If I had put a pound in my piggy bank every time an MD or
CEO said to me 'this would make a great story!' I would be
wintering in Barbados instead of sitting at my desk writing
this. And if I had piggy-banked another pound each time I
wrote that 'great story' only to watch it sink into
oblivion, I would have bought a house in Barbados and be
living there six months of the year...
But I didn't follow my better judgment, so I am offering
the following tips in the hope that a handful of
open-minded company bosses read this and learn what really
makes a 'great story', thus increasing their chances of
press coverage.
The first question an editor will ask when they receive a
news release is 'why have they sent this to me?' Press
releases have to overcome the 'so what?' barrier. If the
editor reads it and thinks 'so what?' it will be filed in
the wastepaper basket. To increase your chances of getting
press coverage your news release, whether destined for
online or print publication, needs to be newsworthy and
concise.
National papers are notoriously hard to penetrate. They
work to tight deadlines and only want hard news. They are
just not interested in small, soft stories. They want
takeovers and £million deals. The sort of stories that
they might be interested in are:
* A contract with a well-known company to recruit a large
number of employees, and worth a significant amount of
money.
* Consultancy/interim management contract with a blue-chip
company worth a significant amount of money.
The Sunday papers have more space to fill and have the
luxury, if you can call it that, of longer lead-in times.
They might cover a story that the daily papers just don't
have the time nor column inches to explore in depth.
Having said that, the Sundays still adhere to the same
principles as the dailies and only the newsworthy and
concise need apply.
Trade magazines, on the other hand, have a smaller target
audience, so are more likely to cover softer stories. There
are 1000's of trade magazines in the UK. You will know
your own trade press. The sort of stories they might be
interested in include:
* Significantly strengthening your recruitment team
* Tendering for and securing consulting deal with
well-known company
* A deal with company for £200k-£300k
* An award for recruitment/consultancy achievement
You might feel you have something important to say about
your chosen industry, but unless you have an angle and are
willing to research and give examples other than your own
company's, the editor will not publish it. Editors' loathe
blatant propaganda.
Another equally good and much-undervalued publisher of a
newsworthy story is the local press. People often ignore
local press because they view it as parochial and pandering
to a limited target audience. Remember that most national
journalists started out on their local paper: A contact
made now might become extremely valuable in the future.
It is important that you send your story to the right
person within the local paper/s within your area. Remember
that papers outside the area where you operate WILL NOT be
interested in your story. The Leicester press, for
example, will not want to hear about a Nottingham story and
vice-versa.
You will need to establish the name and email address of
the business editor. By calling the switchboard, you can
ask to be put through to the business editor. Some locals
have a daily business page and a weekly business page. If
this is the case decide which is best and speak to that
editor first and ask if they think you should contact the
editor of the weekly/business section? Reporters are
notoriously territorial and it should ensure that you get
coverage on your chosen page.
If the paper doesn't have a dedicated business editor, ask
to be put through to the newsroom and get the name and
email address of a reporter. It's always a good idea to
give them a taster of what you're sending.
Local papers would be interested in national and trade
stories as well as:
* A move to new offices.
* A contract to supply a local company.
* A consultancy contract with a local company.
* Employing local people.
Once you have a valid story and know where you want to send
it, the next step is to write the article in a way that
appeals to the editor. The editor's mental checklist
includes:
Does the news release look professional? If it doesn't, the
editor will assume she/he can't trust the information and
facts within it.
Is it blatant propaganda? Very few publications will allow
you a plug for no reason.
Is it topical? Editors don't want to hear 'recently', 'last
week' or 'last month'
Can I read it easily? A sentence that has to be read twice
to be deciphered will end up in the bin.
Are they talking to me in language my readers will
understand? Has it been written with my readers in mind?
A picture paints a thousand words A high-resolution JPEG
(minimum 300dpi) will significantly increase your chances
of publication.
And most importantly: Once you have sent your news release,
monitor those publications for coverage, if it is
published, keep a copy. It is gratifying to see the fruit
of one's labours and the published article can be used for
other marketing initiatives, such as portfolios, banners,
brochures, posters, as background to photos of new team,
etc.
Remember, even the best story may not get published.
Everything is at the discretion of the editor. But by
following these steps you will increase your chances of
making it into print.
----------------------------------------------------
Clare Jakeman is Internet Director of Alpha Executive Jobs.
Clare has over 10 years as an expert in the field of online
marketing, PR and recruitment.
Visit http://www.alphaexecutivejobs.com
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