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Archive for January, 2010

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One of the best ways to get repeated publicity from the same media outlet is to become an expert source. An expert source is the go-to person that a reporter calls whenever they are working on a story related to a certain topic

So how can you achieve this status?

The first thing to do is establish a relationship with a local journalist who covers your area of expertise. If you don’t know of one, read the local papers or watch the local news broadcasts to see who covers what.
If you’re in the natural health field, for example, find out who covers health. Then think of some possible ideas that might make good stories for the health reporter.

Next, create a list of local experts who can address the topics. You might want to contact these experts to be sure they want the publicity. Be sure to include your own name and contact info on the list if you are an expert on any of the topics.

The stories must have a news angle and are not simply a promotional pitch for natural health. Often, you can get ideas from trade publications, that is, magazines that are written for professionals in your field.

Look for stories about trends, new products and such. Brainstorm ways in which they might have a local angle.

One great way to get attention from the media is to generate controversy. Journalists love controversy. If you come across a controversial topic, consider adding that to your list of story ideas.

Next, call or email the journalist who covers health. If you call, introduce yourself briefly. Very briefly. Journalists are usually on deadline. Tell him or her that you would like to send some possible story ideas from time to time on natural health, with a list of local experts who will speak to these issues. Then get off the phone and send your story pitches.

Or, simply email your list of story ideas. Introduce yourself and mention your credentials in the beginning of the email. Indicate that you will send ideas from time to time. You can usually get the email address of a journalist by calling the main phone number of the media outlet.

If the journalist likes any of your ideas, you’ve helped her in two ways. First, you’ve given her a great idea. Second, you’ve saved her a lot of time doing research because you’ve provided a list of experts to interview.

When the reporter does the story, a couple of things might happen. You can be one of the experts who gets quoted. Or, you might not.

Either way, you win.

In the first case, you’ve gotten some publicity.

In the second, you’ve at least established the beginning of what could be a long-term relationship. The journalist now knows who to call to find out who some of the experts are on certain topics. If you don’t know who might be appropriate for a given topic, offer to find out. Your help will be remembered because journalists are always on deadline and are short on time.

If you are continually helpful, eventually, you will be one of the experts who gets quoted in some of the stories. Plus you have an open door to pitch stories that might feature only you.

Need help getting Free Publicity? Write me: dkaus@sbcglobal.net (copy & paste address)

Read the 1st Chapter of You Can Be Famous! Insider Secrets to Getting Free Publicity.

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Let’s face it.

Few of us lead lives that would make a great movie. But that doesn’t mean that your press kit bio has to be a snooze. Most press kit bios are boring because they are essentially a rehash of someone’s’ resume or CV, with the possible addition of some awards they might have won.

The key to a good bio is to look for the story or stories within your life. What obstacles have you overcome? What revelations have come to you? How did your life change or how did you change somebody else’s life?

You have to tell your story within the context of the press release. That is, it should not be the story of your entire life. It should be  the part of  your life as it relates to the release. The good news is, you can have several bios. Just pick the one that fits with whatever news story you are pitching at the moment.

The bio should be short. One page long, two at the very most.

It should also be written in the 3rd person. If your name is John Smith, put that centered at the top with the word Bio centered and double-spaced below it.

The first time you mention your name in the body of the bio, use your full name. After that, it’s Smith only. Resist the urge to use your first name instead of your last name. It screams amateur to the journalists who read it.

If you want to include awards and  honors, try to weave them into the bio or list them at the end. If you have a lot of them, you may want to attach them on a separate page.

Do these things and you’ll lift up out of the dull, dark land of the boring and rise into the bright, colorful skies of the “Hey, here’s someone with an interesting story to tell. Let’s do an interview.”

Danek S. Kaus is the author of You Can Be Famous! Insider Secrets to Getting Free Publicity. Read the 1st Chapter on Amazon

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Thanks to the Internet, you can find out a lot of information about media outlets without leaving home. However, it can be a long, slow process.

Fortunately, there are several media directories available in book form and online. The problem is, they can be expensive.

Most public libraries will have one or more of these publications in their reference room and may subscribe to the online editions. However, because of the cost of the hard-copy directories, many libraries do not have the most recent edition. This can be somewhat problematic because journalists tend to be a nomadic lot, taking better jobs at different outlets when the opportunity arises.

Here are some of the better-known media directories:

Bacon’s Media Directories

Gebbie Press

Writer’s Market—Although intended for writers, this book has a great list of magazines, including trade publications.

Literary Market Place (LMP)—Also for writers, this publication has a great list of newspapers, magazines, and columnists.

I also offer custom media lists for  your target market. Contact me at dkaus@sbcglobal.net (copy & paste)

Need a Press Release or other writing and PR services?

Read a chapter of You Can Be Famous! Insider Secrets to Getting Free Publicity

Social media sites like Twitter,  Facebook and others offer the chance for you to promote yourself, your creative endeavor or your business for free.

Social media is all the rage, so much so that many people think that it is no longer valuable to seek publicity opportunities in the “old media.”

The owner of one business networking site wrote in an article to his members that getting media in his local daily newspaper was a complete waste of time because it was rapidly losing subscribers. Of course, he also bemoaned his own inability to get an article about his business in that same newspaper.

Now, I think that his article reflected two things. The first was his own inability to effectively promote himself to the paper.  Sour grapes. The other reason  was his own self-interest in positioning his business as the better publicity opportunity.

And yes, the old mainstream media is hemorrhaging audience at an alarming rate.  But they still have tremendous influence. Just look at the popularity of shows like American Idol. Winners and runners-up have launched  successful music careers because of the exposure they received on the show.

And your local newspaper, TV and radio stations can still help you to get free, positive exposure to tens, even hundreds of thousands of potential customers.

Don’t get me wrong, I use Twitter and Facebook to promote my books and PR business, even though I made my bones as a newspaper reporter. I also continue to promote myself through the traditional media.

I do this because we don’t live in an either/or world. You don’t have to choose one means of promotion over the other. You can use both.  Done right, each one is effective in its own way.

So I strongly suggest promoting yourself or your business using both traditional media and the new Web 2.0 world we live in. Don’t limit your opportunities. Expand upon them and watch your name recognition, credibility and bank account grow.

Thanks for reading,

Danek

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