When the Media Takes Notice

Here’s a great article by Bonnie Boots about how to get a reporter to use you as a resource, to become THE person they quote in their next article.  She always has easy to digest nuggets of information filled with resources you can take advantage immediately.

ENJOY!

How To Get Yourself and Your Business Mentioned By A Reporter by Bonnie Boots

Can you imagine what it would do for your business if you were mentioned in a newspaper or magazine article or even a book?

You can’t buy that kind of publicity. It only comes by chance, when a reporter calls and asks you for a quote. But there are ways of vastly increasing your chances, and they’re all online.

When I was working in print journalism, one of my biggest challenges was finding relevant people I could quote. By relevant, I mean people that had actually expertise or personal experience in the topic I was writing about.

For example, in writing a lengthy report on the challenge of providing adequate mental health care, I had to be able to quote people on both sides of the story, people dealing personally with mental health issues as well as those involved in providing mental health services.

It’s not easy to get people on either side to speak out publicly. People working for government-funded services can be fired for making statements that haven’t been approved by their supervisors. And because there’s still a stigma attached to mental illness, people with mental health issues in their family often keep it very private.

I spent many hours hitting the streets and working the phone to come up with enough people to quote for that feature article. Every reporter goes through this. And every reporter has seen a story they really want to write slip through their fingers because they can’t find appropriate people willing to be quoted.

Reporters need people to quote. And you know what they say about business…find a need and fill it!

So imagine if you were the person who provided a reporter with the quotes they need? Imagine if you were the one getting written up in the New York Times, or even your local newspaper.

You can do more than imagine it. You can make it happen. The easiest way to start is by subscribing to a service called Reporter’s Source at http://www.reporterssource.com/

Reporter’s Source describes itself as “a free service linking journalists and other members of the media with businesses and individuals.”

Reporters looking for people to interview fill out a form describing their intended story and exactly the kind of people they are looking for. People interested in being a source for a reporter can register for the daily newsletter. Every day it arrives with a list of requests from reporters and writers.

If you have information or experience that’s pertinent to their story, you can send a brief synopsis of information that Reporter’s Source will forward to the journalist. If the writer uses you, the result can be big publicity for your business or self.

On any given day, the requests from reporters and writers can range from parents of grad students willing to talk about the parent/almost-adult child dynamic, to experts on the health insurance industry.

If you are chosen for an interview, never ask a reporter to mention anything in particular about yourself or your business. For example, it’s highly inappropriate to ask a reporter if they’ll put in a plug for your web site. Reporters are in the business of writing reports, not your publicity. Don’t tick them off by asking.

But do be aware that reporters are looking for one thing–good story material. The more you tell them about yourself and your business, and the more you can tell it in such a way that it relates to the story being written, the more likely the reporter is to use your information.

For example, if you’re being interviewed for a report on people working from home, you’d naturally want to mention that working on the internet allows you to do business around the world, while sitting at a laptop in your living room.

Mention that you have the freedom to work in jeans and baggy t-shirts, to work any hours you choose, and to automate large portions of your business, and you’ll wind up making your web site an interesting and important part of the reporter’s story.
If you’re seeking free publicity, remember that reporters are seeking you!
About the Author
Bonnie Boots is the publisher/editor of The Internet Wizards Magazine for people who want to create their own products and market on the internet. Register for your free 1-year subscription at http://www.theinternetwizards.com

September 29th, 2009 Posted by admin | Media Interviews, PR & Media Plans, PR and Media Tips, Pitching to the Media | no comments

How to Pitch Your Product or Business to the Media

By Sue Papadoulis

So, you’ve researched your target media outlet, know it reaches your target audience, have a great news angle, have written a great media release – now what? It’s time to pitch it to the journalist! This shouldn’t not be an intimidating exercise, especially if you’re done the leg work and are armed with all the right materials. Here’s a step by step guide to help you get your pitch across the line.

1. Send an email first. Many media outlets prefer to be sent an email in the first instance, rather than receive a cold call. It is important you have the direct email of the person you are trying to contact, rather than the generic email address you might find on the outlet’s contact page on their web site (forget ‘editorial@theherald.com’ for example, as that can be just like sending a letter to a big corporation addressed ‘to whom it may concern’).

