When your news doesn’t become, well… news

If you have written a news release and sent it to everyone you can think of to get it published, and then it wasn’t, you need to analyse what was wrong. This PR blog will help.

Maybe your news is newsworthy, but other factors contributed to it not getting the recognition you think it deserves.

There could be a number of reasons why it wasn’t picked up and most can be overcome. Let’s assume it was a well constructed press release written in third person with some good quotes, a good photo and a catchy heading.

Five reasons it didn’t get picked up as you’d hoped could be:

1. You sent the press release to scores of people and media not knowing who they are and what they are covering. Most weren’t relevant to your story.
2. You didn’t personalise the email to them.
3. You haven’t established a relationship with the journalists/reporters/editors you sent it to.
4. You sent it at the wrong time.
5. The news wasn’t strong enough to stand on its own.

Even if you didn’t do all the above but only some, you should be able to improve your media coverage success rate with these five PR tips.

1. Target the specific media you want to run the story. Research what they have published recently and relate your cover note to them personally. If they know you’ve taken an interest in what they wrote and you think your press release relates to what they cover, they are more likely to read, and use, your press release.

2. Use their name in your email, eg Hi Katie, and make sure you use the right spelling as there are so many variations today, such as Katy or Catie.

3. Get to know the reporter/journalist/editor by first introducing yourself to them on the phone or in a personal email in the months leading up to your announcement. On this occasion, you are not trying to get a story published but merely inviting yourself to be a spokesperson on your knowledgeable subject and providing some BRIEF biographical details and a BRIEF overview of your company. Make sure you include links to a website and social media that supports your authority.

4. The timing isn’t too crucial, but be aware of your contact’s days off and deadlines. There is always a best time to provide material so during your introduction, why not ask when this is?

5. If the story isn’t very strong on its own, consider linking it to another news story, either one of your own or someone else’s. Also, consider giving it as an exclusive to one media or blogger who can elaborate upon the angle and add in information from other sources that will make the story a much bigger one.

I hope this helps your news get published in the media, which is seen by your target audiences.

If you need help crafting your media release, check out my previous PR blogs.
http://www.wmcpr.com.au/category/pr-melbourne-blog/

If you can’t be bothered doing it yourself, we are here to help!