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First off the title of this post was meant to get attention, I only mean stalking in it’s most polite form of course.
You know you need to get your story told in the media, but you can’t seem to get anyone interested. The problem is you need to look at journalists as a target market - you need to get them to know, like and trust you just like you would a customer.
Now, would you send a customer a one page flyer and then follow-up with a phone call asking them when they planned to write a story about your company, I mean buy from you. No, of course not.
Here’s how you get journalists to know, like and trust you.
- Build a list of journalists that you think might care your story.
- Read everything they write (use a Google News search by their name and subscribe to the email alert or RSS feed - you can follow a lot of journalists this way.)
- Find their blog and subscribe to, comment on and write relevant trackbacks to it. (Most journalists have one now)
- Set up a routine of sending relevant content to them that is related to articles they right.
- Don’t push for any stories (unless they are truly news) until you’ve done this for weeks
Here’s the thing, if you can prove yourself a reliable resource for a journalist you will be looked upon as a friend, until then, you’re just a pest to an overworked, often underpaid, reporter.
By following what a journalist writes you will often find clues to the kinds of things they really care about, how you might pitch them and what they might write about in the future. I read an article by a journalist that I was following that stated he just started using Facebook. I connected with him through Facebook and the next you know I had scheduled an interview. My guess is that he would have ignored an email directly from me.
So, it takes a little work to earn media mentions, but it can be well worth the time spent.
Comments
This entry was posted on Sunday, October 7th, 2007 at Oct 07, 07 | 4:54 pm and is filed under Public Relations, RSS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
The proper way to stalk a journalist
Here’s how you get journalists to know, like and trust you.
Thanks! I have my own book coming out in February. If this straegy works, I’ll be sure to credit you in the second edition!
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More than a year ago I started pushing the idea that link building is relationship building. It’s since become a cornerstone of my small business marketing advice. After all, small business has almost always been about networking and word of mouth mar…
Talk about great link bait, stalking journalists. Yea, I’m going to Digg this one for sure.
[...] John Jantsch posted: The Proper Way To Stalk A Journalist (Huh?) http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2007/10/07/the-proper-way-to-stalk-a-journalist/ [...]
Great post! Relationship building is important not just with typical journalists, but with bloggers too. “Marketing” is just as much about old-school sales as it is about advertising and press releases. Now, instead of taking influencers to sporting events and fancy dinners you build the relationship and show some love online….the world is-a-changin’.
I’d agree with that. It can look time consuming but I’m betting its gonna be worth your while.
[...] Here’s the thing, if you can prove yourself a reliable resource for a journalist you will be looked upon as a friend, until then, you’re just a pest to an overworked, often underpaid, reporter. - John Jantsch on The Proper Way to Stalk a Journalist [...]
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Very true. I believe this (being a resource) is a key part to our job. And is something that can be easily overlooked (especially when times are busy). There have been numerous times over my career that I have connected reporters with resources who are not my client. While it is definitely pleasing to see a client covered, it is also very gratifying just to know you helped to contribute to a story.
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Here is a link to a great post by John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing. He outlines ways to stalk journalists with the hopes of becoming a valued source. He suggests thinking of journalists as a target market. In doing
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