Getting our stories in magazines, newspaper, etc

[AndrewG]

Hello everyone,


I haven’t posted a new thread in a long time. So I thought I’d start a discussion on an interesting topic I don’t think we’ve talked about yet. I think we should ask questions and discuss getting ourselves and projects in different forms of old media.


The internet is the fastest tool for raising awareness for a person or product but sometimes nothing beats old media like newspapers and magazines.


I’ve been close to having interviews published in two magazines, including Millionaire Blueprints, but they we’re never published for various reasons. Currently I’m trying to get some interviews and have my story profiled in a bunch of different magazines and newspapers. It’s sometimes tough getting your foot in the door.


I was wondering if anyone has had luck with magazines or newspapers. And what did you do to get them interested in you?


Thanks!


-Andrew

 

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[AndrewG]

I also wanted to ask if anyone has success with PR agents and such. I've contact about 50 different magazines and writers but haven't gotten many responses yet.

 

[TC2]

Here is one example that my friend did.

He has a small guest house business on the island. His business was published on August issue of Island magazine. He did not ask for it. The magazine found him.

The key point is that he has something that the magazine's audiences are looking for.

If you don't have something interesting to offer to your audience, you won't get on anywhere. I don't know what you were asking for? If you are not a celebrity, don't try to sell yourself. Sell the services that you can offer to your audience. It's not about you. It's about what your audience want to read.

One of my blogs was featured on two major news media. One is on Internet and other one is in Singapore. The blog has nothing to do with me, but one media did mention my name as bonus. I did not ask for it. They found me.

My ex-company's marketing guy did something backward and got the company published on the major magazine in the industry. He interviewed the magazine's editors and publish the story on the company's web site. Two weeks later, my ex-company is on their cover pages as featured rising star company. My ex-company did not ask for it.

What the marketing guy did was to give one piece of services that my ex-company offers to the industry at a time while interviewing the editors. In other words, the interviewees was not aware of who is interviewing whom.

You have to give before you take.

I hope that help!

 

[Russ H]

As I've mentioned here and there, in my previous life I was a home theater designer.

So home design publications were my target market.

I did my own PR (didn't have an agent). I find this route very appropriate for smaller ventures.

I was the editor of the industry's first and third Home Theater Manuals,and established the first "Recommended Home Theater Guidelines". I also developed and taught many of the industry's original home theater courses, and was a guest speaker at venues around the world, including every single CES show for 14 straight years.

I also wrote monthly columns in 3 magazines (2 national consumer mags, and 1 international trade mag).

Because of this work, I was considered an industry expert.

So I was called--frequently-- to give my opinion to editors/writers of traditional media.

My work was featured or quoted in:

-The Wall Street Journal (3 times, perhaps more)
-The New York Times
-Architectural Digest
-The Architectural Record
-Home Theater Magazine
-Home Theater International
-This Old House magazine
-Fortune Magazine
-Audio-Video Interiors (9 times)
-Home Magazine
-Metropolitan Home
-Town & Country
-Home & Garden
-Smart Money
-The Robb Report (7 times)
-Luxury Homes

. . . and well over 100 other national or regional newspapers and magazines.

I was also on HGTV/DIY TV, and a show on the Fine Living Network

******

I would agree w/t chang's point:

1. You need something that is of interest to the audience of the mag/newspaper/TV or radio show.

and I would add:

2. You need to learn how to speak in sound bites ("pithy quotes"). Short, memorable, and fun.

3. You need to provide a LOT more info than the writer needs-- but do it in a way that is not boring, tedious, or takes to long to get across. This was my greatest secret. I'd give 1+ hour interviews (compared to the 10-15 min interviews from others for the same article), and I'd get quoted -- but more important-- the article presented A LOT OF MY MESSAGE, since the writer had spoken to me more than others. This furthered my workshop/writing career, as my techniques were being quoted by all of the magazines/other media sources listed above.

It was a great ride. I had a blast.

But I decided to stop my jet set lifestyle, and focus on building wealth and starting a family.

I'm happy to say that I've done both of these things, in the past 7 years.

-Russ H.

 

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[msa1]

I called them.

