Media Relations
Web Site

Good publicity is a continuing task, and it is dependent upon solid relationship building and management. Basically, it is the management of your public image. The club publicist is responsible for placing information about your organization’s athletes, events and programs before the public by every method possible. This includes working with the media, club sponsors or donors and area youth and parent programs, just to name a few. The media is often the first place to turn for publicity, but web sites and newsletters can also be important tools in promoting your club.

Media Relations
The media (newspaper, TV and radio) generates awareness of and defines public issues. In order for your club to maximize exposure in the local media, it is up to you to create public awareness – the media won’t report on topics unless their readers, viewers or listeners are interested. Keep in mind the media should not be the only place you seek publicity.

- Publicity is like sales. You must know your product, it’s most attractive features and its limitations. You can’t sell the media and adequately answer questions if you don’t know what you have to sell.

- Anticipate the questions and formulate positive answers.

- Do your research. Get a local media list from your town’s Convention & Visitors Bureau, Mayor’s PR office or local college athletics department that includes: name, organization, address, phone, fax and e-mail. Check the web, your tourism bureau or newsstands for free magazines or newsweeklies, especially kid-oriented publications. Watch TV sports reports and morning news programs, read the sports and community pages and listen to talk radio and the radio stations your divers listen to.

- Identify the amateur or high school sports beat writers, columnists who mention diving or water sports and active TV reporters. Get their names and work hours, add them to your media list and contact them directly.

- Free is good. Look for sections of the paper where you can list your upcoming events or clinics and submit photos for free.

- Talk to the Public Affairs Director at TV and radio stations about 4-5 weeks in advance to get your team’s info and events on their calendar.

- Establishing personal contact is more than a phone call. When they ask, “Do you have anything you can send us?”, the correct answer is, “Is there a good time when I can bring the information to you?” If not to them, ask whom you should bring the information to. Always follow up with a phone call and do not be discouraged if they prefer to receive the information by fax or e-mail.

- There is such a thing as too much information. Give them only enough to make the sale. You can expand upon the info when the media shows up.

- It’s OK for parents to call the sports desk to promote the team. However, the publicity chair should be the only person in contact with the head honcho and be the contact when that individual has questions.

- Timing is everything. Call three weeks in advance for TV, two weeks in advance for print and then follow up the week heading into the event.

- Be interesting! Don’t just tell a reporter about an upcoming meet. Sell your team and the divers with fascinating tidbits, such as one athlete is the class valedictorian, another volunteers at a soup kitchen, etc.

- Be realistic. Reporters must prioritize, and national events often come before local ones. Early-morning programs (wake-up shows) are excellent targets and will often do live remotes at a practice or meet.

- Plan and prioritize your media relations campaign for the year and event by event. Make a calendar to remind you of key dates and keep important contacts in a readily accessible database.

- Include your contact information in every piece of media information you distribute. Include your name, phone number, cell phone number, e-mail address and club web site. If you will be unavailable for a period of time, include information for a back-up contact as well.

- Detailed contact information - name, phone number, cell phone number, e-mail address, club web site, and back-up contact information if the publicity chair will be unavailable.

- Press release for the story you’re pitching.

- Team overview - club roster, where you train, club size and growth, sponsors and supporters and how an individual can join your program.

- Results history - significant performances of current athletes and achievements of notable past divers.

- Athlete bios - bios and headshots of divers and coaches. Bios should include name, height, age, birthplace, school, academic/athletic honors, results, etc. Headshots should be 300 dpi, which means taken by a traditional camera and scanned or by a high quality digital camera.

- Calendar of events - meets and clinics.

- Past articles on the team.

Phone Calls

- Think about what you have to say before you pick up the phone. Jot down important facts and rehearse if necessary. Start with the less important calls in order to develop your presentation.

- Be succinct and clear. Be aware that the person you are speaking with may be on deadline. Always get to the who, what, where and when. The why can come when the reporter comes to the event.

- Learn the names of the assignment desk editors. It may be helpful to call the news outlets and get these names. Know that weekend assignment editors are often different from weekday editors. Keep these editors in your database and update the list often.

- It is often better to call after you have sent/faxed/e-mailed a press release. The editor will know about your event in advance and will be more prepared to speak with you on the telephone.

- Don’t attempt to call a TV station between 11 a.m.-noon or 4-6:30 p.m. For print and TV media, sports reporters show up about 2 p.m. Assignment desks are always open. Morning show producers work from 12-8 a.m. Expect to leave a message. Don’t forget to leave a telephone number.

- If they ask you to send another press release, don’t be discouraged and do so immediately.

Press Releases

- Clear, concise, effective writing is a must. Have a good editor “tighten up” the press release.

- In the first sentence, restate your most important point. Include the date and place of the event.

- Be brief. Only include pertinent facts. Press releases should be one page in length when at all possible.

- Avoid technical jargon. Just because you know what a 103B is, doesn’t mean the reporter will. Anticipate possible questions and clarify – brief is best.

- Wrap up every release by mentioning the next event on your calendar.

- Include contact information: name, phone number, e-mail address and club web site.

