Five Tips for Getting More Interviews

My clients don’t want a single interview with a reporter; they want several interviews. Getting them on the ten o’clock news once means they’ll get calls from family, friends and clients who saw the story. They'll have the opportunity to post a link to the story on their website, in their newsletter and on their Facebook page.

But making the airwaves multiple times allows clients to establish credibility as an expert, and will strengthen their relationships with their peers and customers.

Here are five ways I work to get clients more press coverage:

1. Plan ahead. I outline a list of story ideas at least six months ahead of time with the understanding that the plan might change due to trends or breaking news.

2. Media training.  Reporters are interested in speaking to people who provide succinct and interesting sound bites. I work with clients to develop talking points that will resonate with a news outlet’s audience group.

3. Plant the seed. When the journalist arrives for the first interview, I’ll mention my next story idea before the meeting ends.

4. Monitor industry trends and current affairs. It is called news for a reason. Journalists want someone who can provide context around an issue that is happening now.  

5. Leverage coverage. A national news outlet wants to know that the person I’m pitching is a good interview, has something relevant to say and is credible. Providing them a list of other media outlets who have covered them makes them of greater interest.


Got a question about public relations? Email me.

2013 Commitments

I'm not one for resolutions. I'm all for self-improvement, but the word itself seems flimsy and superficial. As papery as the confetti that falls on New Year's Eve. An apt description for something that won't be kept, and will be cast aside - even forgotten by Spring Break.

I prefer commitments. We honor our commitments, respect them, are bound by them. We marry them and hold them dear. Committing to change doesn't require a calendar. Exercise, going back to school, eating right, and everything else we resolve to do beginning Jan. 1 can occur under any sign of the zodiac.

However, a new year promises new beginnings, a fresh start.

I submit to you advice provided by the Pulitzer Prize winning author Annie Dillard. In her book, The Writing Life, she said this about writing:

"..spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now."

"Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes."

I relish the last three sentences. In addition to writing, the prose applies to business and life. Never wait. Tomorrow is not promised. Do what you must to make things happen today. I started my business more than four years ago because I couldn't continue to let my son spend more time with daycare providers than his parents. A huge risk that had to be taken. There were dozens of reasons to wait - we needed more money in the bank, my car wasn't paid off, the house needed to be painted. Waiting, or stalling, would have prevented me from getting to where I am now - a much happier place.

This blog is a demonstration of my believe in sharing knowledge - freely. I often suggest (beg) for others to call me, at any time, to ask questions and get my opinion on PR, communication issues or anything else. I believe in sharing, openly (and obnoxiously) what I've learned. I work with lawyers, accountants and other professionals who do the same.

I renewed my commitment to this for 2013 knowing that every time the phone rings, I get more out of the conversation than the person on the other end of the line. A new challenge, the satisfaction of being useful - to anybody, and the opportunity to refer a friend new business, makes life better.

If you have room in your life for resolutions, you have room for commitments. Change happens every day, and making a commitment to help others improves us all.