How to Make the Media Love You

HOW TO MAKE THE MEDIA LOVE YOU

The name Bill Gates might not immediately conjure up a vision of chocolate-shaped hearts and flowers but you should love him for this one quote, if nothing else:

“If I were down to my last dollar, I would spend it on public relations”.

Has the Microsoft billionaire made your heart flutter yet?

PR is important (Bill knows it, I know it) but how do you get the media to fall in love with you?

Here are three key ways to get the press to put a ring on it:

TELL A STORY

The media love, love, love a story. They fill their air, websites and pages with them – but it has to be sensational. It has to offer something unique and it has to be entertaining, and it must work for their audience (their audience, not just yours). In today’s media landscape, journalists often need quotes, numbers, visuals, links, photo/video assets and facts to fully tell a story. If you can find a great story, tell it with dramatic flair, tell it with conviction and back it up with a few key assets, the media will bear hug you.

SPEAK IN SOUND BITES

What is your one-line pitch for your story? Don\’t ramble. Get to the point. Better yet, make me sit up and take notice. And then, make it so damn good it bears repeating. And your sound bite should be so succinct that it can be repeated verbatim with impact even when others are telling it for you. If you can sum up your sensational story in 15 memorable seconds, the media will not only bear hug you, but also take you out for a steak dinner.

PROVIDE SOLUTIONS

Can you answer a question, bust a myth or come up with something that no-body has ever seen or heard before? Are you the solution to a problem a specific group has been searching for? If you can bring something completely new to the table, have all the assets to back it up and can speak in sound bites, and be available in a flash to speak about it when needed, the media will not just take you for dinner but put a ring on your finger.

Now go forth and woo a few!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY FROM BLACK INK PR! 

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