So, I was catching up on some blog reading and I have a plethora of blogs I like to read at different times. You know, blogs about life in general written by people who give a little peep into their exhistence (the funny ones are my favorites), mom blogs where I can empathize and give my two-cents because there are a lot of things that I am but being a mom is probably the biggest part of being me, entrepreneur blogs (because I have an affinity for those independent-minded individuals who need to carve their own path) and then there are the general marketing blogs that everyone talks about and reads. I know you know the ones I’m talking about…the ones where the blogger used to be a big CEO at some big company and their experience at said big company makes them, um, some sort of expert…yeah, I only read those to keep up with what everyone else is reading – they are NOT and I repeat, NOT my favorites.
However, occasionally I come across something in one of those ‘said’ blogs that peeks my interest. This came from Andy Sernovitz (whose blog I DO like) and the reason I liked it is because he was just kind of pointing out that dude…it’s really not that hard to get coverage in the media for your business or product. Plus, he has a cool video on how to make eggs in 2 minutes.
Here’s what he said.
Getting covered in traditional media doesn't have to be so hard.
- Ask for it
- Put a package together
- Pitch your client instead
- Go local
- Use web-ready press releases
- Write it yourself
Yep. I agree.
You know I went to this event recently at our local Chamber of Commerce called ‘Meet the Media.’ It was sad. I mean, it was S-A-D. The majority of the businesses who came out to meet local media reps were walking around with conjured up images of complex marketing and pr campaigns to get the media guys and gals to notice…
Now, at one point in my life, a long, long time ago, I happened to actually BE a media person. I got press releases galore, lunch invitations and even free gifts (which I always politely returned or else could be accused of being biased, which is a joke because everyone, even news editors and news people are biased). But we were always and I do mean always looking for a new angle and very often just a little tidbit of something to take up space. Yep, that last one is called ‘filler’ and even the big publications, radio and tv stations need ‘filler.’ Plus I always liked it when my job was made easy. Check out the term ‘spoon feeding’ to get a clear idea of what I mean by easy.
In any event, everyone seemed to be making it so very complex and difficult when in actuality it’s simple. There are, of course, no guarantees that your information will get picked up or even if it does get picked up, it might get cut at the last minute but it’s worth the effort to make a pitch and follow up with your media people.
Now, here are a couple of resources you might find useful.
- PrWeb – http://www.prweb.com
- GiftsListMedia - http://www.giftlistmedia.com/ (Be sure to tell Amy@giftslistmedia.com that Sonya over at TrulytwistedMarketing sent ya)
- Also, be sure to check out your local media resources…see #4 Go Local…
This has nothing to do with pr but it’s a hilarious blog and I love to read it – Crazy Aunt Purl!