2. Personalise your email. (‘Dear Jane,’ rather than ‘to whom it make concern’, or worse, nothing at all). Include your well-written media release headline in the subject heading of the email.

3. Introduce the story. In the body of the email, write a snappy sentence about your story angle, where it fits into the media outlet (such as the new product section), basic details about the product, and a call to action for the journalist (would the journalist like a sample, or set up a time for an interview?).

4. Include your media release. Follow the introduction with the text of your media release, copied into the body of the email. Never send a media release as an attachment as they won’t be opened. In fact, many media organisations have computer firewalls that prevent attachments from being received.

5. Keep a database of journalists you have emailed to ensure timely follow up.

6. Consider deadlines and lead times when pitching a story. If you’re pitching a story about a Valentine’s Day product to a monthly magazine, remember they work around three months ahead, so unless your story angle is with them by November or December the year before, you won’t have a chance. Obviously daily newspapers, TV stations, web sites and radio outlets have shorter lead times, but always aim to give an outlet at least two weeks notice for product launches and the like.

7. Time to respond. Give a journalist a day or two to respond to your email. If you don’t hear anything, follow up with a phone call.

8. Stay professional and have a can-do attitude. Before making the call, make sure you have a professional attitude that is centred on helping the journalist. It is important to treat them as you would your very best customer. It’s also important to always be on hand to provide additional information as soon as it’s requested. It may be the case that the journalist has left the story to the last minute and if you’re not available to help meet the deadline, they will simply find someone else who can.

9. What to say. When calling a journalist, introduce yourself, advise that you sent an email and are following up. Be sure you know your angle, have plenty of back up information and have images to provide (or be available for photographs to be taken of you).

10. Consider your timing. Think about if it’s a convenient time for a journalist to take your call. A major pitfall is calling right on deadline – you can expect zero response if you pick the wrong time. For example, it’s never wise to contact a radio newsroom in the last 10 minutes before each hour as the news bulletin approaches.

11. Develop an ongoing relationship. Once you’ve made a media contact, it’s important to keep the flow of information and communication going. It doesn’t mean hounding the journalist every day, but simply keeping them regularly informed about product updates and developments. This may be as simple as sending a monthly media release or asking a journalist if they would like to be added to your database to receive a regular e-newsletter.

For more detail on how to generate free publicity, there are plenty of articles relating to this at HomeBizChicks.com including:

How to Write a Media Release

A Do it Yourself PR Starter Kit

How to Pitch Your Story to the Media

And more!

© 2009 Home Biz Chicks ~ Online entrepreneur Sue Papadoulis publishes the popular e-newsletter Smart Biz Chicks. If you’re ready to jump-start your home business to make more money and have more fun and free time, get your FREE tips and FREE report “How to Generate Free Publicity for Your Home-Based Business” now at www.homebizchicks.com.

September 2nd, 2009 Posted by admin | Media Interviews, Pitching to the Media | no comments

How to keep your press release out of the Round File

Distributing your press release is just as important as writing it if you want it to be seen, and more importantly, written up in the media.Follow these tips shared by Marketing Concept, Inc. and reach your goals quicker and with more success:

1. Target your audience. Only contact editors who write about your industry or topic. If you send your story to the wrong editor the only file it will end up in, is the “round file.”
   
2. Don’t send your press release to a “nameless editor with no interest in your topic. It too will get released to the “round file.”
   
3. When you do discover which editors cover your topic area, find out the best way to send it to them.  For some email is optimum, others prefer faxes and some still do prefer to receive “news” via pony express (snail mail).
   
4. If you do send your releases via email, never send with an attachments – let me repeat that, never send an email to a journalist with an attachment (unless they ask for it that way). It will be deleted.
   
5. Unless the editor specifically asks for follow up, don’t!  With the hundreds of press releases they receive, it will only annoy them if you call and ask if they have received it.  If you wrote your release well, sent it to the correct person in the way they expect it to be sent and you made it compelling enough to want more information, let your press release do its job.  
   
