How to Get Press Coverage for Your Business
Press relations, or PR (for short) is effectively the art of getting editorial (non-paid for) exposure in any kind of media: newspapers, magazines, radio, TV and these days blogs and websites too.
My very first job in marketing was for a PR agency in London, which was pretty exciting at time. It was a very small agency, so I was exposed to a lot of different aspects of PR. Without a doubt my favourite job in my first year was to print out press releases, attach photographs to captions, stuff them into cardboard envelopes and then post them out to journalists. Sometimes 200 at a time - I know it sounds dull but it was a very satisfying feeling knowing your work was going to arrive on the desk of a journalist.
Things are done a little differently these days. That is to say that they are done digitally, but the principles of how to craft a press release and pitch to a journalist are not too dissimilar.
Press Release vs. Pitch
So what’s the difference between a press release and a pitch? Simply, a press release is a written news story that is sent to a number of journalists at once. A pitch is a customised approach to one or just a few journalists with the outlines of an idea for a feature. A pitch might be a more ‘human interest’ based element of your story or something that would fit in with a regular column in that particular media that you can contribute to. Or if you know they are planning to cover a specific theme in future editions - this is called a features list. Tip - a features list is usually available from the ad sales department as part of a media pack.
Both press releases and pitches have their place and both can be successful, but you need to be prepared for accepting a lot of rejection. Worse than that… getting no response at all. However, one good piece of coverage can make a huge and instant impact on your sales, so if you can develop a system for press relations then it’s totally worth incorporating this into your marketing strategy.
Local Press Coverage vs. National Press Coverage
One often overlooked benefit of sending out press releases is the possibility of picking up local press coverage. Local newspapers are these days woefully under resourced which means there are very few actual journalists looking for good scoops. The advantage of this is that as a local business, if you write your press release well - in the style of a local paper - then there is every chance they will print it verbatim. You will also probably get a call from their ad sales team too, so resist the temptation to pay inflated fees for ads in exchange for coverage.
National coverage is harder to come by although tends to be more successful using the customised pitch approach. That being said, I recently got a client’s product a full page photo feature in The Sunday Telegraph magazine based on a last minute whim to send out a blanket press release - after spending weeks sending customised pitches. I did have to jump onto a laptop at 10pm at night to provide high resolution images though, but we nailed it!
It's also worth noting that a lot of stories that end up in national media start out local - this is especially true in the world of radio.
I guess what I am saying is, there is no magic formula and all coverage is good coverage. You have to try a few different approaches and keep at it.
How to Write a Press Release
The moral of the story is to read and understand the publications you are sending them to, find out the name and email address of the journalist most likely to be interested in your story (easy to find out online now), and apply the ‘so what?’ test to everything you write. Just because it is exciting to you, do no assume it is exciting to anyone else. Figure out what IS exciting about your story and use that as your leading angle.
The basic structure might look something like this:
1. Date & Source: The date and name of your company.
2. Title: Informative and snappy (but don’t try to do puns, leave that to the journalist).
3. Sub-title: Another enticing title with more information
4. Opening paragraph: This should include the Ws; who, what, where, why and when.
5. Paragraphs 2-3: Reveal more details the following paragraphs, but don’t waffle, be concise and factual. It’s not a sales brochure.
6. Quote: Include a quote from you as the business owner.
7. More details: Be sure to include details of where readers (and journalists) can find out more details and your contact details.
A couple of extra styling tips… job titles are always written lower case (no Managing Directors), numbers under 10 are written as words (one to nine) and content (other than quotes) should be written in the third person.
There are a couple of great articles on how to write a press release and develop a pitch idea in detail here and here. There is no real ‘set in stone’ formula as standard practices are constantly moving in our digital age.
Be Alert to Journalist Requests
Some journalists actively encourage you to pitch to them or send press releases, others are annoyed by it. You can’t win so don’t take it personally. But one thing you can do is follow journalists that are relevant to you on twitter. Many will post out #journorequests when they are actively looking for stories.
Keep an open mind about how you can be helpful - you may not exactly be able to talk about your business or products directly in relation to their request… but think about the human interest aspect of your story and how it fits. Being helpful to journalists looking for stories is a great way to start becoming a ‘go-to expert’ on all manner of topics, which will increase your exposure.
Developing a press relations strategy might feel a bit grown up, but it offers so much potential as part of your marketing plan to elevate your business to the next level.