Media and press coverage is the bridge which can help you communicate your message, promote your venture and assist you in achieving your goals.
There is no surprise that a strong published feature can do a lot of things which benefit you. Yet, for some reason there are individuals who have tried to shift the control and the balance of that relationship.
It is obvious what the media can do for you. But what are you offering to them? Will your feature help sell more issues off newsstands or more advertisements to fill the pages? Is the story of the feature unique, interesting, trendy or relevant to the readers? Are you offering to contribute something to the publication such as an article?
Why should the publication care about you or your pitch?
When media pitches are approached with arrogance and entitlement, the publication may just as soon run something or someone else.
As an example, a few months ago I received a pitch from a talent who wanted a magazine cover profile with one of my magazine clients. The editor and I talked and decided against a cover profile but chose to offer him an internal feature.
I returned to him to let him know the cover was a “no go” but before I could tell him about the interior feature we wanted to hire him for, he started complaining about how we could pass on him and how deserving he was of the feature and the big mistake we were making.
What was the result?
The publication will probably never give him another feature (interior, cover or even a mention of his name) as long as the same staff is in place.
What did his approach earn him?
One less media outlet to ever feature him.
This may seem like an extreme example, which it is, but those who work in the media deal with these personalities all the time. And with all the other work they have to get done – why would they waste any time on people that are hard to deal with?
James Patrick
www.jamespatrick.com
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