How to get press for your business
Getting local press for your small business is a great way to get word out about your awesome company! It also help establish you as legitimate and provides great “social proof” to assure potential buyers. Local magazines, morning news shows, local blogs, etc. are always looking for new stories and you should be their next one. Research the media outlets in your area that you’d like to work with, craft your pitch, and become a local star!
So how do you get press? Just reach out to them!
How to reach out:
Go to the websites for the blogs, news shows, and publications in your area that you want to work with and look for contact, story submission, or “report it” links.
If there are articles similar to your business, you can search for the author and get in touch with that reporter. A lot of the time their contact information is listed on the website.
Connect with reporters on social media. I would caution against spamming them but start interacting with their posts from your business account and they may reach out to you! You could also send a polite message asking how you could submit a pitch if you haven’t found the links on the website.
Craft your perfect media pitch:
Keep your pitch short and to the point and be clear how this will be a great segment / article for their audience.
I recommend pitching something relevant - like an upcoming holiday, kids out of school for summer, tax season, etc. Not just, “I have a business, interview me!”
Your pitch needs to be interactive. Have something you can do on air, like "tips for ________ {related to what your business does}" and be able to demonstrate it.
Example 1:
You’re a pet photographer. Pitch “tips on taking cute pictures of your pet for Christmas” and have a cute Christmas setup and a well-behaved dog or stuffed animal to demonstrate with. Or offer to have the show host do a session with their pet and cover it!
Example 2:
If you’re a personal organizer, do “spring cleaning tips” and bring some bins or large, blown up photos to demonstrate before and after results while you give your tips.
Weird things to know about getting local press for your small business:
News shows will most likely want you to come into their studio and not send a crew out to you, but it depends on what you’ve got going on.
A lot of press will be paid advertising. Even if it doesn't look like an ad. surprise!
They might ask you to write your own articles.
Morning news shows may book you farther out… or they may ask you at 5 pm to be in the studio at 4 am the next morning. When you start pitching, be prepared to go anytime!
They will often ask for photos, even the morning news, be prepared with some of your favorites that represent your business well and a good quality PNG logo.
Don’t expect to have it made because you were on a local news show. It’s sad but true. But do be prepared just in case! It does happen! (But it's ok, I have some good news coming up!)
I was on the news about a dozen times plus articles and more in other local press. If I gave you just one piece of advice it would be to remember this: it may not make your business sell out immediately or anything. But that “social proof”, or as I like to call it, “bragging rights”, will do wonders for you! I once had a news video embedded on my website that a potential customer saw when she was on the fence about working with us and I ended up closing my largest single sale at that point, over $8,000!
Plan on using your press for your existing audiences! Blast your email list and social media before and after your feature. Put those news videos and links to articles on your website and social media. Don’t get discouraged if they don’t get back to you right when you start pitching, follow up and try again the next holiday or whenever you get another pitch idea.
Good Luck!
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