TV Bits

- Platform Dive - this works best with active TV personalities and primarily on morning shows. After doing an interview with someone from you club, take the reporter to the 10-meter and let him take the leap. Have a scoreboard or scorecards ready for divers to “judge the dive.” TV stations typically have insurance coverage for this type of activity.

- In Synch - after an interview on what it takes to complete a synchronized dive, and again with an active TV personality, have a diver perform a synchronized dive with the reporter.

Publicity Ideas

- Public events - fairs, festivals and flea markets are great sources of free publicity. Set up a table or booth with fliers, a TV/VCR showing a diving event and some divers wearing club t-shirts.

- Local organizations - parents typically are the first to involve their kids in sports. Get your club’s information to parent organizations like the Jaycees, Rotary Club, Lions Club, Optimist Club or PTA.

- Talk to the sports commission - get involved in their programs. Many pride themselves on developing youth sports in the community.

- Community calendars - get your practices and meets on the bulletin boards at city parks facilities, country clubs and churches.

- Pools - your club’s information should already be at every pool and every pool should know how to contact your club.

- Future Champions - borrow a Future Champions kit from the national office and recruit some new divers to your club.

- Use local colleges - many colleges offer public relations programs, and classes are always looking for semester projects. Talk with the department chair about teaming up with your club to create a free campaign.

Please remember when you approach any outside organization about diving; you are representing the entire sport. It is important to be aware of the image you are projecting. Look and act professional, be prepared with the facts or know where to find them quickly, be patient, be sincere, be enthusiastic and be accurate.

In the unfortuante event your club is faced with a difficult media situation or an event that will attract national attention, please contact the national office for assistance.

Web Site

Successful Site Development
Before getting started, determine the purpose and goals of your web site.
Key elements to consider are:

- Content – good, interesting content is what makes web sites useful and popular. Focus on compelling information to your audience (practice and meet schedules, event results, photos, etc.). Showcase your club’s accomplishments and post recent news items.

- Structure – make your information easily accessible. A sitemap also aids in easy navigation.

- Graphics – graphics and images create visual interest and communicate the main message of your site. Determine the overall look of the site and keep it consistent throughout. Remember, large images take a long time to download and may turn off impatient visitors.

- Technology – the Internet is quickly growing and technology changes every day. Before you buy the latest enhancement, remember not every Internet user has the most current technology. Keep in mind different browsers and different versions of browsers when designing a web site.

- Maintenance – update regularly. Not every new piece of information has to be posted to the front page of your web site. Keep all sections updated and create new features to be posted on the front page.

Getting Started

- Software – find something you are comfortable using. Many desktop publishing programs like PageMaker and word processing programs like Microsoft Word have built-in web publishing features. There are also web specific tools available like Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia’s Dreamweaver. Some people use the Internet coding HTML to design sites. Use what works best for you.

- Hardware – it’s helpful to have a scanner or digital camera if you plan to include photos or logos. It’s also possible to have photos put on a disk or CD if you don’t want the added cost of a scanner.

- Web site host – find a place on the Internet to host your site. Online services like AOL and Compuserve, as well as many local Internet Service Providers (ISPs), offer web space to their subscribers. Sites like tripod.com, geocites.com and angelfire.com offer free hosting, but you may have to deal with pop-up ads.

- Get noticed – let everyone know your site is up. Register with the major search engines (Yahoo!, Infoseek, Altavista, Lycos) and notify the national office so your link can be added to www.usdiving.org.

Web site Do’s

Do answer essential questions – who, what, where and when.
Do include club contact information – coach’s name, phone number, address and e-mail.
Do maintain a simple and consistent look.
Do make sure all of your links work.
Do link to www.usdiving.org.


Web site Don’ts

Don’t forget to maintain the site.
Don’t post large graphics – they take a long time to load.
Don’t bury important information – easy navigation is key.
Don’t post photos or the full names of athletes without permission from their parents.
Don’t forget to provide club contact information.

Newsletters
A newsletter is easy for anyone to put together and can be done with the most basic word processing software. It’s a great way to keep divers, parents, coaches and the community up-to-date on your club’s news.

Internal Newsletter
An internal newsletter is meant for distribution among the organization’s members. It can be used to notify divers and parents of schedule changes, team announcements, results and other important information.

It’s advantageous because it’s a reliable tool to keep your club updated, there are few feature articles and it’s easy to create.

However, it does not increase community awareness and does not aid in recruiting.

External Newsletter
An external newsletter is distributed to club members and the community. It should appeal to readers unfamiliar with diving. Articles can include athlete spotlights, meet results and an event schedule. This is a great way to increase your club’s visibility and attract new members. Remember to keep technical terms to a minimum and explain anything the average person would find unclear.

It’s advantageous because it establishes a community connection and can attract media attention.

However, it takes a longer time to prepare and requires a greater distribution effort.

Designing your Newsletter

Design a template for each issue. Don’t get too fancy – pictures and detailed artwork don’t always copy well. Choose an easy to read font by avoiding all caps and cursive styles for body text. Don’t be afraid to have blank space – easy to read is better than crammed and messy.

Newsletter Distribution

To save on paper and postage, a newsletter can easily be posted to your club’s web site or distributed through e-mail. Newsletters can also be passed out at club events or mailed to all members. Remember, newsletters can be sent as self-mailers, saving on the cost of envelopes.