6. Check editorial calendars and deadlines.  And adhere to them. If you send a release to a magazine about an event taking place after their deadline, you are wasting your time – and theirs. Ask the media how much lead time they need to properly research and cover a story.
   
7. Post your release to your site so it can be found there by journalists “looking” for information on your topic.
    
8. Be sure and update your website before sending your release especially if you are writing about information to be found there ~ journalists will often go there first for more information before contacting you.

Tracking Your Press Release Performance

The following services can assist you with monitoring the coverage and reach of your press release.

Google News – GoogleNews crawls news stories and headlines from 4,000 news sources worldwide, and searching is free.
Bacon’s Clipping Bureau – Bacon’s Information provides a wide range of information and assistance for anyone needing to research, contact or monitor the media.
Dow Jones News Retrieval – A pay service that archives more than 60 million documents and 3,400+ trade and business publications. CustomClips® feature scans more than 2600 media outlets for specific information.
LEXIS-NEXIS Communication Center – The world’s largest provider of credible, in-depth information. From legal and government to business and high-tech, our products and services provide direct access to an enormous information universe.
Luce Online – An automatic, electronic news clipping service provider delivering up-to-the-minute stories from over 7,000 print publications, newspapers, wire services, magazines, trade publications, and Internet/Online news sites. Receive full text articles and abstracts of stories matching your custom news criteria via email or website delivery.

Source: Marketing Concept Inc.  http://www.marketingsource.com

July 16th, 2008 Posted by admin | FREE MEDIA RESOURCES, Pitching to the Media, Press Release | no comments

Be the Media’s Dream Guest Publicity Tips

Be the Media’s Dream Guest Publicity Tips by National Publicist,
Annie Jennings of Annie Jennings PR

Want To Be A SMASH HIT Success On TV & Radio?
Want To Avoid Media Mistakes With Your Publicity & Book Promotion?

Learn The Publicity, TV, Radio & Media Skills You Need To Be The Media’s Dream Guest! This chapter includes a set of tried and true publicity tips to use while working with the media.  You’ll learn 8 of the top pre-interview tips, on-camera or on-air tips, book promotion and publicity tips, media etiquette tips & lots more PR publicity pro tips to help position you as the media’s dream guest!

GET YOUR FREE CD “The Making Of A Million Dollar Expert”: http://wwww.anniejenningspr.com/experts.htm

 TIP #1   Don’t Try to Change the Segment or Story IdeaDuring the pre-interview with the producer or journalist, please do not attempt to influence the producer or journalist to slant or change the original segment idea. This is because the article, story or segment idea is most likely already set in stone by Managing Editors or Executive Producers and your media contact has very little flexibility.  They are assigned to develop a story or segment idea according to a specific set of directives and appreciate your support in moving the story or segment forward.  Always give the media the info they are looking for first so they can complete their assignment otherwise, they might decide to move on to another expert.  If you do a great job for them, that is, you are on target and on message without meandering off topic or discussing topics that fall outside the scope of the placement, they will use you again.

Of course, if they ask you about other ideas you may have, feel free to give them your best stuff!

To read the rest of this chapter and others, visit: GET MEDIA SAVVY and download Your FREE Copy today!

May 6th, 2008 Posted by admin | Media Interviews, Pitching to the Media | no comments

Ten Tips for Getting on Radio

Ten Tips for Getting on Radio By Catherine Franz

You’re on the air! Getting on the radio is easier than you think – no matter what you’re marketing – includes related article on radio broadcast resourcesHome Office Computing,  June, 1993  by Donna Partow Fifteen minutes on the radio revolutionized my business,” says Rhonda Kanning-Anderson of St, Cloud,

 “I knew the show reached my target audience–homemakers. So I hoped to generate interest in my educational teaching program,” she recalls. “It took five months of letters and phone calls–and a personal visit to the show’s producer in

 THEY’RE LOOKING FOR YOU Radio talk shows present an excellent opportunity for you to promote your home-based business, whether you market a product or serve as a consultant. It’s said that there are nearly 1,000 radio talk shows in

