It’s not easy to get your press release into the news – magazine, newspaper or online.
But there are some things you can do to increase your chances of getting a bite!
The first hurdle of course, is finding the right story idea. Then you have to put a good yarn together – and if you’re not a writer, this can take ages!
You’ll need a catchy headline, a grippy intro, a well-structured story, a quote and a good photo to send too.
And that’s just the basics.
You could pitch to editors instead – and I’ll tell you how.
Most these days prefer an email, so you can just pop your idea into an email and send it off for consideration.
Let them know what your story idea is, why it’s newsworthy and what opportunities you can give in terms of photos or interviews.
Follow up a week later just to bring you to their attention again but if you don’t hear back, then they probably aren’t interested.
And don’t be worried if they don’t reply – editors are very busy, reading through lots of mostly badly written press releases all day, so won’t at the end of that, have time to give feedback or let you know.
Don’t write them off – keep sending them ideas and maybe something will interest them!
To help with this process, you can do a couple of things:
- Read their publication and see what they cover – try and find something that fits in.
- Ask them for a features schedule – this is the themes they will be covering in future issues. You may be able to suggest something that fits in. I have secured much PR this way.
Try to think about the people involved in the story – because people want to read about people.
Where did they come from?
Is there something unique about them?
What made them do what they’re doing?
How is their story different to others’?
And once you have those bits in place, you might just stand a chance of getting some great PR!
And if you’re not getting the PR you want, ask me for some help to find your story and pitch it to my editor contacts across Kent and beyond.
Happy pitching!
