3 PR strategies I used to get national press

Press is one of those things you know you need to grow your business and establish your brand as an authority in your industry but you may have no idea how to do it yourself… and hiring a publicist isn’t quite in the budget yet so you let it slide.

But not only does press give you major street cred with your current audience, it also introduces your business to a new audience within your target market. Not to mention, if it’s digital media that gives you some pretty sweet backlinks from authority sources so hellooooo SEO boost!

I get it though… trying to find the right people to pitch is tough. And writing the pitch? Forget about it!

But what if I told you it is possible to get major national press all on your own until hiring a publicist is more plausible?

All the press I’ve gotten? I’ve pitched myself! And yes, that includes publications like Redbook, Seventeen, Women’s Day, MSN Living, Who What Wear, and more…

And here’s how I did it:

RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH

Most publicists have access to media lists making it a bit easier for them to find the right contact for a pitch. Since we’re not publicists this means we need to research the shit out of things before we pitch anyone!

First make a list of your dream publications to be featured in (yes, national is great but don’t sleep on your local and regional publications!). Then go through each and read their various articles and see if you or your products fit into any of their recurring categories. For example, one of the press pieces I got my previous jewelry business in was a recurring monthly piece for jewelry under $50.

If you find an article that you think you’d be perfect for, look to see who the writer is. Usually you can click on their name and see other articles they’ve written. Look into them thoroughly to make sure this is the right person for you to reach out to.

Then it’s time to be a bit of a stalker (like, the non-creepy but resourceful kind of stalker…) It’s not always easy to find their contact information so this takes some finesse. I’ll check to see if they have their contact on their LinkedIn profile and if not, I will check RocketReach.

If you can find the formula/format that that particular publication uses you can typically replicate it using their name (for example, janesmith@publication.com means they use the first and last name together vs. jane.smith@publication.com means they use the first name then a period then the last name).

Full disclosure, this research is time consuming AF but it is so important in making sure you not only reach the right person but you also craft your pitch to fit their storylines to grab their attention!

POSITIONED MYSELF APPROPRIATELY

Writing a pitch really needs to showoff why you’re different and why they should choose you to be featured in their piece vs. one of your competitors. That means you need to be crystal clear on your UVP (unique value proposition) aka what makes you unique and highly valuable.

That will allow you to write a really effective pitch.

But listen, your pitch isn’t just who you and your brand are. It needs to craft a bit of a story to give the journalist an idea of how you fit into their editorial calendar.

For example, for my jewelry company I’d select a couple of pieces that went together to create a theme and pitch it as jewelry under $40 to help you sparkle for Valentine’s Day. I gave them a story.

(Keep in mind that print press is typically 3-4 months in advance so if you’re pitching for Valentine’s Day you need to do that in October if it’s for a print edition. Digital magazines are a much shorter lead time!)

You also want to keep your pitch pretty short and sweet. Make the subject line of the email the story hook (Jewelry under $40 to help you sparkle for Valentine’s Day) and then in the body of the email write your pitch. You can definitely add links or provide attachments but it’s important to put the meat of the pitch in the actual email.

FOLLOWED UP LIKE IT WAS NOBODY’S BUSINESS

This really goes for most business activities if you ask me but journalists are getting emails day-in and day-out meaning a lot can slip through the cracks. This is why I think it’s critical to follow-up.

I like to pitch and then follow-up one week later to see if they have any questions or would like any additional information. Then I’ll follow up one more time another week after the first follow-up again asking if they have questions or ask if there is someone else this story may fit better. I don’t want to be annoying because I want to build a relationship with these journalists so I keep it to the 2 follow-ups and then leave it at that.

That doesn’t mean you have to stop pitching the journalist all together. I just simply let that pitch die and do a little more research.

They’re not responding for one of three reasons:

  1. They’re not the right person for that story.

  2. It doesn’t fit in their current editorial calendar.

  3. My pitch is actually crap and I need to work on it.

The research I do between pitching them and pitching them again would be making sure they are the right person… If I can find someone else in a similar category or that writes something similar, I’ll send the pitch to them too.

I’ll also see if I can rework my pitch to be more effective (this comes with a lot of practice and once you start getting responses, you can see if there are similarities in your pitches that receive responses that you can replicate).

Like with a lot of marketing, it’s a bit of trial-and-error until you figure out what works best for you but these tips should help give you a leg up!

If you don’t have the capacity to pitch like this but still want to get some press on your own, I recommend using the service HARO. You’ll get three emails each day with stories that reporters are working on and you can respond back to them… that way you’re pitching to warm leads essentially.

The most important thing to remember when taking on PR for yourself is to be persistent. There are going to be a lot of nos before you get a yes and then more nos after that even.

If you’re looking for a customized PR strategy, I’d love to help you not only create a solid strategy but also help you leverage the press you do get in your overall marketing strategy. Shoot me a message!

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