 AdvertisementIn many markets, the demand for guests far outstrips the supply of people with an enticing message. Kay Lindley is the producer of “Parent Talk,” a nationally syndicated call-in show, cohosted by Dr. Kevin Leman, author of The Birth Order Book. Lindley says, “Like most talk-show producers, I’m always looking for good guests. I’ve got to fill an hour of airtime every day, six days a week. If a home-based entrepreneur has a program idea that suits my audience, I want to hear about it.” Al Parinello, author of On the Air: How to Get on Radio and TV Talk Shows and What to Do When You Get There, claims most producers agree with Lindley. “The only way to keep a program alive is with fresh ideas. No one can come up with a fresh idea every day without help,” he says. He believes virtually anyone can book a radio appearance– especially on local stations–if you know how to go about it.

To read the other nine tips visit: GET MEDIA SAVVY and download Your FREE Copy today!

April 12th, 2008 Posted by admin | Media Interviews, PR and Media Tips, Pitching to the Media | no comments

Tips to Make the Most of Your Media Relations Efforts

Tips to Make the Most of Your Media Relations Efforts

By Nancy S. Juetten

Excerpt from GET MEDIA SAVVY!

The value of your company’s brand and reputation can grow as a result of favorable media coverage captured over time. However, securing good coverage can prove challenging if you don’t know how to work with the media. To pack a punch into your media relations results, consider these tips. If you want the media to take interest in your business success story, take interest in the media. Writers and editors want to be first with news and great stories. They review mounds of mail, e-mail, and faxes each day. In addition, they scan competitive media and wire service stories to select news to share.

With all this competition, how can you make sure your story gets the attention it deserves? Monitor the media outlets that you think are right for your story. Read the stories of reporters who cover your industry. Most importantly, take time to prepare concise, clear and compelling pitches that show why your story is timely, newsworthy, and relevant. Have some fun, be creative in your approach, and give the reporters something they won’t find elsewhere. Many factors determine whether or not your story captures the coverage. These two questions top the list: Does your story fit within the coverage area and editorial profile and plans of each particular media outlet? ~ What else is making news today?

To read the rest of the chapter and others, visit: GET MEDIA SAVVY and download Your FREE Copy today!

March 17th, 2008 Posted by admin | Branding, Media Interviews, PR and Media Tips, Pitching to the Media | no comments

Podcasting for Media Attention

Podcasting for Media Attention
By Penny Haynes

Excerpt from GET MEDIA SAVVY eBook:

Podcasting is simply a term for creating an internet radio or tv show that people can subscribe to and automatically download the shows to their computer. Now, that’s not so scary, is it?  People let their fears of technology scare them away from very simple business tools, like Podcasting.  If you have ever recorded a telephone message, if you have ever delivered a seminar in person, over the phone or in a webinar room – honestly, if you have ever TALKED to another human being, you can podcast! 

Podcasting doesn’t even require expensive equipment.  For audio podcasting, you can:ð  

Get a $25 Radio Shack computer microphone  

Download free recording/editing/mixing software (WavePad and MixPad) from http://www.DigitalBusinessBooks.com (they are on the front page – add them to your cart for free and check out)

Watch the free seminars that come with WavePad and MixPad to get familiar with the programs.ð 

 Install the programs on your computerð      

Start creating and editing recordings.   

If you are someone who needs more help with recording, editing and mixing music, you can get a $99 video tutorial program that teaches you everything you need to know at http://www.LearnAudioAndVideo.com – Audio Recording 201.  If you do teleseminars, then record those and use them (or portions of them) for podcasting.  I use BYOAudio for all of my telephone recording needs, including telephone testimonial recording lines and teleconferences. 

For video podcasting, you can even use a free program called VideoCaster that will let you simply create videos with music from digital pictures and royalty free music. 

To read the rest of the chapter and others, visit: GET MEDIA SAVVY and download Your FREE Copy today!