I live in the Metro Detroit area and back in 02 we had just finished our first project. I read the paper everyday and there was always a feature in the "Home Section" on a different house.

When we finished our project I called them and told them what we had done. They came out. At first they told us the article would be in the HS on a Friday. This would have been good but it would have just been a small article.

As it turned out though, we got the HS front page in the Sunday edition. It was kind of a big deal to get a front page spread on a house we were just about to market and all I did was call.

 

[AndrewG]

Thanks for the tips guys and VERY impressive Russ. I've contacted about 50 newspapers and magazine the last two days and haven't heard much back yet. I also decided to start with local newspapers to get my feet wet.

 

[AndrewG]

Andrew
You have annie jennings pr. com in your area. Check her out. She's a PR person who has a different way of being paid.

And what are you calling the papers to say? ARe you targeting the writer who writes about your sector of the market?

Thanks! I'll check her out.

When I contact the magazines or newspapers I target writers who have written similar stories and cover specific topics.

I also wanted to ask what press release distributors does everyone recommend? I really like PRweb.com but their prices are a little high. I want to target online media as well as old media with a press release.

Thanks!

 

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[rico]

Make life easy for the journalist and you're more likely to get published. So suggest article ideas. This is the case in SOOO many publications.

 

[AndrewG]

Make life easy for the journalist and you're more likely to get published. So suggest article ideas. This is the case in SOOO many publications.

This is what I do as well. It does help.

 

[BobbySum]

here's a suggestion. post your story as an editorial as if it were in a magazine... make a brochure out of it. It can be a brochure about your product or service and include this editorial in it... then post it to sites that allow open uploads of documents.

that way you get your message across exactly as you want and have the benefit of thousands of eyes

hope that helps

 

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[AndrewG]

Has anyone had any experience with press release? I got a friend to help me write a great release. So now I'm trying to find a distributor. I might go with PRweb.com but $360 seems like a lot. PRWeb Features and Pricing What do you think?

 

[AndrewG]

Cool article. Thanks!

 

[AndrewG]

Is anyone else good with press releases? I had a friend help me write one up but I would like to get some more opinions before I send it out.

-Andrew

 

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[Justin]

I can look it over, PM me.

 

[AndrewG]

Cool! PM sent.

 

[AndrewG]

Hey everyone,

I have been busy networking with a lot of writers at various publications. And now I'm going to be sending out a press release to get my name in front of some more journalists. But I need to help of all you before I distribute the release in a few days.

I'd really like your opinions on the sub-heading. I need to pack a synopsis of the release in just one to four sentences but also make it catchy intriguing.

So here are two choices I have so far:

Heading:

Young Entrepreneur Changing People and the World Through Lyved

Sub-heading 1:

After “failing” many times in business, young entrepreneur, Andrew Galasetti, is finding tremendous success with Lyved.com, his blog which is changing lives and growing rapidly.

Sub-heading 2:

Young entrepreneur Andrew Galasetti is finding tremendous success with Lyved.com, the blog he founded which is impacting lives and growing rapidly.


Please let me know which is better and any way I could improve either one.

Thanks!

Andrew

 

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[AndrewG]

I just wanted to give this a bump so that I could get some opinions before I send the release for approval later today and distribution tomorrow.

Thanks!

 

[Yankees338]

I like something along the lines of #1 more.

What about something like "After many business "failures", young entrepreneur Andrew Galasetti is finding tremendous success with his blog, Lyved.com, which is rapidly growing by helping change lives every day."?

 

[AndrewG]

I like something along the lines of #1 more.

What about something like "After many business "failures", young entrepreneur Andrew Galasetti is finding tremendous success with his blog, Lyved.com, which is rapidly growing by helping change lives every day."?

Yeah, I like this very much. But do you think that "failures" sends a negative message and turns people off or is it intriguing, especially with quotations around it?

 

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[Yankees338]

I don't know. I took it as intriguing because of the quotations, but that might be because people have a different understanding of the word "failure".

 

[AndrewG]

All of us here on the fastlane have a very different understanding of what failure is. I think I'll trust my gut and keep "failures" in there. I think it'll work to my advantage.