The fact that print media is on the decline is not an exclusive news story. Neither is the fact those working in media organizations are being stretched thin. The result? It has never been harder to get your press release seen and turned into media coverage.
At the same time as media outlets are reducing their workforces they are amplifying their voice by diversifying their publications and increasing the number of publishing platforms. What we are reading in print has already been published online, what we are reading online will soon be discussed on air.
So how do you best reach these media outlets? How do you separate your story from others, and convince a journalist to spend what little time they have on your press release?
After attending Media Stable’s ‘Meet the Media’ event this week, Sarah Mitchell and James Lush share their knowledge on getting as much mileage as possible out of a press release.
They discuss where media outlets are today and why it is so important to cut your own path.
“If the pack is going left, then you go right, otherwise you will get culled with the other 4,999 just because you’re in that pack!” James says.
James and Sarah share several tips on how to set your pitch apart. We hear about the tight deadlines in journailism and what people working at media outlets want from you — and what will turn them away.
“Every single journalist [at Meet the Media] said ‘what you need to do is be short, sharp, punchy with the pitch’. Brevity is the soul of wit,” says Sarah.
