What's the secret to getting free publicity? It's not a fancy press kit. It's not having a superstar spokesperson. It's not hiring the world's biggest PR firm.
Actually, the ultimate insider secret is quite simple: You need to think like a reporter, says Bill Stoller, publicity guru. Of course, this is the first-place winner in the "easier said than done" Olympics. Most of us are too tied-up in our own world to really look at our businesses objectively and come up with a newsworthy story angle that can lead to free publicity. Reporters have a special place in their circular file for puffery, flackery and hyperbole. If you want to avoid this fate, then you must learn to think like a reporter. This means:
• Being able to separate real news about your company from promotional puffery
• Being able to deliver a sharp story angle that will be of real interest to the news reading or viewing public
• Being able to deliver this angle in a professional, courteous way.
Here are some truths that you ignore only at your own risk:
* Reporters don't care about helping you.
* Reporters are hassle all day by PR people and they're pretty much sick of it.
* Reporters don't care about your website, your book, your products or your life story, unless......
.....you are providing something that helps make their job easier -- that is, a really good story.
When you design your public relations campaign, develop your angles, develop your media materials and begin contacting the press, always think: "What can I do at this step that will make this more useful to a journalist?"
That means:
• developing story angles from a reporter's perspective, not a business owner's
• conducting yourself in a manner free of hype, clichés and puffery
• Using proper etiquette when contacting a reporter or editor
Step away from your business. View it as a reporter looking for an interesting story. Remember, he's looking for a story that will satisfy his editor and his readers. He's not interested in promoting you, only in crafting a story that will make readers stop and say "Hmmm, I never knew that. Now there's something I can use!"
You need to break down your current attributes, and determine if you have anything that's newsworthy. Here's a way of looking at it that may be useful: for every attribute, try to honestly rate its news value. Use these categories:
NO DICE -Not newsworthy. Too common, too promotional, too boring.
INSIDE STUFF -May be newsworthy within my own field (trade publications) or to hardcore customers (serious vitamin junkies) but not attractive enough to the general population to build a story.
GETTING THERE -Potentially of interest, but not quite meaty enough.
STOP THE PRESSES! -Meaty, hearty news that journalists eat up.
You can use your website to position your angles to have mass newsworthy appeal. The answer is to design parts of your website specifically to provide a newsworthy element to your story. Message boards, chat rooms, surveys, feedback pages and so on can all lead to publicity. Is a leading health guru willing to be a guest at a chat sessions for teenagers? Did an online survey you conducted about kids' favorite foods offer some interesting revelations? These, and other offshoots of adding newsworthy elements to your site, can all provide the basis for outstanding publicity opportunities. A story about helping overweight kids cope with ridicule, based on discussions that have taken place in your forums, is a natural for a "lifestyle" section of a newspaper. So, you want to get an article about it in a major paper.
First, you've got to find out who the appropriate editor or writer is. Just read the paper on a regular basis and clip out the columns that deal with parenting, health or kids' issues. It's also worth trying the newspaper's web site. Increasingly, full editorial staff listings can be found online. With the editor's name in hand, you're now ready to make your call.
Here are some "etiquette" secrets that can help you effectively work with journalists in generating bushels of free press:
*Don't call to "see if they got your release." Journalists hate this. Folks send out mass mailings and then call to see if the release made it there. If you really want to get a story in the Post, call first to pitch your story and then follow up with your release, photos, etc.
*Plan your call around their deadlines. Most papers are morning editions. Thus, journalists' deadlines range from 2 p.m. local time and on. Don't call during this time! The best time to reach a newspaper journalist: 10 a.m. to noon local time.
*Don't start pitching right away! If you get Joan Smith on the phone, don't just dive into your pitch. This is rude, as Joan may be on the other line, working on a story, entertaining guests or who knows what else. Start by saying something like, "Hi Ms. Smith, my name's Bill Jones and I have a story suggestion you might find interesting. Is this a good time for you?" Joan will reply "yes"--which is a green light to start your pitch, or "no"-- to which you reply, "When would be a good time to call you back?" Your courtesy will be greatly appreciated by the journalist...which can only help your chances.
*Pitch to the voice mail. It's fine to pitch your story to the reporter's voice mail. Keep it very short and end the message with your phone number. If you don't hear back, try again until you get the actual reporter or editor on the phone.
*Don't read from a script! The bane of many journalists' existences are 22-year-olds sitting in cubicles in big PR firms reading pitches off a sheet of paper. If you've ever been called by a telemarketer doing the same thing, you know how annoying it can be. Practice your pitch so that it seems natural and spontaneous.
*Give them a story, not an advertisement. Newspapers do not exist to give you publicity. They exist to provide readers with interesting stories. Your job is to give the journalist what he or she wants, while getting the free exposure. Make your pitch newsy, exciting and relevant. How about: "Ms. Smith, as you probably know, obesity among children is growing at an alarming rate. Because of the ridicule they face from other children, millions of overweight young people are being marked with lifetime scars that can seriously damage their self-esteem. I host a unique website, were overweight kids can anonymously express their feelings and discuss this issue. I think I've learned some important things about a very serious subject." That's a whole lot more interesting to an editor than: "Ms. Smith, I have a website where overweight kids post messages. Would you like to do a story about me?"
*Follow up immediately. If she's interested, Joan Smith will ask for more information. Be sure you have a press kit (including news release and photo) ready to send . Send it out via priority mail, and write "Requested Information" below the address.
*Call again. Now it's appropriate to call to see if Joan received your stuff...after all, unlike a mass-mailed release, she asked for it! Ask if she's had a chance to look through it, and what she thinks. If she likes what she sees, you're about to get some very valuable free publicity!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
The Ultimate PR and Publicity Secret
What's the secret to getting free publicity? It's not a fancy press kit. It's not having a superstar spokesperson. It's not hiring the world's biggest PR firm.
