General, People & Community Submissions: A Refresher Course

Last year I wrote a column about credit union media pitching dos and don’ts. The response to it was awesome, and I’ve noticed so many of my tips and suggestions have been incorporated into the press releases I’ve been receiving.

I’ve also begun realizing that refreshers are always helpful, especially as I’ve added more columns to my repertoire. Here are a few general reminders when it comes to sending press releases to me or anyone else at CU Times, followed by some more specific tips for sending submissions for the two columns I write.

• Follow Associated Press style. That’s the style most journalistic publications follow, including us, so it makes things easier on everyone if you do this. The best way to learn and follow the style is to buy an AP stylebook online and keep it on your desk at work for easy reference.
• Turn off “track changes” in the documents and press releases you send us. We don’t need to know the internal editing process of your organization. Yes, we have actually received documents riddled with struck-out red text, and it’s happened more than once.
• Avoid “cattle call” emails, in which you blast a generic press release to multiple media outlets. Reporters can always tell if you do this, and it’s annoying and will likely not get you a successful media placement.
• Only submit high-resolution images that are 300 dpi or higher. I get a lot of low-resolution images that are blurry, and because of this I’m not able to use the photos. To determine if your image is high resolution, look at “dpi” under the image properties.

People Column Tips

I write a weekly column on the career moves of people within the credit union industry – specifically new hires, promotions and retirements, and even a few obituaries. This column seems to be a fan favorite because it allows credit unions to demonstrate to their employees that they matter. It’s also a way for employees to see their name and picture in a publication (yay!), and an easy, free way for credit unions to get some publicity – basically a win for all.

I’m certainly not lazy, but I do get a lot of People column submissions, so it can be a challenge to sift through all the emails. Here are a few ways to make things easier on our end:

• Make your subject line meaningful. For example, do not simply put “Press release” in the subject. Instead, make the subject line a brief synopsis of why you’re submitting the press release. For example: Tahira Federal Credit Union Hires New VP.
• If you want to submit announcements for multiple employees, include them all in the same release. Don’t send five releases for multiple employees – I’ll likely miss one and then that person’s feelings might get hurt, and no one wants that.
• Name your image files the same name as the person you’re recognizing in the press release.

Community Column Tips

We started our weekly Community column this year and it’s been a hit with readers. It’s a place to share a photo and short write-up describing all the great things your credit union is doing in the community – and you all are doing a lot of great things! Members of the credit union community continue to amaze me with their charitable work.

The awesome thing about the Community column is that the photos are really the focal point of the column, so you want the photo you’re sending to be interesting and tell a story on its own. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Here are a few other tips for sending a Community column submission:

• As I mentioned, the photo should be interesting and tell a story. Action shots are great. If you’re doing a school supply drive, get photos of employees collecting supplies or giving them to school children. It should be obvious what is happening in the photo. Avoid sending images of employees holding up a large check to represent a donation. If that’s all you have, I’ll still put it in the column, but it makes for a very boring photo. Here are some great examples of dynamic photos from a recent community column. I’m not biased or anything, but anything to do with children and cute animals always pulls at my heart strings, and I think that’s the case with most people.
• Include a caption for the photo. I’ve received numerous press releases with photos attached, but no caption. The caption should be in active voice (not past tense). For example: “Tahira and Bob give out free puppies at the CU Times dog giveaway event on Oct. 10, 2018.”
• When providing a caption, tell me what the people in the photo are doing. I get a ton of photos of people that include the names of the people in the photo, but no description of what’s happening.

If you want to submit something for inclusion in the People column or Community column, email me at the address below.

Tahira Hayes is a correspondent-at-large for CU Times. She can be reached at thayes@cutimes,com.