Fool-proof Ways To Correspond With Journalists

In today's guest post I'm pleased to have public relations strategist Jackie O'Neal share some tips about how to communicate with journalists.

I was going over my notes on a webinar I attended and wanted to share some insights related to corresponding with the media. One point that was emphasized over and over again, was staying abreast of a journalist's work, and that means the specific journalist you are targeting for your campaign. It can seem like a time-consuming task, yet it pays dividends, and increases your chances of getting noticed amid the e-mail jungle. In addition, it serves you well, in terms of building a working relationship, and establishing a positive outcome.

Michael Smart, a leader in the public relations field affirmed: "Journalists, and especially bloggers are like anyone else—they love to talk about themselves. So when you acknowledge their work, it piques interest. They know immediately that you know what they cover. This approach works even better in the new media landscape, because journalists who may feel they have already covered your topic, also have blogs on which they can extend that coverage with your new angle."

The webinar led by Smart, went on to teach that when you send a reporter an e-mail, if you refer to a topic of their recent story, in the subject line, {Your story about ----------] 80% of the time, the e-mail will be opened, rather than lost in the deluge. Smart explained the rationale for this practice. "Journalists are so used to receiving rants that they really welcome positive feedback. After praising them on a story or post relevant to your pitch, you can ease into explaining how your story idea relates. It actually works best if you send it just after you see a story or post, even if you don't have a pitch at the time."

It isn't hard to find good news stories and share sincere feedback. There are a myriad of traditional news sites like USA Today.com that have international pages like the UK article pages that feature news. In addition, to find bloggers, many traditional online media sites feature staff and reader blogs in many varied beats.

And of course, it's always smart to connect with your local media when you have a newsworthy angle, but get to know the reporter by reading their stories, before you pitch them.

An editor for a national magazine offered pitching tips recently. She noted: "My best relationships are with people who understand my reader and brand. When someone says, 'Here's why it's relevant to your reader', or 'this could fit into the feature of X,Y,Z' that shows me they know and care about my reader, and it makes me want to invest in them. An editor is more apt to listen when your info is timely."

Meet Jackie
Jackie O'Neal is the founder of O'Neal Media Group a public relations consultancy that helps entrepreneurs get noticed, and stay noticed. A talented public relations strategist, one of Jackie's specialties is writing a targeted communications plan so her clients can meet their most important objectives, and stay on track. To schedule a free PR consultation via e-mail or phone, fill out this form. Explore how your enterprise can benefit from our feature writing service.

Comments

[Persia Woolley]

What excellent information. Having been a journalist before turning to fiction, I can appreciate how right your tips are. Thanks for reminding me, and encouraging others not to overlook this form of promotion.