My Pearls of Wisdom

WANT PRESS COVERAGE? HERE’S WHAT TO ASK YOURSELF FIRST

I spent a few days doing some holiday cover at Cosmopolitan magazine recently, during mega-hectic press week. Joining the editorial team in tweaking copy and wading through mountains of proofs I was reminded that, half the time, magazine teams can barely spare five minutes to eat lunch, never mind read emails and press releases. So if you’re an entrepreneur, how do you bring your business to the attention of the magazine or website of your choice without the budget to pay for marketing or a PR campaign? In my past as a magazine editor and recent contracts as a press consultant, I’ve gleaned some very useful get-in-the-press know-how. If you’ve launched a fabulous product or service and you keep finding yourself wondering how other entrepreneurs get so much press attention, and exactly how you can do the same, I’ll be blogging about this in the coming weeks. But you need to do a bit of thinking first.

First ask yourself, what kind of press will benefit you? Do you want to become a media ‘expert’ who gives tips and quotes on subjects relevant to your business? Or be a case study, focusing on your background or your ‘journey’ to the launch of your business? Maybe you simply long to get a mention and a pic of your product in the right press so people go out and buy it by the truckload? Or do you have a long-held dream to be a columnist? Maybe it’s posing for a posh photo shoot in a glossy mag that you’re aiming for? Or for your product to be worn or used as a prop? Many would say ‘yes please’ to all of it, but think carefully about what you want to achieve, and plan strategically. Is your aim to drive traffic to your website, or raise your media profile, or create a buzz around your product or service? Or do you just want to be famous? There are many ways to get press, but avoid the scattergun approach or you could waste a lot of your precious time. What will really yield the result you want?

Make a decision and focus on a particular angle or two for your communications with editorial teams, at least initially. Offering yourself/your product for all of the above in an email or press release to your chosen publication will dilute and confuse your message and probably result in your carefully crafted email being ignored (or even – gulp – deleted). Can’t decide which strategy will work best for you? Contact me at marinagask.com for one-to-one advice.