March 12th, 2008 Posted by admin | Internet TV & Video, PR & Media Resources, PR and Media Tips, Pitching to the Media | no comments

5 Tips for Writing Search-Engine Optimized Press Releases

5 Tips for Writing Search-Engine Optimized Press Releases
By Michelle Howe

Online press releases are one of the most inexpensive and highly effective marketing methods for a small business owner. Yet, many people think only “big businesses” use press releases. Wrong.The Internet gives a small business’s website the same visibility as a large corporation’s website and online press releases work the same way. Once an online press release is distributed, it’s out there in cyberspace generating hits and driving traffic to your website for years to come. Just last week I received an e-mail from someone who read a press release I wrote two years ago!

Unlike an offline press release that is distributed directed to journalists at newspapers and other media outlets, the online press release is “evergreen,” it never goes away. A simple keyword search could turn up your press release years later. Compare this to the offline press release that may or not be used by the journalists and then is trashed, never to be seen again.

To read the rest of the chapter and others, visit: GET MEDIA SAVVY and download Your FREE Copy today! 

March 7th, 2008 Posted by admin | PR and Media Tips, Pitching to the Media, Press Release | one comment

Create Your Media Bio for Publicity

Create Your Media Bio for Publicity By National Publicist, Annie Jennings of Annie Jennings PR

An excerpt from GET MEDIA SAVVY – The Ultimate eGuide to Promote Your Products, Services and Ideas to the World!

Create A BIO That Tells The Media What They Need To Know In A Nutshell  & Learn What Does Not Belong In Your Media Bio

Follow these simple steps to creating a powerful media bio designed to get you booked on the media of your dreams. Annie Jennings PR is a major provider of experts to the media and the PR visionary who has led the industry to all new levels of performance.

1.  Your bio should always begin with your credentials, academic achievements, professional and academic affiliations.

2.  If you are the author of books, papers, and/or studies note those next along with the names of the papers and studies and where they appear etc so the media can document them.

3.  List your areas of expertise.

4.  List the years you have been active in these areas and your fields.

 5.  List any involvement in any association, achievements or awards you have received in your field.

To read the rest of this chapter and others, visit: GET MEDIA SAVVY and download Your FREE Copy today! 

February 28th, 2008 Posted by admin | FREE MEDIA RESOURCES, Media Interviews, PR and Media Tips, Pitching to the Media, Press Kit | no comments

Conquering the Fear of Promoting Yourself

Conquering the Fear of Promoting Yourself or, Do You Like to Talk to Strangers? By Raleigh Pinskey

An excerpt from GET MEDIA SAVVY – The Ultimate eGuide to Promote Your Products, Services and Ideas to the World!

The Small Business Association reports that the top two reasons businesses fail in the first two years are poor management and lack of promotion, which, along with the staple of advertising, includes the overview of branding utilizing PR, publicity and marketing.

And nowhere in their entire list do they consider attitude. I would definitely add attitude to this critical measurement. I fact, I would make it number one on the list.

I founded my PR, Branding and Public Relations company The Raleigh Group, in 1980. Through my best selling books, seminars and information products I’ve mentored millions of people who are just entering the business arena, seasoned veterans, and the scale markers in between.

There is no doubt in my mind that the difference in why some succeed at PR, branding public relations and marketing while others don’t, ultimately comes down to attitude. Attitude is a crucial and large part of promotion, particularly if you approach it with an attitude of fear.

If your chosen profession depends on promotion, success will depend on you think about the following statements. Do you harbor a fear of promotion? Are you in business to revenge a teacher or relative who told you that you would never succeed? Are you a people pleaser by nature? Do you like to solve problems? Do you enjoy dealing with people and their needs? Do you feel you are not very interesting and maybe what you have to talk about is not innovative or informative, or useful?

When I was growing up, I was constantly told that what I had to say was not that important, and why would anyone want to listen to what I had to say? And, I was told, not to tell anybody how bright you are because no man will want to marry you and you’ll end up an old maid. I carried that with me for a very long time.

To read the rest of the chapter and others, visit: GET MEDIA SAVVY and download Your FREE Copy today!

February 25th, 2008 Posted by admin | Branding, PR and Media Tips, Pitching to the Media, Self-promotion | no comments