Journalists. We’re funny creatures. We moan about the amount of unsolicited pitches we receive, but we moan when nobody replies to our appeals for submissions. We moan when you make follow up calls and badger us about when a piece will be ready, but we’ll moan if you don’t immediately reply to our emails. We moan about deadlines, and we moan when no work comes in. In short, journalists moan. Not because we are in the slightest bit bi-polar (that ever so showbiz term for being a moody git) or because we dislike our jobs, but because realistically, journalists know that their interest and help can benefit a lot of people searching for that all elusive press coverage, and as such, feel that a small degree of respect should be offered to us, being as we are, the centre of the media hub, and quite possibly the most important people in the history of modern civilisation. Would a crown be too much to ask for? I digress. The thing with fashion journalists is, we are quite vain, and like the feeling of having discovered a certain brand first, plucking it from obscurity and bringing it to the masses. At the same time, if rival magazines are all covering the same up and coming designer, we’re not going to want to miss out. I told you we’re funny creatures.
And so as this column has given you a variety of tips on how to approach the media, it should also be noted that there are things you can do to encourage journalists to come to YOU. Think of us as birds swooping from garden to garden in the pursuit of a juicy worm; if your bird table is enticing enough, we will land and feast. You shouldn’t underestimate how often writers will approach people they like the look of for an interview, over the hundreds of similar requests they have lying dormant in their inbox. So follow these tasty tips for laying out your bait, and watch the press requests fly in.
- Knock their socks off: make sure your website design is gorgeous. Journalists browse thousands of sites, and if yours is impressive, it will attract their attention and make them want to recommend the experience to readers.
- Work hard on your search engine optimization: it takes a lot of regular prep to make a journalist think they found you by luck, so pay close attention to your meta keywords, link swapping, and online promotion.
- Flaunt your existing coverage: if you’ve been featured by a blog or publication, publicise it on your site and across your social networks. This will ignite the interest of any visiting journalists and prove your worth as a viable story.
- Let them stalk you: some writers may want to lurk for a while to get the measure of you before they approach, so make sure your official sites provide an RSS feed, and links to your Twitter page.
- Put words in their mouth: running a regularly updated blog is a great way to demonstrate the types of stories and sound bites that writers could run about you. The key is to display ready made article ideas, and convince them they thought of it.
- Befriend them: try posting friendly comments and subtle flattery to a journalist with no tones of pitching or ulterior motives. Journalists rarely get asked how their day was, so show them some love… building an ongoing relationship with anyone in the media or PR is one of the most rewarding things you can do for your company, and even if they don’t immediately offer you a feature of their own accord, getting to know someone you then go on to pitch to is no bad thing.
- Be picture perfect: make sure your campaign images and press shots are of the highest quality. Editors will need to think of the feature in visual as well as written terms, and running attractive photos will be a large pull for print and online magazines. Many a time I’ve seen a beautiful image posted somewhere, and made it my business to track down the model or photographer and create a piece around it.
- Social success: never underestimate how many stories come from browsing social networking sites. Make sure your Facebook and Myspace profiles are as impressive as possible, and work on building your following. Just appearing in a journalist’s highlights feed could spark their interest, and they’re more likely to take the time to check out your work on a social site, as it always feels like skiving.
This has, of course, been a general overview of attracting the attention of journalists; if you’d like to read detailed information and advice on how to self yourself correctly to the media, Sarah-Jane will shortly be releasing a set of immensely helpful business E Books, covering this, and many other topics of interest to young creatives, in depth. To receive news of when these guides become available, please send your details to sarahjane@sarahjaneadams.com, or join her on Facebook.
