How to get coverage in the London Evening Standard, the Independent and on BBC Radio London in the same week?

  • Think carefully about your target audiences: B2B, B2C, sector, age group.
  • Plan ahead of time to give journalists a week to prepare for the launch.
  • If your story is big enough, don’t give an exclusive but only the embargoed press release to trusted journalists.
  • Use « media-friendly » wording.
  • Make the press release so easy to read that anyone could understand it including your mother and grandmother.
  • Make the story « sexy » to readers.
  • Add external references (studies, stats, figures).
  • Relate your storytelling to current trends or current local news.
  • Send human pictures to journalists. This will help people relate to your story.
  • Pitch large media first and keep trying, even if you don’t have the journalist over the phone the 1st, 2nd and 3rd time!
  • Use online platforms to drive offline relationships. Contact journalists on twitter.
  • Trust the media « domino effect »: if the story is covered in one very influential media, there are chances that other outlets will be interested in covering it too.
  • Don’t forget social media to share coverage to influencers.

These tips work out if your story is interesting BUT the beauty of PR is that relationship, tone, even an accent without forgetting a glimpse of mystery also contribute to getting the coverage you hadn’t even hoped for! Stay tuned