Publicity 101: 3 Steps to Becoming Your Own Publicity Guru

Sarah Burningham, President of Little Bird Publicity, talks Publicity 101:

I had the chance to speak to a fantastically smart group of Startup Princesses (and Princes!) at last week’s Utah County Chapter Networking Lunch. And what a networking opportunity it was! Since not everyone could be there, I wanted to share some basic tips for becoming your own publicity guru. That’s right – you can be your OWN publicist. Because you have a story – don’t you? And at its heart, publicity is all about the story.

So Step #1 for becoming your own publicist is just that – FIND YOUR STORY.

To be a good publicist, you have to think like a journalist. Every time you try to get media coverage, whether it’s on a blog or in your local paper, you are basically crafting a news story. Your publicity story has to have an angle that’s worthy of being covered by the news media.

The thing that can be humbling is THAT YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE MIGHT NOT BE THE STORY. It’s part of the story, but maybe it’s not the whole story. You’ve got to step back and think, if I knew nothing about  my particular business? Would I read an article about it? What about my product or my business would appeal to a total stranger?

It might seem easy at first, but it’s really hard to think this way. That’s why I have a job! But the more you read news and think like this, the closer you’ll be to creating real stories about your business. Once you’ve got your story, you’re ready to start researching where to send it.

That’s Step #2 – RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH.

Think about your customers and clients. Who are they? Where do they get their news? What blogs are they reading? What sites do they spend their lunch breaks reading and what morning TV shows are they watching while getting ready for the day? You have to LISTEN, you have to WATCH, and you have to READ. The media outlets you find during this process are the ones you want to reach with your news story. Through them you will ultimately reach your customer.

And that’s why it’s critical to do thorough research. Before you pitch anyone, you MUST know what they write about, who they are, and why they would be interested in your story. This the time consuming part of publicity but if you do smart research and find media outlets and reporters who would genuinely consider covering your story, your time is well-spent.

Now that you’ve got your story and you know who you’re reaching out to, you’re ready to actually pitch! That’s step #3 – SEND THE PITCH AND FOLLOW-UP.

I almost always start with an email pitch. It’s easy and non-intrusive. Plus, you can be calculated with what you write. A few things to keep in mind with your email pitch:

• I NEVER send mass email pitches. If you were a reporter and someone sent you and everyone else within 500 miles the same pitch, you’d either be annoyed or think someone else was going to cover it or both. Keep all of your pitches personal. That’s why you did all that research!
• This is not the time to write your novel. It needs to be short and sweet – and by that I mean 2-3 short (very short paragraphs) max. Every word counts when you’re pitching so choose them carefully.

After you’ve sent your pitch, you often have to play the waiting game. If a reporter doesn’t respond after a week or ten days, it’s ok to reach out again. You can do it by phone if you have a phone number, but I recommend no more than 2 phone calls or voicemails total. If you leave a message, keep it short and sweet, just like your email.

But…waiting and sending a follow-up email does not open the door for going back again and again. NO STALKING! In the same way that mass emails make you annoying, stalking is another hint that you can’t be taken seriously. If a reporter is interested, he or she will get back to you after you’ve made 2 or 3 thoughtful attempts at contact. If you haven’t heard back, the reporter is probably just not that into your story. It’s time to go back to Step #1 and find another news hook.

A final word of advice:

Don’t be frustrated if you don’t immediately get a feature. Publicity is a long-term process, but these tips will help you get started down the road to media magic. If you aren’t quite ready to pitch someone, it’s ok to just start thinking about news hooks and paying attention to media in general. That way, when the time is right, you’ll be ready to reach out and get the right kind of coverage at the right time.

Sarah Burningham is the Founder and President of Little Bird Publicity, a full-service boutique public relations and marketing firm that blurs the lines of old and new media to develop creative platforms for business, authors, and brands. She’s also the author of the teen advice books How to Raise Your Parents and Boyology. Visit Sarah and Little Bird online at: littlebirdpublicity.com or sarahburningham.com. You can also find her on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.