Writing so called 'press releases' is much more exciting than designing an advert.

The results are better too, by far.

All I do is make it sound newsworthy and it seems to get used by the magazine(s) that I've sent the article to.

The thing is, most people think that their article would never be used - why would a publication be interested in me?. Well, they ARE interested in you, or rather, your story. You'd be surprised at how magazines and, especially, local newspapers are crying out for stories. A new business launch or a sudden improvement can well be newsworthy.

Even if it's not super exciting, it may well fill a space that the editor has and will be glad to see your article fill it. It will be of interest to somebody anyway.

A recent example would be a members only website that I am running and couldn't get enough interest in it to make it work on the subject matter. I decided to write an article about it and sent it to the editor of a trade magazine. It was printed and I gained a couple of hundred new members in a week. I just mentioned the benefits and any special features I thought sounded newsworthy. I sent it via email so didn't even have to print it out or put a stamp on it. How much would it have cost me in advertising rates to get this sort of response?

This gave me the bug - the bug of writing press releases and articles, you wouldn't believe how powerful this technique is.

A few tips on writing press releases is firstly, not to have any spelling mistakes as the editor hasn't got time to mess around with your copy as (s)he's got loads of them and you need yours to be chosen above all others.

Keep your paragraphs short and to the point, don't put in too much detail and don't make it sound like a commercial break on TV.

The key word is 'newsworthy'. So if, for example, there are complaints about people not winning on the new style National Lotto and the newspaper prints a readers letter about it, you can write a press release about the Lottery syndicate you've just joined and that winning is a regular feature. This is 'current' it's 'news' and 'topical'. Post it off to the publication concerned and, bang!, when they publish it, it's your contact details that are there for the thousands (or, indeed, millions) of readers to see.

If you think that this sounds silly, it isn't, it's been tried and it works.

Always put your contact details at the end of the press release, article or letter to the editor (the letters page has worked for many a home business).

If you don't think that your home business is newsworthy, make it newsworthy. By this I mean that by looking through your local newspaper and reading every article and letter for anything remotely relating to your business. Then use that theme to introduce why you are writing to them. You may be promoting perfume, for example, and the newspaper may be carrying a story on how expensive it is to buy perfume at Christmas time. This is your cue to mention that you have just launched a brand new business where customers can buy lower priced perfume and cosmetics and earn money by introducing friends etc.. You never know, you may even get to build your downline deeper too.

Your product or service may have a benefit that is unusual, different or humorous. If you simply can't think of a way to make your product newsworthy, you might try giving goods to a local school or charity and that is always worth a mention. 'Schools benefit from local home business guru', would be a good headline.

I've know people get grants for starting their new business by suggesting that it comes under a certain category let alone getting a simple piece of publicity.

So why not have fun writing your first press release or article. Once you get one item published, you'll keep it up, simply because it works, I promise you. And it IS fun - when you know how, and now you do.