Tweet

How to sell stories into journalists - hints and tips

Written by: Deborah Hastie

Article Overview: Dealing with journalists is hard work - no two ways about it - but here are just a few tips to take some of the pain out of the process.

How to sell stories into journalists - hints and tips

If you have story to sell in to a journalist think about the process first - they are busy and have 100s of pr and business people every day trying to sell them something.

1) Ask yourself - what makes your story unique/interesting? why should they cover it?

2) Get the right contact details - research online or via media databses which are the best media outlets for your audience and who writes for them. Check out journalisted.com, a great online website that has 100s of journalists contact details listed.

3) Prepare a short email with the top 2 or 3 facts explaining your story - bullets work well. Think up a strong eye catching headline for the subject strap - without that you are already in the trash. Attach the press rel and imbed in the email. Attach any images with a caption but make sure they aren't too big. You can always send a higer res one later.

4) Ring the reporter or newsdesk first and try to sell in your story before you send it - you have approx 20-30seconds to do this and catch their attention before they say "send an email" many won't even take your call, so be prepared. If nothing else confirm their email address and that of the news desk.

5) Send your email to both to cover your bases.

6) Ring again later the same day and check it arrived and again try to get across your top 2 or 3 facts.

7)If you article appears -DON'T ask the reporter to send you a cut - find it yourself online or in subscriptions. Press cutting agencies such as Durrants are good and can be employed on a month by month basis. Set yourself up for Google alerts under key words.

8) If you like the article say thank you - send an email or even a small gift . something that can shared in the newsroom always works well and helps people to remember you. You can't beat face to face meetings with reporters to make long standing contacts but if you suggest it, make sure you have a strong story up your sleeve to justify their time out of the office.

9) Don't take any brush offs - or any other *** offs personally! - reporters are busy, stressed and have too many inexperienced PRs ringing them on deadline with irrelevant stories.

10) Remember timing is everything, don't send out your info on deadline days, last thing on Fridays or when a major event or story has just broken, unless it is specialist or trade media that's not affected.

Good luck and be patient. If your first story doesn't succeed, your 10th or 100th just might!

Related Articles
  The Power of PR Make Yourself Newsworthy
  Pitching to Journalists
  Press Release Key Components: Who, What, When, Where and Why
  Can you do PR without talking to Journalists?
  NEWS RELEASE QUIZ


Article Tags: audience, bullets, caption, contact details, databses, email address, google, images, journalist, journalists, key words, media outlets, nbsp, news desk, newsroom, subscriptions, trash



Related Forum Posts
Re: Getting Press Coverage - Some awesome tips here. I've had pretty good success just emailing journalists and newspapers. They may not respond to most of what you send, but eventually something catches their eye. Another trick is to predict what a lot of journalistsbloggers will be researching, and get a press release out that will be featured in Google news covering this topic and promoting something on your site.
Bad Franchises - . I would scream it from the rooftops but I am not prepared to be sued. This is the reason that there is so little information in the public domain. So like all the others all I can say is that the whole industry needs investigation. If anyone has any contacts in the media, journalists or tv media, there is a huge story to tell if anyone has the guts to do it. I am sure under cover with anonymity many would come forward with their stories.
Re: Getting Press Coverage - Thanks for those extra tips again Evan. Also don't forget the 'purple cow' theory. Create something truly awesome and unique and people will pay attention, including journalists. I have some off the wall stuff planned for 2010.
Re: Ideas on Using Twitter for Business - [quote="evieparsons":2o69rd2a]1. Build an account and immediate start using Twitter Search to listen for your name, your competitor's names, words that relate to your space. (Listening always comes first.) 2. Add a picture. ( Shel reminds us of this.) We want to see you. 3. Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn't sell more widgets, but it shows us you are human. 4. Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you. 5. Share links to neat things in your community. ( wholefoods does this well). 6. Don't get stuck in the apology loop. Be helpful instead. ( jetblue gives travel tips.) 7. Be wary of always pimping your stuff. Your fans will love it. Others will tune out. 8. Promote your employees outside-of-work stories. ( TheHomeDepot does it well.) 9. Throw in a few humans, like RichardAtDELL, LionelAtDELL, etc. 10. Talk about non-business,[/quote:2o69rd2a] Hey thanks for these tips. Basically, help others in your market out and build relationships with people. Be someone who gives, not takes. I'll keep them in mind if I go back to social media marketing. I'm currently in the SEO phase of my business.
Ideas on Using Twitter for Business - 1. Build an account and immediate start using Twitter Search to listen for your name, your competitor's names, words that relate to your space. (Listening always comes first.) 2. Add a picture. ( Shel reminds us of this.) We want to see you. 3. Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn't sell more widgets, but it shows us you are human. 4. Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you. 5. Share links to neat things in your community. ( wholefoods does this well). 6. Don't get stuck in the apology loop. Be helpful instead. ( jetblue gives travel tips.) 7. Be wary of always pimping your stuff. Your fans will love it. Others will tune out. 8. Promote your employees outside-of-work stories. ( TheHomeDepot does it well.) 9. Throw in a few humans, like RichardAtDELL, LionelAtDELL, etc. 10. Talk about non-business,


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Civility in the Workplace---Is it Decreasing?

Are You Listening?

Download a template or see a lawyer?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.