Vast media databases and frantic press release email service has driven a massive wedge between journalists and PRs and marketers. Confession: In the dark days I was guilty too! Blasting out a news release to 500 journalists in the hope that they stick. But the steady eroding in response rates tells you something has to change.
Blasting out is yesterday. The future is in understanding, genuine engagement and personalisation. Because guess what! Journalists are people too!
Here are my top 5.
1. The first one is easy. Personalise your emails. If you can’t send a Hi Dave, Hi Sarah email then don’t send it. It’s a no brainer. Think how you respond to an impersonalised email compared to one that’s addressed to you personally. Certainly NEVER CC the world in your emails.
2. Refer to previous article. Use a Google news search or the excellent journalisted to discover what really excites the journalist you’re targeting. Uncover articles which cover similar subject matter to the one in your press release. Say something like:
Hi Sarah, spotted your article on widgets. <insert the article title and link here> I have a story on widgets too.
3. Consider a personalised YouTube video. OK I’ve not tried this one myself. But I have heard of it working. This is where you shoot a short demonstration of your news and personalise the title of the video and content to match the journalist you’re targeting. The only weakness is if the journalist visits your YouTube channel and sees ten similarly scripted videos with a simple opening credits change – then they may question your sincerity!
4. Ask a question. I believe, in the first instance, a simple one or two-line email summarising the story followed by a ‘can I send you words and pics?’ is significantly more powerful in engaging with journalists than blasting out. Asking a question demands a response. Doesn’t mean you’ll get one! You may only get 10 or 15 responses. But they will be from journalists who are actively requesting your information. And the ones who are perhaps less interested will hopefully thank you for courteously not including them in the news release blast out.
5. The problem with email is that it pings into in boxes and interrupts people. Engage on Twitter. Seek out a mutual off-topic interests. Football perhaps? Whatever. Listen to conversations. Retweet. Ask questions back. Engage. Engage. Engage. Do not Harass. Harass! Harass!
And it’s worth reminding people of the most important rule of engagement. It’s well documented and this is a way NOT to engage which us why it didn’t make the list. Never ask a journalist if they got your press release. They will come back to you if they want anything.
