As a beginning entrepreneur to make friends with the press and published for free

Immediately I say that this article is not for the mastodons, and for business beginners. These we will lead on how entrepreneursWho has just or a year or two ago, opened his case, to establish contact with journalists. The material is built on the personal experience of the editorial. This is absolutely real cases, simply put - tips that can be implemented into practice. So, let's begin.

What if you call

Do not try to break up

Do not think of the Regions as a small fry in the field of journalism. If you do not Brian Chesky (Brian Chesky) or Travis Kalanick (Travis Kalanick), for example, and your idea does not shoot straight to the front pages of newspapers, start your way to local publications.

It happens to our office call and ask for help to "break up." Believe me, free to publish your "socially important release," there will be no one serious publication. There's enough to analysts, forecasters and those who want the glory for nothing.

And yes, remember the phrase "socially important release," because most of those who consume it, do it properly.

Aim to establish a trust relationship with a specific person in a regional edition, remember that no one has repealed career opportunities. Journalist may soon move to a large city, and with it, and information about you will get in serious publications.

Do not waste your time and money on advertising agencies

At least at first. You need the press, the main character, not your representative. Only you will be able to talk about themselves and their work as it should. And who will do it better than you?

It is not necessary to demand a "decision-maker"

Naladte relations with ordinary employee (both - read on). Remember that as soon as you deserve mercy media than if you show yourself presumptuous money bag.

Call reporter personally

Pick up the phone and call. Contacts can be learned from colleagues, friends, to find a person in social networks, finally. Just remember: you need to know exactly what to say. It should appeal to the person. Yes, first of all, of the individual.

Journalism has always been subjective, and such remains. On the pages of the magazine hits that hooked author's material.

I do not urge you to put pressure on pity or deliberately cause a journalist emotions.

Here is a small example. In our town there is a man who owns a sports school. His pupils periodically go to the competition and come with rewards. After such victories this man personally ring up all the local media and proudly tells about the athletes. You know, there was not one time that his information was not included in our news feed. Why? We understand that for a man to achieve this are so important that he is ready to talk about them personally. It touches my colleagues, and we write about the victories of the athletes.

Do the work of a journalist

Think in advance about what your highlight why you should write about. You do what has not been done in this city to you? readers will be able to learn something new from your information, it can somehow be useful to them?

not tushuytes

Be brief, convincing, Just know what you want to tell people through the press.

Show yourself an expert in your field

Talk about your business, but do not push themselves. Oh, you will always learn, but first people have to learn about your product and take it. Interest in you as a person will arise in this case itself.

Be picky, but not intrusive

If your idea does not come in handy journalist now, she might need him later. The main thing - make contact, build relationships, which in the near future will bear fruit. And get endless calls busy people still not worth it. This is unlikely someone likes.

Introduce yourself to different media in different ways

Do not send all the faceless press releases. Supplies for a snap for each edition.

For example, a newspaper can you tell us about the social responsibility of its business, Its charitable activities. Another (probably, it will be a specialized publication for business) - to tell the story of his ups and downs, which will become an example for other people. When dealing with a representative of the third edition, focus on what you have done for your city: create jobs, invest in the construction of playgrounds and so on. You are not fooling anyone, simply show themselves on different sides.

Remember, journalists have their working standards

Such as filters through which information must pass before you will get to the pages of the magazine or in the news on the Internet.

Information must be really important, but not just for you but for a large number of people. Moreover, it must directly affect their lives. And then the whole thing is how to present the data.

You open the production of ice cream? Maybe. You will support local producers, and save us from ruin dairy, buying his raw material? That's better. You will create hundreds of jobs in times of crisis? That's it.

Forget press releases

Write a press release, look at it through the eyes of one for whom you wrote it, and burn. And better not to write press releases at all, unless:

1. You are not asked to throw mail information in response to a request to write an article (in most cases this means that the story is not interested and people are just trying to be polite for an interesting grab immediately).
2. Do you have an agreement or contract for the placement of news for the money: if press releases write It has, but that's another story. Now we are talking about how to make friends with the media without attachments.

In general, back to the first point: Talk to people interested in them, this paper can not do, and you - completely.

Suggest bartering

In our environment, it is called netting. By the principle of offsetting operate many small regional media. Although in our time do not disdain it, and major publications, to be honest. Such cooperation is that you provide a service or publication product (the product of your work) in exchange for advertising.

For example, you manufacture of office chairs. You (of course, free) gives armchair media contented editor (for example), and then get a banner on the website / newspaper advertisement / commercial on the radio. Also free.

Become indispensable man

Millions of people have ideas, thousands are trying to implement them, it turns out to hundreds of successfully - tens. You are among those lucky and can rightly be considered expert in their field. If not, get them pull theory.

Be helpful Establish yourself as a valuable source of information, a pop press interesting ideas, brings the right people, and you'll be on your mind.

Offer professional help: comment on the article, to help sort out the confusing topic. Become a walking consulting agency.

Do not rush to impose a journalist mentioned his company. Let him write to the beginning of your name. Believe me, these articles read by people who are either interested in the business and its products or yourself in this business. In both cases, your mention in the article will be in your favor.

In the first - because once you consider as the expert in your field, which can be dealt with ( "Once he makes predictions and published in the press, he can be trusted"). In the second you earn credibility among colleagues, such as business.

What if the call you

Always go to a contact

For example, some situation in your company has attracted the press. In this case, you do not call as an expert, but as a manager, responsible for everything that happens in the company. It is not necessary to hang up, limited to the words "no comment", and especially to deceive a person, promising to call back and not doing it.

To understand how best to proceed, consider the specific situation. You call asking for a comment about the high debt on wages in your company. Naturally, it is unpleasant for you story and you want to fight back from the press. If a journalist does not hear anything intelligible to you, he has the right to write that "the company's management has failed to explain the situation," or "does not allow comments." Agree that it is unlikely to have a positive impact on your image.

Be honest, tell us about the situation, about the work you are doing to deal with the problem, call the timing of its decision. Perhaps we should even invite a journalist to her, explain everything, agree on cooperationBased on mutual benefit, without bribing person, promising him interesting data, comments.

Journalists are people too. Often the sensation is not worth it to ruin a relationship with a good man. If you zarekomenduete himself to be, the material of the enterprise problems may not appear at all.

Of course, there are times when journalists misinterpret the word business, or tear out the words out of context, adjusting for the correct sense (because of this, by the way, in many ways, and develops a negative attitude to the profession general). Yes, from this no one is safe. But you know, it will be on the conscience of man. In this case, you do not need to deal with him.

Help the journalist

You, perhaps, not the one who needs it, but you know the same man. Express your desire to help: advice, where better to turn to the right contact person. Sometimes even have to volunteer to bring a journalist and he needed an expert.

Do not think that journalist forget about your care as soon as they will reach the goal. For the most part it is the grateful people with a variety of links that ever useful to you.

And a couple of life hacking regarding future relations with the press

Do not block the journalists

You have written about, it is time, as they say, and the privilege of knowing? Not! Be the one to whom you can always ask for help, who can get adequate comment. The media can make you an important person in the market, but they can kill your company's image.

Tell me about yourself

If you do not talk about their achievements, about their products on their businessThen, even if you were the best of the best, just for you, no one will know. Modesty, of course, decorate. But if you want success, you need to be in sight.

Do not refuse to participate in charitable projects

Nothing can so spoil your reputation like this. If you can not help financially, frankly, to offer something different. At least stay a volunteer. Usually in return for help in charity journalists offering to write about your material. There's not just talk about you and your company, but also to present your team as the people involved in good works. Is not it a little PR campaign?

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At the end of the material I want to come down to earth a bit and go down there as you.

Just remember one phrase: "Everything is fixed."

Among journalists, for that matter, among the representatives of absolutely all the professions, there are dishonest players. If you do not want something got in the media, do not talk about it. Forget words that are very fond of many business and policy: "It is not for publication." Like, I said to you in confidence. Our publication strives not to publish such data, so as not to ruin the relationship with the people for the sake of a fleeting sensation. But it is us. Over all, alas, I can not say.

So make friends with journalists, say what you think, and think, what you say. Good luck!