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Are you missing media opportunities to raise awareness for your startup? If you're blasting press releases to media professionals, you're probably doing more harm than good to your brand.
You'd be better to do nothing at all.
According to Mark Evans, personalizing a pitch and press release will get you further faster and put you in good graces of media professionals.
Evans' tips are aprops, and I'd like to share them here:
- Use the press release to tell a story.
- Weave your news into the story.
- Tell the journalist why your pitching him/her, and do the extra work to build a relationship.
- Write quality over quantity -- every time.
- Track your emails.
- Pick your journalsts and outlets wisely.
Notice Evan's doesn't recommend using a database, such as, Vocus or Cision. While I would advocate for these, it's important to use them appropriately, Use them as a research tool -- not an Uzi.
Additionally, you should consider using the idea of a campaign to managing media relations, such as, a newsmaker campaign. With this process, you gain media coverage over time, can measure for success, and generate what PR professionals call media runs. Those are a series of articles, interviews and other earned media opportunities that occur in a successive manner. Think of a grandslam.
