Tips for Gaining Media Attention

Gaining media attention requires one to have a good relationship with journalists, reporters, and others who decide what goes in ink, and what doesn’t. Here are some tips on how to attract the media, no matter what your status is in the PR industry:

1) Build online support for you client. It’s fast, easy, and free to build online support for your client. Blog, e-mail, or create a website. Getting a name out there in the internet may get your client further than expected. Because our society is becoming more and more dependent on the Internet as a resource, people who would be interested in your client have a good chance of finding them online if they are there.
http://onpointadvocacy.com/cap-online_recruitment.aspx

2) Meet the Press. Purposely meeting with the press is one of the best ways a PR Professional can spend their free time. Is there a certain coffee shop? Restaurant? Bar? Where your media hangs out? Get to know your target journalists and you will get published.

3) Find your journalistic audience. When finding a journalist who you want to write about your client or cause, find out who generally writes about it. For example, if I was spear-heading a campaign on saving the rainforest, I would want to look for a journalist who is an advocate for environmental issues. Therefore, a journalist will be more interested in writing my article.

4) Send out a Press Advisory. Press Advisories state the basic information (who, what, where, when, and why) of an upcoming event. They are quick and easy to send to journalists, so you can send a lot of them, and may catch the attention of a reporter interested in the event. Here’s an example: http://www.lifesmarts.org/pressroom/sampleadvisory.htm

5) Join a Press Club. Joining a press club can be especially helpful if you’re new to the PR business. There are chapters all over the U.S., so it doesn’t matter what city you are in. This is a good way to network with other PR professionals, and as well as meet new media partners. Think of this is a support system of people who are very educated on PR. The real question is: Why not join? Here are some of the press clubs here in Dallas:
http://www.pressclubdallas.com/
http://www.prsa.org
http://dfwcommunicators.com/content/view/21/55/
http://www.socialmediaclub.org/2007/01/23/social-media-club-dallas-launches/

6) Know the News. Knowledge is THE MOST IMPORTANT tool a PR professional can have. Being in the know has never been as important as it is today. It’s fast and easy to know what’s going on in the world today because of the rapid speed of modern-day technology. Always knowing what’s going on is every PR professional’s job. Hook up to news sites whenever you can. Grab a newspaper in the mornings. Be in the know while you go.
http://badpitch.blogspot.com/2007/01/are-you-media-source-or-media-pest.html

7) Write a Press Release. Press releases are the most common way to gain media attention. Journalists are very familiar with getting stories from this PR tactic. Make the document professional, informative, and accessible. Here’s a site to help you write a press release: http://www.stetson.edu/~rhansen/prguide.html

8) Offer a News Exclusive. Newspapers like to be the only source that prints information. If you offer a newspaper an exclusive opportunity if they write about you, they could be more inclined to write about your piece.

9) Be Photogenic. Send photos to a journalist. If the story is photo-worthy, and you have good photographic coverage of an event you want to be in the news, by all means, send them! Photos are very appealing in any print media medium. So, if you have the extra prop for getting your story in the news, use it!

10) Network, Network, Network. You can never know too many people in media land. Constantly ask to be introduced to new people. You never know who you will meet and when. Meeting new people is how you get your name circulation. If you are well known, your work will be too.