Avoid These Three Mistakes If You Want To Secure PR Coverage

Having spent 12 years working in the communications industry, I know this for certain: securing PR coverage is a great way to raise the profile of yourself or your business. Despite the media landscape looking very different to what it did when I started as a PR Coordinator in 2009, PR remains one of the most effective and affordable marketing methods for enhanced brand awareness, credibility and thought leadership.

Making use of the media can be a highly effective (and cheap!) marketing tool but if you don’t know how to approach journalists, conduct a news sell-in or piggy-back on the news agenda, then you’ll struggle to convert your efforts into tangible results. The good news is that with a little bit of know-how, you will have more success with securing PR exposure. To help you out, these are three mistakes I often see people make when you they are trying to secure media coverage without the help of an agency:

Failing to Piggyback On A News Story

In my experience, people who are keen to secure PR coverage tend to fall into two camps:

1.  You assume that you or your company isn’t newsworthy enough because there is no ‘big news’ to report on, or;
2. You assume that the BBC, CNN and Mail Online will report on something as minor as your new product packaging or a local partnership you’ve formed.

No matter which camp you fall into, there is good news.

The ability to secure exposure for you, your product or your service all comes down to finding a relevant news hook. The easiest way to do this for those without a PR agency is to consider popular upcoming events, world issues, sporting events and special calendar dates that you can piggy-back on.

For instance, if you have just launched a new eyebrow gel or a microblading service, think about the upcoming Red Carpet events that you know will dominate the headlines. Watch the Oscars, BAFTAS and Golden Globes and take note of the celebrities who have immaculate brows, or who are sporting a different arch this season. See what kinds of trends you can identify among the hundreds of celebrities at the show, and quickly send a news alert (a shorter version of a press release) to some of the key journalists who write for outlets that your target customer will read. (More about finding these journalists below!)

Conversely, if you are launching a packaged food item, is there a way you can you link it to something topical like a new series of Great British Bake Off or Nigella Lawson's new cook book?

Or, if you are trying to develop authority in your industry as a leadership expert, could you comment on Jeff Bezos or Angela Merkel stepping down and suggest ways that their successors can excel in their new leadership roles?

Journalists get loads of stories, so yours needs to cut through the noise. If something is already being reported on by news outlets then you’ll have a far better chance of being featured if you can find a natural way to be positioned alongside it.

Approaching The Wrong Journalists

Be sure to do enough research on journalists before you blast them with your press release or news alert. Establish which publications they write for and what topics they have covered in the past to determine if the story you want to pitch to them makes sense. Approaching a journalist with a story that isn’t relevant won’t do you any favours, so only send an email when you are absolutely sure it’s a good fit.

Finding journalist’s details can be a hassle if you don’t have a subscription to a media database like Cision or Meltwater. The downside to these services is that they are very expensive so they aren’t always a great option for a small business or an individual looking to build their personal brand. Some of the ways around this are to go to the outlet directly and check the by-line on the article to find the writer’s name. Sometimes these are clickable and will provide you with their email address. If not, try searching for them on LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter and contacting them directly through there. Don’t pitch a story immediately through the platform; rather, ask if they are happy to share their work email address as you have a story angle that may be suitable for them.

If you’ve done your research and approached the right person, you are likely to get a positive response.

Not Prioritising Small Publications

If you are a small business owner, one of the quickest ways to secure PR coverage is to approach the newspaper of your hometown, or your university alumni magazine. More times than not, your local newspaper or alumni magazine will be thrilled to run a success story. So, before you jump to Forbes or Harvard Business Review, try establishing some credibility with a smaller publication first. These kinds of opportunities are low hanging fruit and are also really good practice for when you eventually secure bigger interview opportunities down the road.

I'm going to be honest here:

Securing press coverage – particularly at a national level – isn't easy.

It isn’t uncommon to be ignored completely when you send a press release, or have a journalist tell you that the story isn’t for them. Don’t let it prevent you from trying again; just because it is a no now, doesn’t mean it’ll be a no next time. If you consistently approach journalists with the right stories for their audience then they will eventually bite. And if you’re lucky, that journalist will see you as a trusted source of newsworthy information that they’ll begin emailing you directly for story angles in the future.

If you’re looking to establish yourself as a though leader or develop more credibility in your industry, then don’t hesitate to reach out! The team at Talent & Truth can help!