Quickfire marketing – Winning media coverage

Steve Hasler fires ideas bullets in his regular ‘Try This’ column

Do you have something new and exciting to say about your business and your products? Creating an interesting press release will improve your chances of getting your story featured.

BUILD A PRESS LIST

We recommend spending time networking and building relationships with local journalists and radio stations as well as bloggers and vloggers. Start to build a database (perhaps in a spreadsheet) where you can record your contacts and keep track of these important relationships.

BE PATIENT AND PERSISTENT

Journalists receive hundreds of emails every day and yours may be lost in a sea of others, so work hard on those relationships and try to ensure you’re directing your emails at the most relevant people. Bloggers and vloggers are probably going to be far more approachable and far more likely to respond to your communication.

BE NEWSWORTHY

Stories to consider might include new products, new research about health, events at your store, interesting things your staff have achieved or simply comment on local issues.

WHAT TO INCLUDE

Date and a punchy, concise headline
Short overview (30-40 words)
Photograph (good quality but not a huge file that will bog down mail servers)
Detailed information (up to 400 words)
A quote to provide insight, perspective and opinion
A boilerplate section about you and your business
Contact details for further information

Creating a press release that is interesting and well populated will make the job of any journalist, editor or blogger easier, and will vastly improve your chances of getting your story featured.

Read more great ideas in full from Steve Hasler at independentretailermarketing.co.uk