Actually, the ultimate insider secret is quite simple: You need to think like a reporter, says Bill Stoller, publicity guru. Of course, this is the first-place winner in the "easier said than done" Olympics. Most of us are too tied-up in our own world to really look at our businesses objectively and come up with a newsworthy story angle that can lead to free publicity. Reporters have a special place in their circular file for puffery, flackery and hyperbole. If you want to avoid this fate, then you must learn to think like a reporter. This means:
• Being able to separate real news about your company from promotional puffery
• Being able to deliver a sharp story angle that will be of real interest to the news reading or viewing public
• Being able to deliver this angle in a professional, courteous way.
Here are some truths that you ignore only at your own risk:
* Reporters don't care about helping you.
* Reporters are hassle all day by PR people and they're pretty much sick of it.
* Reporters don't care about your website, your book, your products or your life story, unless......
.....you are providing something that helps make their job easier -- that is, a really good story.
When you design your public relations campaign, develop your angles, develop your media materials and begin contacting the press, always think: "What can I do at this step that will make this more useful to a journalist?"
That means:
• developing story angles from a reporter's perspective, not a business owner's
• conducting yourself in a manner free of hype, clichés and puffery
• Using proper etiquette when contacting a reporter or editor
Step away from your business. View it as a reporter looking for an interesting story. Remember, he's looking for a story that will satisfy his editor and his readers. He's not interested in promoting you, only in crafting a story that will make readers stop and say "Hmmm, I never knew that. Now there's something I can use!"
You need to break down your current attributes, and determine if you have anything that's newsworthy. Here's a way of looking at it that may be useful: for every attribute, try to honestly rate its news value. Use these categories:
NO DICE -Not newsworthy. Too common, too promotional, too boring.
INSIDE STUFF -May be newsworthy within my own field (trade publications) or to hardcore customers (serious vitamin junkies) but not attractive enough to the general population to build a story.
GETTING THERE -Potentially of interest, but not quite meaty enough.
STOP THE PRESSES! -Meaty, hearty news that journalists eat up.
You can use your website to position your angles to have mass newsworthy appeal. The answer is to design parts of your website specifically to provide a newsworthy element to your story. Message boards, chat rooms, surveys, feedback pages and so on can all lead to publicity. Is a leading health guru willing to be a guest at a chat sessions for teenagers? Did an online survey you conducted about kids' favorite foods offer some interesting revelations? These, and other offshoots of adding newsworthy elements to your site, can all provide the basis for outstanding publicity opportunities. A story about helping overweight kids cope with ridicule, based on discussions that have taken place in your forums, is a natural for a "lifestyle" section of a newspaper. So, you want to get an article about it in a major paper.
First, you've got to find out who the appropriate editor or writer is. Just read the paper on a regular basis and clip out the columns that deal with parenting, health or kids' issues. It's also worth trying the newspaper's web site. Increasingly, full editorial staff listings can be found online. With the editor's name in hand, you're now ready to make your call.
Here are some "etiquette" secrets that can help you effectively work with journalists in generating bushels of free press:
*Don't call to "see if they got your release." Journalists hate this. Folks send out mass mailings and then call to see if the release made it there. If you really want to get a story in the Post, call first to pitch your story and then follow up with your release, photos, etc.
*Plan your call around their deadlines. Most papers are morning editions. Thus, journalists' deadlines range from 2 p.m. local time and on. Don't call during this time! The best time to reach a newspaper journalist: 10 a.m. to noon local time.
*Don't start pitching right away! If you get Joan Smith on the phone, don't just dive into your pitch. This is rude, as Joan may be on the other line, working on a story, entertaining guests or who knows what else. Start by saying something like, "Hi Ms. Smith, my name's Bill Jones and I have a story suggestion you might find interesting. Is this a good time for you?" Joan will reply "yes"--which is a green light to start your pitch, or "no"-- to which you reply, "When would be a good time to call you back?" Your courtesy will be greatly appreciated by the journalist...which can only help your chances.
*Pitch to the voice mail. It's fine to pitch your story to the reporter's voice mail. Keep it very short and end the message with your phone number. If you don't hear back, try again until you get the actual reporter or editor on the phone.
*Don't read from a script! The bane of many journalists' existences are 22-year-olds sitting in cubicles in big PR firms reading pitches off a sheet of paper. If you've ever been called by a telemarketer doing the same thing, you know how annoying it can be. Practice your pitch so that it seems natural and spontaneous.
*Give them a story, not an advertisement. Newspapers do not exist to give you publicity. They exist to provide readers with interesting stories. Your job is to give the journalist what he or she wants, while getting the free exposure. Make your pitch newsy, exciting and relevant. How about: "Ms. Smith, as you probably know, obesity among children is growing at an alarming rate. Because of the ridicule they face from other children, millions of overweight young people are being marked with lifetime scars that can seriously damage their self-esteem. I host a unique website, were overweight kids can anonymously express their feelings and discuss this issue. I think I've learned some important things about a very serious subject." That's a whole lot more interesting to an editor than: "Ms. Smith, I have a website where overweight kids post messages. Would you like to do a story about me?"
*Follow up immediately. If she's interested, Joan Smith will ask for more information. Be sure you have a press kit (including news release and photo) ready to send . Send it out via priority mail, and write "Requested Information" below the address.
*Call again. Now it's appropriate to call to see if Joan received your stuff...after all, unlike a mass-mailed release, she asked for it! Ask if she's had a chance to look through it, and what she thinks. If she likes what she sees, you're about to get some very valuable free publicity!
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