Approaching the media do's and don'ts. Remember, journalists are human, and they don't bite. It's all about the story and what you have to offer. journalists and bloggers wants to keep readers interested. So you need to present your business and your products in a creative way. Something that people can relate to and sparked interest.

So added to sticks is something that prs do often to spice up a story. As I mentioned earlier. Once you've created your target media lists, which is the list of journals you've produced, you need to make sure you know how to contact them. So you need to get their email address, their telephone number and social media contacts, which is usually listed online or within the publication itself. You can get in contact with almost anyone these days because of social media. One is on Twitter, and many new stories in fact, break on Twitter first.

So if you haven't already, either you or someone in your team should become familiar with the major for your work. So those that actually cover your type of industry or where you work in your field, you need to identify all possible outlets from mainstream local papers to the trade and free press so your free newspapers are handed out in your area, as well as you know, more than independent radio and TV so you just want to know who is covering your type of work. Now, here's a tip here. Remember that no outlet is too small. Often the free newspapers circulated in residential areas are more widely read than national dailies. digital radio is also huge and the rise so you vote have heard of every single station in the world.

So don't be quick tongue a nose up or cut You know, to spite your face, as the saying goes, I say this as I have my own example of this, I worked as a radio producer for a lifestyle show, and was left on food show actually. And I always remember booking a food guest and then not showing up, which made me extremely mad, as there were loads of people waiting to get on the show. When I followed up with their PR Rep. She sheepishly told me that they didn't think the station was big enough, and they have their sights set on a larger platform. Now with an attitude like that, it will be no surprise that it didn't make the app make the platform they want you to and I haven't heard them since. So, again, always be wary and be welcoming to the media. Also, don't forget your bloggers.

When people think of PR and media coverage, they always think of newspapers and magazines and radio. But blogs are another fantastic way to introduce more people to your brand. Can also be a bit of a fresh breath of fresh air for, to work with bloggers, as they're always kind of keen to to, you know, receive reviews and products and interview or get you to write a guest post. So, you know, it's always a good one to engage with and not neglect. Now remember, media deadlines can be extremely tight. So when you call up your local newspaper, or if you're calling a trade professional my goal outlet always arcs what a deadline for coffee is.

Television and local news require fast turnaround. So make sure you are ready with the right people to be filmed that day, the day before you approach them. It is important to get the time into the stories right? Anything too old. Even a great story just won't get used. Answers wants to know as soon as something has happened not a few weeks later.

Here are some do's and don'ts for dealing with a major. Do be respectful, do arcs if they are free to speak, if you're giving them a call, Don't beat around the bush. Time is precious. And journalists are welcome to conflict in deadlines. So as much as they may, as much as they may think the weather is nice, they've got to get on with their work. Do make sure you are prepared when calling or contacting the meter, have your key messages to hand so you can summarize your key points of the story.

And also think of the elevator pitch usually have a very small window of opportunity to get your points across. So do make sure it counts. Don't be surprised if they ask questions. And for more information. You want them to cover your product or your business. So that's the point.

It's about how you respond. That is key. Even if you get a question that you're not comfortable with. You can be honest with that. A journalist to ensure that you or your media spokesperson, which could be a member of your team is fully briefed job with the attention you may receive for your major coverage efforts. Do become action ready?

You've gone this far. So if as journey says we want to introduce dare tomorrow, be flexible and be ready. Don't be offended. People can be scared of journalists in business. But remember, they're not after your blood. If you have a great product or an idea, they want to let their readers know all the facts.

If they don't think it fits their publication. Don't take it personally. There's plenty of more fish in the sea. To give the journalists a follow up call or an email, or receive context contacted them and sent them information big or press release Read story pitch, or any pics or product listings about your product or business once you've sent it to them, so make sure you follow up. It doesn't have to be immediately afterwards. If you sent a press release in the morning for example, you can wait until the afternoon to follow up.

Obviously in the afternoon maybe you want to pick up in the morning to be persistent. When you are rejected keep working down list of possible major happens outlets. It is more satisfying to get a nice story in a small local freesheet than nothing at all in a major national. Also, don't forget, you are not going to get every single story that you suggest. So don't take it personally. Being prepared, so you have your story for your business or your product.

You've written your media release. Before you contact the major. You want to ensure that you identify who deal with the media. Will you be the be the spokesperson? Whoever you identify, make sure that they are comfortable in front of the camera. You want the spokesperson to be articulate, friendly, well informed and easily accessible.

So with that in mind, be prepared to give the media your mobile number or even your home phone. For ease of access. You may be called at home if a story is like this. Go ahead, so it's worth it. And there's all this all this is more possible for mostly broadcast media and TV and radio. These papers work slightly differently.

Now if you want to establish yourself as the industry expert, you should definitely parameterize introducing yourself to local media as a first port of call. So the experts on you're the expert on your issue, who the journalists will want to consult again and again. If a big story breaks a national All locally in your industry, you know you want to do or the most knowledgeable member of your team should call the media to offer a quote, or an interview, immediately. See downloadable PDF, the steps to make contact building a meeting list. Now let's look at building a media list. If you don't have the funds to buy access to a media Contacts database, you can DIY it, just like you.

Just like in your day to day business, you have to deal with suppliers and stakeholders, and you have a way of keeping note of their contact details, their job title, their email, their phone number is exactly the same for when you're dealing with the media. So Monday early Tulsa gave you was to put together a list of two to five publication So now that you've done that, you're you're gonna want to go through that list and start making quota. So when you do make make contact, you may find that you've got one reporter for x reporter is interested in your story, but only works maybe on the Sunday edition so has suggested that you contact a colleague Why? Who covers the same sorts of subjects, but works on different days. This is the start of your list building. It's common to find one person covers more than one magazine or topic or day of the week, there'll be more journalists that cover a range of topics.

He just needs to create a list in Excel or something similar to keep the details on and keep a note of what they do. What you should do is note down their details. So if you contact a journalist for example, at The Guardian, you have a note of who you spoke to what store you picked and the outcome. So as you get more into the swing of things, you'll, you'll get an idea of who is interested in which types of stories and what ones are more receptive to your pitching ideas. And then you keep going, as you keep going up and list keeps building, you may find out about a new publication or have been doing more Google searches and found out a ton more to add to your list. As you find them, keep adding them.

It's that simple. Eventually, eventually, you'll be able to group them into categories, whether it's broadcast media or print online, and soon enough, have your own database automated contacts is your IT IS YOUR you're in a niche market. The number of applications may be small, but that's fine. work within your means so you don't overwhelm yourself. monitoring. Once you've followed all the steps outlined above, you will start to get coverage.

So now you need to keep an eye on it step by step. Snap Google alerts for your business. You can also monitor competitors. This way. Google will send you alerts on various piece of coverage as long as you've signed up for it. They don't but do note they don't cover every single publication, so be sure to follow up and check that a scheduled article interview has been published by going back to the source.

Put a note in your diary to check back and be sure to ask when the article or story will be featured. made. You can have long lead in time sometimes and be working on a winter story for example in summer, so always make a note of deadlines and publication dates. Put them in your smartphone and set your reminder. Keep an eye on coverage. As a PR professional we're always looking at see if all key messages are covered within the article.

And if the coverage is favorable or balanced. You can take screen grabs and add them to the press area. You have created your website