How to Get Press Coverage
After putting in long hours creating your
product the only thing on your mind is getting
the press coverage you think you deserve.
Every day it’s like a war zone trying to get the
top publications, editors and bloggers to
check out your work and feature it in your
favorite magazines or blogs. Getting press
coverage is not something that happens
overnight and it’s really important to realize
that as you are building and growing your
brand.
So you’re ready to know how to get press
coverage, first thing to do is realize
“Traditional is out the door.” No longer
does a Publicist just sit behind a desk and
pitch stories all day. As a fashion publicist we
must find more ways to inject our clients into
today’s news, features and opportunities. In
order for publicists to do that our clients must
prepare then the real PR work follows.
Prepping Your Business
Before you reach out to press for coverage
you must ask yourself, am I press ready? This
is the most important step a brand can make
in preparing themselves for press coverage.
This also helps you, the brand owner
understand and seek out the correct media.
You should start with your brand identity and
work your way through. Before reaching out
you should know your demographics, your
key messages and objectives, you should
understand what problem your brand solves.
You should also have a working website
and products available. Consistency across
your social media is a must to allow
consumers to really get an understanding of
your brand story and how it connects
emotionally to them.
Reach out to the “Correct” media
outletsWhen deciding to reach out for
coverage don’t just send emails, phone calls
or even unsolicited samples and press kit to
any press organization that you find? You
should take a day or two to filter through
press and look for press that fits your
demographics. They must have your audience
or the press will not matter. Before sending
out emails, go through the press kit and online
information. See what kind of stories they
write, find the editor’s that cover your
particular topics. Research them; get to know
their style of writing so you can find the
perfect fit. Follow those editors on social
media and LinkedIn, connect and network
with the press. For bloggers, research their
categories and story angles, find out what type
of stories they work on, make suggestions or
email them to find out what type of stories
they are interested in. For publications, look
into publications media kit and editorial
calendar, if you do not find one online, look
up the email first or call and get the
information for the direct person to email for
your particular niche, also if you can ask how
they prefer their pitches. Once you receive the
information you need look at the topics they
will be covering and see how your business
can fit into the story and write compelling
article piece/press release to fit.