How to Hack Your Way Into the Press (2)
But let's see how that changes as we start asking questions… “How many plastic bags are sent to landfill each day?” “How did we come to be so reliant on plastic bags?” “Why is it deemed acceptable to hand out plastic bags with our shopping?” “What's being done to reduce our reliance on plastic bags?” “When did we begin to use plastic bags?” Once we begin delving into the questions people might have about a given topic, it starts to look a lot more interesting. Next, take this approach up a notch and head over to Quora. Even a search for a topic as innocuous as plastic bags brought up some interesting questions.
“What is better for the environment, paper or plastic bags?” “What's life like without plastic bags?” “What are all the arguments against banning plastic bags?” “Why do stores charge for plastic bags?” Apply this to your storytelling by asking yourself – or, better yet, asking others – what people want to know about your subject matter, then weave the answers to some of those questions into your story. Bonus Hack: Always Be Taking Photos No story is complete without a great photo (or series of photos). Carry a camera with you everywhere and use it, all the time, to save yourself from boring, generic stock photography.
The Perfect Pitch Gaining traction for your story is going to be tough if you don't pitch it right.Journalists are very busy people and if you don't capture their attention with your subject line, and subsequently, the opening line of your email, it's unlikely your story will ever actually be heard. One of the key strategies I used to promote my latest venture, Contentmarketer.io, was to secure blog posts on big-name industry sites.
It wasn't easy. But it certainly wasn't impossible. After a few failures, and a few successes, I began to learn what works. While I can't speak for everyone, my experience showed that the perfect pitch is… Interesting, in that it makes them want to read more Personalized enough to demonstrate that you've done your research into the person you're pitching States why they should care about your story Is short (ideally less than 100 words) Erica Swallow, associate editor at Mashable – a publication that's undoubtedly on the top of every marketer's hit list – said a great pitch, “is succinct and targeted to Mashable's audience. That's all. It's as simple as that. The most successful PR peeps know how to get to the point in 2-3 sentences and they don't even feel the need to attach that 400-word press release.” When talking about what constitutes a poor pitch, Erica went on to say, “understand who you are pitching, sum up your thoughts in less than four sentences, use spell check, entertain me, and ditch the buzzwords if you want your emails to stay out of the trash can.”
It's worth remembering though, that not everyone you contact is the same. A small-time blogger who receives very few emails is likely going to have more time for you, and might prefer to read a conversational email that demonstrates you follow their blog and are interested in what they do and what they have to say.
The majority of journalists, however, don't have time to chat. Win them over by getting to the point and showing them why they should care. If you can get that far – and if your story is right for them – they'll use it. The fact is that your story is more important than your pitch. A journalist isn't going to say “no” to the perfect story if the pitch is a little lackluster, and, likewise, the best pitch ever won't convince them to use your story if it just isn't right. Write the perfect story, and it will pretty much sell itself.
Bonus Hack: Pitch an Exclusive This won't work every time, but, publications love to be the first to the party. If you have a great story, you can make it seem all the more enticing by offering it to a big publication as an exclusive. This means that they'll have the rights to publish your story first. Don't worry – a great story will still spread. You're just going to boost your odds of getting coverage with a publication you want to be featured in by allowing them to get there before anyone else. Make the Stories Find You Last but not least, my very favorite hack for finding my way into the press doesn't involve having to write a story of my own at all. Thanks to HARO (Help A Reporter Out), I get sent three emails a day with requests from bloggers, journalists, and writers, who want experts to provide a quote, be interviewed, or contribute in some way to an article they're writing. It doesn't pay off every time – often, you'll have a to craft a paragraph or two of content and simply cross your fingers that it gets used and the author credits you properly. And sometimes, they don't. But, since it's free (you can pay for priority and more features, but it's not necessary), I can't think of a good reason why anyonewouldn't use it, given that pretty much every industry and subject matter is covered. Bonus Hack: Become a Go-To Source in Your Industry Every time you help a reporter out with a story, let them know that if they ever need assistance with a similar story in future, you'll be happy to help. Do this enough and you'll never have to write your own story again. Key Takeaways We've covered a lot of information in this post, and since a lot of it is higher-level thinking, I thought it'd be helpful to wrap everything up for you into a series of key takeaways you can use to put these strategies into practice. Here's how to develop your brand's story and use it to hack your way into the press: Begin by writing your brand story. It'll help you build your brand, hone your storytelling abilities, and add weight to every other story you tell. Brainstorm a unique and interesting angle for a story.Do you have a new product? Are any of your products or services related to a current event? Is there anything particularly unusual or controversial about any of your products or services? Have you beaten the odds and bucked a trend? Create your own data. Execute surveys to gather new and interesting industry statistics, and weave a story around your findings. Make your own story. Get out there and start doing the sorts of things that are worth talking about. In other words: host a PR stunt. Write your story. Give it a relatable protagonist and play with its structure. Don't include facts that aren't interesting or deviate from the point, and don't feel obliged to stick to a rigid beginning, middle, and end. Send your pitch. Be interesting, personalize it, show them why they should care, and keep it short (under 100 words is ideal). Use HARO. To locate writers and journalists that want experts to contribute to their stories. Encourage reporters to contact you in the future, creating an army of PR opportunities coming straight to your door. Good luck in your hunt for coverage!
Let me know how it goes for you by leaving a comment below with your successes:
