This is part five of a seven-part series on earning the media’s attention and getting the coverage you want. Here are parts one, two, three and four in case you missed them.

Probably the toughest part of earning good coverage is predicting what story topics your targeted media outlets are actually interested. In a perfect world it would be simple — you’d get your story ideas from reporters, editors and producers themselves and then tailor your pitches to match those ideas.

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We don’t live in a perfect world, but you can find out exactly what kinds of subjects and story ideas many news outlets and journalists are interested in — while they’re still looking for sources. Easy, right? Well, you’re still going to have to work at getting the coverage, but the six techniques below should give you a head start.

1. Nominate individuals (and your company) for lists and rankings published by the media. There are lots of possibilities. A few examples:

• Weekly business journal lists and awards – 40 Under 40, Women in Business, industry rankings and more.
• State business magazine rankings, such as top lawyer or top doctor.
• National lists in your industry trade publications, or national business lists like Inc.’s Inc. 500 ranking.
• Local weeklies’ lists of best pizza place, gym or whatever. These sometimes are determined by popular vote, but you can campaign for your business.

2. Get publication editorial calendars. Not all publications have them, but business publications and trade publications often do. You can pitch editors and reporters based on the topics outlined on their editorial calendars. Among outlets that have them, most editorial calendars are published in the fourth quarter or early first quarter. They can usually be downloaded from the website or obtained by calling the advertising sales department. It’s important to find out what publication deadlines are so you know when to pitch ideas for these issues, so make sure you know your target media[link to first post in series]. Also note that some publications will change their editorial calendars over the course of the year, so it’s useful to check in from time to time and see if there have been any updates.

3. Subscribe to HARO and (if you can afford it) Profnet. Both services send multiple daily emails filled with reporters’ requests for sources on various topics. It only takes a few minutes a day to scan these emails and respond to relevant story ideas. It’s important to follow the rules of these services and not use them to harvest reporter email addresses or spam them with irrelevant pitches. That will earn you the enmity of journalists and may get you banned from receiving these emails. Both services also have Twitter accounts where they post urgent media queries – @helpareporterout and @profnet.

4. Take local stories and make them national. You can take interesting stories happening in your local market, add a pinch of commentary and sprinkle on some national statistics and then pitch them to national media. The key is to find local stories that are part of a national trend.

5. Take national stories and make them local. You can also take an interesting national story, such as a piece that’s appeared in a high-profile national outlet such as USA Today or on CNN, and localize it. By doing a little footwork to come up with local examples of the trend, you can package up a story that local reporters may find very attractive. Here again the key is to have some perspective or analysis of your own to add.

6. Pitch year-in-review perspectives on your industry to key reporters. Many publications already do some form of this story, so be proactive in making yourself available as an expert source and providing data and anecdotes to help flesh out the story.

Have other ways of getting your story ideas directly from news outlets? Please share it in the comments below.

Coming next: Get creative! Sign up for the email list to make sure you don’t miss any of the posts in this seven-part series.

This is part four of an seven-part series on earning the media’s attention and getting the coverage you want. Here are parts one, two and three in case you missed them.

Social media expert Chris Brogan, PR authority David Scott Meerman and others have said that in an era of blogging, social media and email marketing, all companies are media companies. Usually they apply that in the context of publishing content, especially online, that can earn the attention of potential customers and help convert prospects and leads to sales.

Photo by Bill Owen

But by becoming a mini media company – through blogging and other tactics – companies and organizations can also get media attention and earn positive news coverage. As a bonus, many of these can do double-duty as mailings to clients and

prospects or fodder for content marketing efforts. Here are five specific tactics for getting the coverage you deserve:

1. Write an article or op-ed piece that a publication could run on its own. Many outlets run pieces written by outside sources, including industry experts and executives. Here are three tips to get you started:

1. Pitch your idea and get the go-ahead from an editor first. Don’t waste time writing something you can’t place. Sometimes an editor may ask you to submit something before making a decision, but if possible get commitment to run the piece first.
2. Write in a newsy, plain-English style. Avoid industry jargon, drop the highly technical language (unless you’re writing for a technical publication), and skip the formal, corporate tone.
3. Offer newsworthy, interesting content that is not blatantly self promotional. It may, however, promote a view of your industry or a view of customers’ problems that is in line with the products or services your company offers.

2. Write guest posts for blogs. As the lines between mainstream traditional media and new media (everything from the Huffington Post to local blogs) blur, guest posting can be an excellent strategy to get coverage. Not only do you get readers directly from those blogs, but mainstream reporters may follow-up with you as a source since you’ve established yourself as a credible expert on a topic.

3. Administer a survey (it may or may not be associated with your business). Then announce the survey results to relevant reporters. Surveys are popular fodder for stories, and journalists will usually, at least, cite the sponsor of the survey. The survey should be credible, but it doesn’t have to be the most scientifically rigorous study ever produced to be interesting and newsworthy.

4. Write a letter to the editor.  Sometimes when you want your voice heard in an important debate or discussion in your industry, writing a letter to the editor is a good way to get your view across. This is not a place to idly pontificate on an issue. But if you or your company has a specific viewpoint or position that you want heard, this can be a very effective tactic to get in the media. The key is to be brief, persuasive and have an opinion. Because publications are often sensitive to companies using letters to the editor as a promotional tactic, you must have something authentic to say and you must avoid anything that reeks of self promotion.

5. Record short videos, post them online and send the links to journalists. Just as with blogging, a short video can be effective in making your voice heard on specific topics and issues, and allowing journalists to hear your positions on them. This is can be an especially effective tactic if you’re targeting broadcast media that will be interested in how you come across visually and how you sound. This doesn’t mean your video has to be broadcast quality, but paying attention to lighting and sound will improve the quality.

Have questions about how to create your own media? Want to add another tactic or have a resource to suggest? Please share it in the comments below.

Coming next: Get story ideas from the media. Sign up for the email list to make sure you don’t miss any of the posts in this seven-part series.

This is part three of an seven-part series on earning the media’s attention and getting the coverage you want. Read part one here and part two here.

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One of the most powerful media relations strategies I know is to become the quotable expert that reporters turn to when they need a comment, perspective or analysis on something going on in your industry or on a particular topic. One campaign I launched and helped run at RLF Communications harnessed this strategy to put a company spokesperson on national television and in national print publications. It resulted in thousands of new business leads for the company.

This strategy makes some people nervous – they don’t want to put themselves out there or worry they’ll be say something that will make them look stupid in front of their peers. But with preparation, and by being careful with the reporter, you can mostly avoid these risks.

The pay off can be huge: lots of media coverage, a positive relationship with reporters, and a position as an expert in your field that can translate into more effective sales and marketing efforts, and more credibility with any audience.

Here are eight actions you can take to establish yourself, your organization or your company’s leaders as experts in a particular topic or industry.

1. Be the quotable expert. Let reporters who cover your company or your industry know that you (or your CEO or another spokesperson) is an expert who is willing and able to comment on industry trends, stories in the news related to the industry and the like. Then return media calls in a timely way to help reporters meet their deadlines.

2. Create an experts guide full of company executives who are prepared to speak on a variety of topics. For many companies and organizations there will be a variety of executives or key employees with knowledge about different topics (imagine a physician’s practice with multiple specialties or a tech company with both B2B and B2C divisions). Create an expert’s guide that outlines who these experts are, what their qualifications are and what topics they can speak on. Provide one point of contact to help journalists quickly reach the experts they need on deadline. Many organizations have transitioned to online-only experts guides in recent years, but I still think there’s value in printing something that will be memorable when it hits desks in a newsroom.

 3. Give reporters story ideas, even if they don’t benefit you directly. Chances are, as someone who’s actually in your industry, you’re closer to the trends and issues your industry is facing. Be the first to tell reporters covering your industry about these, and you’ll likely be among the first sources quoted.

4. Join publication advisory boards. Many trade publications have editorial boards or advisory boards that include industry experts. Reach out to the editor or publisher, ask how people get on those boards and explain your interest. Editorial board or advisory board members are frequently tapped as expert sources for stories. These positions can also boost credibility on your résumé, bio and website.

5. Blog about your industry or field. Blog about industry trends, ideas and statistics; provide your perspective; offer useful tips and advice. And then, once you have a couple dozen posts up and you’ve established a comfortable rhythm, email reporters and invite them to subscribe to the blog.

6. Create white papers, studies or issue briefings and send those to reporters. One or two interesting conclusions, or some key industry facts and statistics, is all it takes to get interest from reporters covering a particular beat, and get you or your company cited as the source.

7. Help educate reporters. You can put together a half day or day-long program, pull together speakers (both from your company and allied businesses), and offer several hours of educational content to help reporters better understand the topics they are covering. There is a good chance that at the end of the day reporters will walk away with story ideas, quotes from you and your business card. You could even do this virtually, and with a smaller time commitment, via a free webinar or conference call. If you’re going to aim for a lengthier program (several hours) it’s probably worth trying to partner with a professional journalism organization or ensuring you’ve got enough credibility and influence to engage busy reporters for that length of time. If you’ve never done this before, start with a short one-hour webinar or teleconference over lunch.

8. Speak at an industry events. Not only can you pitch that to media that cover your industry, some events will attract media attention so your speech can land in the headlines. You can sprinkle your speech or presentation with some nuggets — statistics your organization has collected, for example — to make your comments even more newsworthy.

Have questions about how to establish yourself as an expert? Want to add another tip? Please leave a comment below. I read every single comment.

Coming next: Create your own media. Sign up for my email list to make sure you don’t miss any of the posts in this seven-part series.

This is part two of a seven-part series on earning the media’s attention and getting the coverage you want. If you missed it, read part one here.

In many ways, cultivating relationships with reporters and other journalists is just like networking with peers, prospects and influencers in any industry. It requires a consistent effort over time, but can pay off with good coverage.

Here are six networking tactics worth trying to build relationships with media professionals.

1. Have get-to-know-you meetings with reporters. Have coffee, breakfast or lunch with reporters on your beat. Ask them lots of questions. Tell them a bit about you and your business. Offer to be a source and give them your business card. One tip – bring at least one solid story idea to this meeting, in case the reporter asks. This is a soft-sell approach, but often more effective than a hard sell on a specific story idea.

CC-licensed photo by Jodi Womack

2. Meet with reporters while traveling. Have a business with a statewide, regional or national footprint? Reach out to reporters who cover your industry in the cities where you’re traveling and ask if you could have coffee with them or even stop by their offices while you’re in town. Be prepared to offer something relevant to them. They may not care about what’s happening at your corporate headquarters hundreds of miles away, but if you can make a case for significant local impact you can get coverage.

3. Build relationships based on your civic and political knowledge. If you’re well connected in political, civic or volunteer circles in your community, you might consider building relationships with reporters based on that knowledge. That could include offering them off-the-record tips on stories they should be covering and sources they could be talking to. Though none of those things themselves may bring your business or organization coverage, chances are it will build the relationship and create opportunities to pitch more on-target stories. And because the journalists will have grown to appreciate your help with other things, they are more likely to respond to those ideas.

4. Let your professional contacts know you’re available for media inquiries. If they get inquiries from the media that they can’t respond to (or don’t want to), tell them you’d be happy if they referred reporters to you.

5. Follow reporters on Twitter and link to them on LinkedIn. You can search those sites for questions from your journalism connections, and then chime in to answer them (and become a source). You could even put it right on your profile (in your LinkedIn headline or your Twitter profile) that you are available to answer questions from the media. Muckrack.com is a great resource to find reporters by geography or beat on Twitter. (Having trouble getting reporters to follow you back on Twitter? You might be doing it wrong.)

6. Connect with journalism professional groups. I can think of at least two professional societies devoted to business journalism, plus others devoted to health care journalism, religion news, government news, nonprofits and more. If your business intersects with any of these areas, consider making arrangements to attend one of their events to network. You might also find ways to offer a webinar or teleconference to members, to position yourself as the go-to expert for member reporters. This site, hosted by Arizona State University, includes a list of journalism groups.

If you’ve got other networking and relationship-building tips for connecting with journalists, we’d love to hear them. Please share them in the comments below.

Coming next: Want specific tactics on how to establish yourself as an expert with journalists? That’s coming up next, so click here to sign up for email updates. Make sure you don’t miss it!