How to Get a Story About Your Business Through Public Relations

I’ve been talking with several indie retailers as of late who are trying to drive more traffic into their stores. Of course, the use of social media comes up and I immediately say “do it.” 

But often the subject turns to PR (or public relations). How do you get your local newspaper or magazine to do a story on you?

If you’re going to do PR, then you have your work cut out for you. Gone are the days of sending out emails to every reporter under the sun with a press release attached. You’re more likely to get deleted before the email even gets opened. Today's writer needs to be hooked in immediately. You essentially have that two-sentence email preview pane as the only means to hook a reporter in. So here’s how to do it.

1.    Create a story for the writer – Writers are busy people and are constantly being pitched ideas. But pitch them a story idea, and you'll pass up 90 percent of your competition just because you're making the writer's job easier. Your story idea has to be less about you and more about why it’s important that the publication cover it. Is it because you’re bucking the downturn in the economy? Because your neighborhood continues to thrive and grow, and you’ve helped lead the rebirth? The more of a story you can pitch (and supply others besides yourself whom the writer can interview), the better your chances will be.

2.    Find the right writer. You wouldn’t have just anyone be the nanny for your kids. So why are you just sending your information to everyone who writes for publication? Finding the right writer ensures you’re not wasting your time (and theirs). You’ll want to look for the retail writer, small business or business writer, community writer, or similar people. It all depends on the story idea you’re pitching. Don’t spam the writers and editors. Simply send it to the most relevant people.

3.    Create your pitch. Your two-sentence preview pane of a story idea should be clever enough and relate to the writer if possible. Simply stating the story idea won’t get you anywhere. Tell the writer why it’s relevant to them and their readers. And when you’re pitching, address the writer by name. Doing anything less (e.g. "Dear Business Writer") means you didn’t do your homework -- and that means your story idea is going right into the trash.

4.    Follow up. PR is about pitching and following up. Just because you sent it doesn’t mean that the writer read it. They may have liked the idea but were too busy to follow up on it. So do the work for them. Reach out and connect. It may take several tries, but don’t give up. Only after repeated attempts that go unanswered via phone and email should you consider scrapping the idea you pitched. But that doesn’t mean you stop. You come up with a new idea and pitch that instead.

Successful PR takes planning, time, and energy. But one carefully placed story can make all the difference in the world in creating awareness and even driving traffic to your store.

How are you taking advantage of PR?

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