In my last post, I mentioned that writing an SEO press release and submitting it to free press release sites is a great way to publicize your business, get backlinks for your website, and help customers find you online – BUT – it probably won't help you get picked up by the mainstream press.

Why is that, and what can you do to get your story featured in newspapers, magazines, and radio stations?

I was a newspaper reporter at weekly and daily publications for almost 20 years and I can tell you exactly what reporters and editors are looking for when considering whether to feature your story.

1.) Is this story newsworthy?

and, 2.) Does it matter to MY readers?  When people submitted stories to me that had no relevance to my local readers – of course I tossed them without even bothering to consult with my editor.

If you own a local business, you should hit up your local media; before you spend time and effort reaching out to media nationwide, or blasting every media outlet in the country with the news that your dog grooming store won top honors at the national dog grooming competition…stop. Just stop. You are wasting your time and theirs. If you are in Topeka, your Topeka media might care. BIllings, Montana, doesn't care. NYC doesn't care. Harsh, but true.

To increase your chances of actually getting picked up by the news media:

1.) Identify the media outlets who reach your target audience – it may be local. It may be national but specialized – if you train horses or bake cupcakes or own a hobby shop, etc., there are  specialty publications that will have an audience that is interested in your business and your products and services.

2.) Once you have identified those who may be interested in your pitch, contact the media outlets directly – call the newsroom. Find out who you should submit your story to. Do some research so you can personalize your pitch; you can mention recent stories they wrote if it's relevant.  Write a press release with your contact info at the top and send it to the appropriate person.  This takes time and effort – because you are going to have to contact a lot of media outlets and there's no guarantee that they will pick up your story – but you will increase your chances exponentially if you approach them directly rather than just blindly faxing or emailing your story to thousands of people on a purchased email list.
 

3.) The expensive approach is to hire a publicist. This generally costs a minimum of several thousand dollars per month, and publicists want a contract of at least a few months.  This is only worth if it you genuinely have a product or business or service which is truly newsworthy enough to attract national media attention. An ethical publicist will tell you if you do or if you don't.

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Happy New Year, everyone!  Now that the holiday season is behind us, it's time to concentrate on how you're going to publicize your business for 2012.

I specialize in online publicity for my clients – writing and distributing press releases to free and paid press release distribution sites. One questions my clients frequently ask me is, if we send this to online press release distribution sites, will newspapers and magazines pick it up? And the honest answer – and I can tell you this because I was a newspaper reporter for many years – is: on its own, probably not.  In order to get picked up by mainstream media, you need to: 1.) Have a newsworthy story to report and 2.) most likely, you will have to contact individual media outlets, reach out to the reporter or editor who might be interested in your story, and submit the story to them directly.

So, you ask, what is the purpose of online press release? Well, the fact is, most people who are searching for a product or service these days go online to search for it. Google has hit one BILLION unique visitors monthly, according to Comscore.  This makes being visible online an absolute must for most types of businesses in the 21st century.

Online press releases rank well in the search engines, get indexed quickly, and help establish your online presence and identity.  They provide links back to your website and can increase sales and visibility.  Writing and submitting an online press release can get you in front of your customers' eyes more quickly and efficiently than a mainstream media press release.

And finally – newspapers and magazines and TV news stations are VERY selective about what news they feature and they reject far more news pitches then they accept. They have all of the control. When you take your press campaign online, YOU have all the control, and you guarantee that your message is heard.

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