Generating Press for your business is hard work; it’s about 5 key things… Telling Better Stories Engaging With Reporters Doing Cold Outreach to Journalists Providing Value to the Community And Building Relationships What we’re hoping to do with this article is give you a small and simple playbook to work against. This is a steal of a deal… Customers and clients need a way to connect to your business, and the best way to accomplish that is to tell great stories. You need to focus on sharing something that matters to readers. In fact, journalists are actively seeking sources all of the time – all you need to do is connect with them directly. Pitch Directly to Journalists Once you’ve mastered press opportunities, another way to gain exposure is to generate a great pitch and contact a journalist who may have potential interest in it. In addition to a great pitch, you also need to target the right journalists. However, if you create a great guest post – one that is informative, actionable, insightful and provides true value to the reader – it is something that people will refer to over and over again. You may even find that your incredible guest post pops up again and again on social media or as a resource referenced by other people’s articles. This will establish trust, industry expertise, and authority, which means when people need help – they will turn to you for advice. Find a typo or error in their work Share content with them that might interest them Share a story idea that isn’t just about you Connect them with a valuable resource such as data or research that expands on the value of their work Invite them to try out your product or service for free Seek their advice or feedback on a project This isn’t the fast route to exposure, but if you start to provide value for someone upfront – without asking for anything in return – then you start to build a positive relationship with them.
- Press means brand awareness and credibility.
- Awareness means website traffic and social follows.
- Press means great backlink opportunities.
- To be blunt, press drives sales.
So how do we get press? Is there a faucet that we can just turn on?
@PowerfulOutreach.com this is what we do! We help clients like Expedia, Hubspot, Agora Pulse, and Kijiji generate serious press mentions.
Our methodology has been so successful that we’ve generated coverage in the Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, The Next Web, Entrepreneur, Forbes, USA Today, and hundreds of niche publications…
Let me just tell you real quick… there is no magic bullet. Generating Press for your business is hard work; it’s about 5 key things…
- Telling Better Stories
- Engaging With Reporters
- Doing Cold Outreach to Journalists
- Providing Value to the Community
- And Building Relationships
What we’re hoping to do with this article is give you a small and simple playbook to work against. You should come away with some reasonably actionable ideas.
This is just the tip of the iceberg and we share a lot more in our recent e-book on PR Best Practices – but this is a good start for the PR newbie.
Now. Briefly. As a bonus to Jeff Bullas readers, we are offering half-off our PR-STARTER PACK. Down to $99.50 from $199. This is a steal of a deal…
Customers and clients need a way to connect to your business, and the best way to accomplish that is to tell great stories.
Unless you are the first business on Mars – no one cares that you opened a new office downtown.
You need to focus on sharing something that matters to readers. You need to share a story that people can relate to or learn a lesson from.
- Where does your business come from?
- Why are you passionate?
- What separates you from the rest of the competition?
- What do your best customers say about you?
- Why do they love you? How
- How have you changed the world for the better?
By telling great stories, you become a magnet for others to tell great stories about you. If you’re not that interesting; if your business and its story is not presented in a way that makes for an obvious grab from a journalist, they are going to move on, quickly.
2. Be Ready to Respond to Reporters
Reporters are always on the hunt for sources to bolster their articles.
Journalists want to give their articles credibility and your expert opinion, company data, and industry research is exactly what they need and want.
In fact, journalists are actively seeking sources all of the time – all you need to do is connect with them directly.
So how can you be the next source for an upcoming article?
It’s easy – there are actually tools that are made to connect journalist requests with expert sources.
A few examples of these include:
These resources are a great starting point for learning how to pitch reporters and work within journalistic deadlines. The best part of responding to a press opportunity is that you are pitching a journalist who is already seeking an expert like you.
Not everything you submit will get picked up. In fact, there are a ton of other people responding to the same request, so don’t assume that your half-hearted attempt is a guaranteed media mention – even if it seems like a perfect fit.
You need to be compelling, provide real insight, and pay careful attention to what a journalist is seeking.
However, when you do get quoted, your potential customers will take notice.
3. Pitch Directly to Journalists
Once you’ve mastered press opportunities, another way to gain exposure is to generate a great pitch and contact a journalist who may have…
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