I’ve been told that I need a Press Release to send to various media outlets if I’m going to reach the required audience.
Where to start when you’re new to this kind of thing?
So, I googled ‘good press release’ and found some words of wisdom from The Huffington Post. Namely:
- Grab attention with a good headline – Yeah I think I can do that.
- Get right to the point in the first paragraph – In other words don’t waffle Marty
- Include hard numbers – 4000 hard kilometres, many on hard roads, perhaps?
- Make it grammatically flawless – That should be know (😉) problem.
- Include quotes whenever possible – Hold on, don’t ask me to start talking to myself
- Include your contact information – So, you can contact me here
- Two pages maximum – I love being economical
After taking all that on board, here goes.
Marty’s Press Release 📯
Couch-surfing pensioner set to walk 4000km around Irish coast for Cancer Charity.
Dr. Marty Holland, a retired university lecturer from Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, is set to embark on a solo walk around the entire coastline of Ireland to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society.
En route he hopes to find accommodation through ‘couch-surfing’ and through provision of a place to sleep by supporters and well-wishers.
Marty who lives in Cratloe, Co Clare, will start the walk on Tuesday 24th May on the Clare – Galway border. His marathon trek will take him in an anti-clockwise direction along the Munster and Leinster coasts. He will walk until the end of September and then recommence in April 2017 when he will walk the Ulster and Connacht coasts.
The total walk will cover in the region of 4000km. Marty hopes to manage between 20 and 30 km per day depending on the conditions. Coastal roads and established paths and walk ways will be the main routes, always sticking as close to the coast as is possible and safe.
Those interested in mapping his progress can follow Marty’s blog https://totalcoastforcancer.wordpress.com, his Facebook page, facebook.com/CoastForCancer and check for Twitter updates @CoastForCancer. In the blog and on Facebook, a personalised link to the MyCharity website, https://give.everydayhero.com/ie/coast-for-cancer, will enable those who wish to make an online donation to do so.
Marty, who was inspired to take up the challenge after witnessing two close friends battle cancer in recent times, says, “the sense of powerlessness that I felt when my friends Michael and John were dying from cancer has motivated me to get out there and do something positive to help combat cancer”. The Irish Cancer Society funds invaluable work in the areas of cancer research and support services so Marty hopes to raise money to help them in their work.
Like most Irish people, down through the years Marty has seen a number of relations, friends and colleagues succumb to the disease but he is quick to point out that, increasingly, the picture is brighter for those who get cancer “I see the benefits of on-going research in the growing number of those who have survived and recovered from cancer including my own sisters and a brother.”
Apart from the obvious challenge of the kilometres to be walked, Marty identifies accommodation and transportation of gear as two key logistical issues, “I am confident that people will be generous in their support for this worthy cause by way of financial donations, there are few out there whose lives have not been touched by cancer, but, to keep costs down, I’ll also be dependent on peoples’ good will and generosity in offering me somewhere to put my head down for the night and in getting my rucksack transported from A to B.”
Those wishing to offer support of any kind can contact Marty directly at his email address. He would particularly welcome offers of accommodation and/or transportation of luggage from point to point along the route:
Email coastforcancer@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/CoastForCancer
Twitter: @CoastForCancer
Coast for Cancer 