How To Be A Journalist’s Dream…

Work with a journalist — not against them — if you want to be visible to their audience….

How to be a journalist’s dream…

Have you ever sent a great news story to the media which just hasn’t been picked up? Unfortunately, just having a great story isn’t always enough. What you think is great may not be what they think is great. Also journalists receive hundreds of press releases every single day and a lot remain unopened. One national journalist told me only recently he has 30,000 unopened emails!

Particularly for freelancers — and many journalists are freelance — time is money so you’ve got to make sure your press release stands out, is topical, to the point and hits the right note at the right time. You’ve also got to make it really easy for the journalist to understand your story before they lose interest and move on to the next. You’ve probably got less than a minute before they hit delete — tough love but true.

If you’re doing your own PR for your small business, here are my top tips for boosting your chances of getting great coverage by becoming a journalist’s dream:

• Stand out subject line: If you want your release to be read, you need to grab the journalist’s attention and make sure they open your email. This starts with creating a compelling subject header that summarises what your story is about. Give them a reason to open your press release over the many others they will receive that day…