As business owners, one of our main goals with marketing is to communicate “social proof” to our prospective clients and customers. Over the past year, I have restarted using an old school tool for acquiring social proof, and I think you will like it because it provides nearly instant credibility and brand awareness, while getting your brand out there to new people.
For free!
Today I am sharing how I have been able to get my business, and my clients, featured in the news. With most newspapers having an online presence, content can be shared in print, and far and wide online.
Before we jump into the tactics, let’s consider the job of the reporter.
What many business owners don’t understand is that many local reporters are actively looking for stories. It can be tough to find enough stories to fill the newspapers every day! I spent my college internship at Louisville Magazine, and every editor and reporter there was looking for a good story that would be a nice fit for our readers.
If you can pitch your “news” into a story format for them, many times, they will consider it, especially if you send it to the right person.
Many of you know that I started in business with an online Paleo baking company. As it turns out, I was much more interested in the marketing side of the business than the baking. So I dropped the brownies, and focused on my skill and passion: marketing! Yep–that’s me below with a platter of treats!
This article brought in a handful of orders, but most importantly, it did exactly what I wanted it to do–get brand awareness for free. And it worked. In fact, a prominent literary agent reached out to me about creating a cookbook within months of this hitting the press.
But if you want to get free publicity, you have to think like a reporter. They don’t want to just offer free advertising to business owners, but they are hungry for stories.
How could you create a “story” within your own business?
Here are some angles that are newsworthy:
- Your small business story (i.e. how your business started in your garage, and now you have grown so much over the past few years serving your customers.)
- A new product or service launch.
- A partnership announcement.
- An award you or your business received.
- How your business is giving back to your community.
- A workshop you are conducting locally to help people with a specific problem.
- You are teaming up with another local business to provide an innovative solution.
Alright, so you’ve got your story, your angle. Now it’s time to serve it up on a platter.
You will want to create this pitch in a press release. If you are new to press releases, I have put together a free template for you to use in Canva.
Next, you should find out who would be looking for this kind of a story at the newspaper or television station. What “section” of the news would your story appear? Business? Sports? Arts?
Once you have this information, you need to do a bit of digging. Look through the news outlet’s previous articles to see which reporter is writing stories that are similar to yours. You can also find the section editor, and make a pitch to them, as they could assign the story to a reporter. Most every newspaper and news station publishes the email addresses of their reporters and editors.
Next, you will want to email them directly with a personal email explaining the story idea, and attaching a press release. Go out of your way to show them that you know who THEY are…people like to feel seen. Sometimes I will discuss a recent article they have written so that they don’t feel like it’s spam.
Some will respond to you, many will not. That’s okay–be persistent!
Always assume that they are overwhelmed with requests, and it is your job to follow up until they make a decision. I always follow up at least a of couple times to see if they received your message or reach out to another employee of the organization.
If your story is selected, a reporter will contact you to set up an interview and photography session or they will publish what you have sent with the images you provided. (I have experienced both of these.) Sometimes there will be a gap in their paper, and your story is just the right word count to fix their problem.
If at any point along this journey, you begin doubting yourself, this is really natural. Many of my clients have been initially hesitant at the beginning of this process. Maybe you think your business isn’t big enough or you don’t want your community to see you in this way…Friend–you’ve got to mentally put on noise-cancelling headphones and keep moving. You’ve got an empire to build, and you don’t have time for this negativity.
You are not limited to your local area. Consider online publications or even your college alumni publication. There are many places that are EAGER for your feel-good stories!
Are you up for it?!
Yes, yes, you are.
If you have a story brewing in you, and you want feedback, reply to this email and I will be happy to help you. Can’t wait to see your business in print.
Warmly,
Amy
marketing consultant | cardinalpointmedia.com
P.S. I will be opening up 3 marketing consulting spots at the end of the month for Q4 (I know that is not a lot of openings, but it is all my schedule will allow right now). When you complete the form, you will receive more details about how it works. Let’s crush your goals together!
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