How to position yourself as a helpful source to the media
Joan Stewart
Those newspaper and magazine journalists you’re pitching are
grumpier than ever.
You’d be grumpy, too, if you had an ax hanging over your head.
The 2009 PRWeek/PR Newswire Media Survey shows that half of the
2,174 journalists surveyed this year are considering careers
outside of journalism.
What this means to you:
- -Pay attention to a newspaper’s or magazine’s website, not only
the printed edition. You might find many more opportunities for
publicity online than offline.
- -The emphasis on the Web means journalists are no longer “print
journalists” or “broadcast journalists.” They are all “multi-
media journalists.” So think “multi-media.” Offer video to a
newspaper or TV station for their website.
- -If you’re obsessed with generating publicity in traditional
media, you need to have a presence on the social networking
sites, where many journalists hunt for stories.
- -Position yourself as a helpful source who’s willing to go the
extra distance. Many journalists are still confused about how to
use sites like Facebook and Twitter. If you can help them by
showing them, in step-by-step detail, how to do something like
search Twitter by topic, you could score points.
Publicity expert Joan Stewart shows you how to use free publicity to establish your credibility, enhance your reputation, position yourself as an expert, sell more products and services, promote a favorite cause or issue, and position your company as an employer of choice. She explains how to use traditional and social media, and develop strong relationships with journalists, broadcasters, bloggers, ezine publishers and other “new media.” Her own free publicity campaign started at age 10 when her hometown newspaper wrote a story about a blue ribbon she won for a 4-H sewing project at the Ohio State Fair. From then on, she was hooked on publicity. Her popular ezine, "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week" goes to more than 40,000 subscribers worldwide and includes the best publicity advice and good dog jokes (one in each issue) you'll find anywhere. You can subscribe to her publicity tips newsletter at http://www.publicityhound.com. She lives and tries to stay warm in Port Washington, Wisconsin.
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