How to generate media coverage

This article delves into the best ways to tap into the daily churn of press produced by media houses, various trade publications and influencers around the world.

Beyond putting together a great press kit; how do we draw the right kind of attentionto a specific subject or story.

At PitchPoint we believe that this process is very similar to that of sales… You need a story to pitch (product); you need to prospect a list of people to connect with about running the story; and then you need to begin pitching your story to these people in a manner that aligns with their values. Just like in sales the better you’ve pre-qualified a prospect for your product - the story -the more likely you are to have it reported, published or posted.

Let’s take a look at the key elements involved:

A newsworthy story

One of the quintessentially most important things you can do to have success in gaining media coverage is to understand how to craft or angle a story so that it actually qualifies as newsworthy for the audiences you’re looking to engage.

What’s newsworthy to a business market isn’t going to be newsworthy to consumers and most newsworthy stories picked up by mainstream news outlets are centred in human interest with emotive objectives. Usually they are stories that are relevant to everyone, or a specific group of people, right now and into the future.

Stories are commonly packaged into the who, what, when, where, why and how - an event has, or will, shape or change lives. The scale of the impact will either make it important to everyone on Earth or to a very specific group of people with a common interest.

To be successful at gaining traction with the right channels the best approach is to begin crafting your story with human interest in mind. Try to write something about the circumstances that have lead to the need for your product or solution rather than to promote the product or service offering, keep your commercial interests incidental if you’re seeking free coverage.

Content featured by influencers and industry publications is developed to appeal to the demographics of their retained followers and members; most are happy to publish content that is relevant to the values of their respective communities in their format or style.

A press kit for maximum engagement

The next component you’ll need to have is a press kit. The point of a press kit is to pack your story up so the media vendor has all the information and assets it needs to produce a high quality article quickly.

It’s also how you will ‘sell’ the story to a time poor journalist, it should include;

• 1-2 pages maximum
• Headline suggestion/s
• Time sensitivity
• Video brief if you’re using one max 60s.
• 3-4 key points
• Link to a media release or a few short paragraphs of sample editorial
• Talent - who, where and contact details
• 300dpi relevant Photos (Print), 1920x1080px (Web) in Dropbox link.
• Formats for key Social Channels are advantageous
• Infographics and statistics with sources
• Angles - relevant parties that should have a view ways to contact them
• Expert quotes and their contact information
• Your contact details
• Your brand assets, including background

‍

What goes into the kit will be different for each media channel and story; the key to doing this right is just to make it as easy as possible for the story to be written up by the journalist and for the editor to feature across one or more formats.

Conversely, when approaching influencers you need to pack your story idea into a kit that suits their platform and be prepared to offer samples or special discounts to followers and even sponsorship to the influencer if your story is about promoting your business.

A carefully considered list of appropriate news and media channels

So now you have your newsworthy story and you’ve developed a pack of supporting information - it’s looking great and you’re satisfied it presented as newsworthy… now you have to identify who you want to run it.

You can spam an epic list of media contacts you can purchase from list vendor (quality of the data comes buyer beware) or you can take a targeted top down approach that represents quality over quantity. In my view this a much more effective method that has the potential to secure the highest value coverage for the time and effort you’ve spent preparing your Press Kit.

Develop a prioritised list of ideal channels that fit the purpose of the story; there’s no sense aiming for SunRise if the story is about the latest trends in fleet management strategies.

A list of prospective editors, journalists, freelancers and/or influencers and their contact information

Use Google to research the editors and journalists who write for the publications on your shortlist and see if you can find examples of similar stories they’ve written to provide context to your approach. Look for alignment - is your story suited to an investigative journalist or someone who writes for the Tech section of the Sydney Morning Herald.

Prepare a campaign list with names, emails and notes about each contact to arm yourself with information that can grab their attention if you call or email them. This takes a cold approach and makes it warmer by being personalised and it demonstrates that there’s rationale to your contact.

If there’s no time sensitivity to the story take the time to pitch the story topdown giving each time to respond. Most journalists won’t want to publish a story covered by someone else unless you’re offering a fresh or unique angle or it’s a really hot topic in the news cycle.

A script to pitch your story and an adaptation for an email approach

Before you make a single call spend a few minutes drafting up a hypothetical script to introduce the story. This will help you to make a cool, calm professional approach on calls.

It’s typically best to email first which could elicit an immediate response andfollow with a call. Journalists are busy people sending an email alone is no guarantee they will get it. Calls close deals.

If you manage to successfully win coverage for your story say thank you and foster that relationship. You might be in a situation where they are another perfect fit for another story later.

Most importantly remember that this is how the world of media works and that you have nothing to lose by executing a campaign for your story and lots of potentially game-changing publicity to gain if you do this right.

In conclusion, if you’re looking to boost your profile or win publicity for your business, with these tools it’s entirely possible to gain media coverage with a little bit of planning, research and effort. If this methodology makes complete sense to you but you’d like to outsource a project please don’t hesitate to ask for a call back from a member of our team.

‍