Keith Ecker: Essayist, Journalist, Comedian

Have you ever wondered how to get your name in the news? Are you trying to drum up more clients for your business? Do you need more individual donors for your organization? Then you need to learn to market yourself to the public. And one of the best ways to do this is through press releases.

I am teaching a class through the wonderful site Dabble.co called Press Release Writing Basics. It’s a 2-hour workshop held this Thursday at Noble Tree in Lincoln Park. I do not mess around when I teach. YOU WILL LEARN! And if possible, I’ll even provide some personally tailored advice to give you some ideas of how you can get the coverage you desire. And for only $20! Sign up today!

Here’s what you’ll leave with:

1) Format – What are all those little details that you should include in your press release, from a dateline to those little hash marks at the bottom. You need your press release to look like a press release.

2) Content – Pitching your business to the media is a nuanced skill. Merely saying your product is worth writing about is not enough. You need to be clever and think like an editor in order to create a press release that will actually get media attention.

3) Distribution – So how do you find media contacts to reach out to? And how do you alert them to your press release? What’s the protocol on follow-ups? This class will touch on each one of these critical points regarding press release distribution.

I just thought of an amazing new idea. Here’s a hint…

IT’S A BLOG!

When I tell people that I am a professional writer, one of the most common questions I get is, “What do you write?” I know what this question implies. They want to know if I’m a novelist, a columnist, a screenplay writer or some other fun and zany writing professional. What these people don’t realize is that I am a working writer, which means the work is much less glamorous than penning the next Oscar winner. I largely stick to the income-generating forms of writing, like press releases, marketing collateral, SEO Web copy, custom publications, articles and the like. I also do some reporting, such as my work with Lawyers.com, the A.V. Club and the Huffington Post. And of course there’s that whole creative streak I have with Essay Fiesta and comedy writing, which has evolved into a labor of love instead of a pursuit of riches.

When I tell people this, they usually only perk up by the time I mention Huffington Post. And that doesn’t even pay. So what I’ve realized is that the general public has a very skewed idea of what it means to be a professional writer, particularly how writers actually make money. Likewise, some prospective clients/employers have a very limited view of what a writer like me does. They think I merely set copy to paper. In actuality, because I operate my own agency, I also am skilled in business development, client services, B2B communications, marketing and PR strategizing, media relations and project management.

So calling myself a “writer” maybe isn’t really doing me justice. I’ve been trying to think of a better title that more accurately describes what it is I do. I’m a editorial, marketing and PR copywriter, editor and project manager with business development, client services and media relations experience. Perhaps I’m a media professional? A marketing consultant? An agency founder/president/principal?