The Business Fixer Blog by Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer®

Christine Haas Shows You How To Avoid The Black Market of PR

Written by Wes Schaeffer | Jun 12, 2017

To Get Great News Coverage, You Must Humanize Your Story

Stream below or right-click here to download the episode. 

PR Tips you'll learn in The Sales Podcast...

  • There's a new trend to getting published by paying Inc, Entrepreneur, etc., but it's the "black market" of PR and media
  • Newspapers are cutting corners and cutting staff, so their former staff are now guns-for-hire since they know how to get you coverage, you can pay them to get published
  • This is contributing to the fake news issue
  • There is still room for quality stories
  • If you can feed a story in every element to a reporter, you'll have a greater chance of getting published
  •  Call the reporter with a story, a client ready to be interviewed, and a B-roll
  • Know when to pitch
  • Look for trends
  • Look for "victims" so you can humanize your story
  • Give the reporter a "day in the life" story
  • This gives you a contact with the reporter
  • This is a perceived endorsement when you get covered in the media
  • This can happen the same day
  • If you're bi-lingual, look to UniVision and Telemundo
  • Just keep "feeding the beast"
  • Compliment reporters when you like their stories with "Feedback" in the headline
    • I have a perspective
    • I have a local client doing that
    • Can we chat for 5 minutes to see how this angle might work for you?
  • You don't have to be a "news veteran" to have them bring you into the study
  • Take the time to develop a connection
  • This is a similar process for radio
  • Listen to talk shows
  • Be neutral on hot topics if it will hurt your business
  • Reporters are still easy to reach because they need hot tips and leads
  • Call the main line and ask for the newsroom or the assignment editor/manager and say that you're calling about a news story
  • "I was trying to reach Joe Smith, would you mind putting me through to his cell phone?"
  • This type of coverage is evergreen
  • Ask your media coaches about their success rate. Press Releases and email blasts don't cut it.
  • Don't propose on the first date
  • Go meet these reporters and put a face to a name

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