcement" press release that contains all the facts about your event (date, time, location, etc.) that can be faxed or emailed to all of the media in your area that publish "calendar" listings. Make sure you know the deadlines for when these media need the information. For example, Boulder, Colorado's community radio station needs PSA information at least 2 weeks before an event.

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