Had a chat with my most excellent colleague Kristiaan Yeo today at work, all about grabbing press attention.
He talked, I listened, and I made notes, and here’s what was said.
My questions are in ordinary font, his answers are in bold, this is not a word for word transcript, but the gist is there.
How does one grab the attention of someone in media, and have a good chance of promotion- I have seen you “bust” people who just want a free plug for a commercial venture- how does one respect the journo and still get what they want?
Journalists see LOTS of facts and figures, so it needs to be something attention grabbing, not everyday. Think about it, what would get your attention more- “50% of people have phobias”, or “50% of people are scared of kittens”, now that’s got much more chance of getting noticed.
You need to get really clear on WHAT you are offering and to who. In the sector (niche) you are in, who are you aiming at? What are their desires/problems? It’s a case really of market research, and once you know your audience more, you can create something that really speaks to them. And get the data right, from a survey or however you do it, and make it interesting data. As I said, journos see a LOT of data, so more than just everyday stuff needs to be presented to them.
That makes sense really, in a trade publication you can really niche down and be specific can’t you. I guess its the old system, find a problem and solve it, and you will not really have to do much selling. If you are trying to sell a bald man a hairbrush, I guess it does not matter how good your press release is!
Kris by the way, has a skill for writing copy that will be read by journos, and has a main database (a way of sending to all the nationals), and smaller databases that are more niche specific, and can be hired privately to put something together for you. You would not need to write anything or source where to send it- all done for you. And since you are my subscriber, I can get a good deal for you.
I am also aware of software that creates a podcast, and a press release, video and articles all in one as well, if that would be of interest to you.
CLICK HERE for more details.
