PR Tip Archives | Jane Tabachnick & Co

Before You Pitch The Media- 10 Things the Media Wishes You Knew

Whether you are a PR professional or an entrepreneur, it can seem like a daunting task to pitch the media. It can feel like you’re sending your pitch out into the great unknown, possibly never to be seen or heard from again.

It takes courage and a belief in yourself and your idea to pitch the media as well as some tenacity since the likelihood is that you won’t hear any feedback or get any response to the majority of your pitches unless they land right or interest the media. In fact, according to a Propel survey via Spin Sucks:

“Journalists respond to roughly 3.27% of the pitches they receive. This means that, on average, it takes about 31 media pitches to journalists to get a response to any one of the pitches you send. [Aug. 2021]

When you factor in the number of pitches the average journalist receives, there is a lot of competition for that 3%. To increase your chances of success, we asked the media what they wish PR professionals and anyone knew before pitching the media.

Before you pitch the media – 10 things the media wishes you knew

1. Less media, but more PR

Newsrooms have been shrinking. There is more work with less staff to do it. Between 2008 and 2020, there has been a 26% decline in newsroom staff .

Because of this, not only are there fewer journalists, but their roles have expanded. At some outlets, they now have to do their own editing, whereas in the past, there was someone on staff to edit their stories.

2. Why they won’t get back to you or give you feedback on a pitch

According to Muckrack’s State of PR 2021, 59% of respondents stated their biggest challenge is getting a response to {their] pitches. Staff journalists are busier than ever, so responding to pitches just doesn’t make it to their overflowing to-do lists. For freelance media, time is money, and they prioritize writing and continually seeking new work opportunities.

3. Why the media may not tell you when a story goes live

See points one and two. As stated in points one and two, the media is short-staffed and extremely busy, and as much as they would like to, they may not let you know when a story goes live. Their editor may not tell them when the story goes live.

A simple solution to this, to make sure you get notified when a story or podcast goes live and you are mentioned in the media is to set up Google Alerts and Talkwalker Alerts. Watch my set up tips here

4. Journalists prefer pitches via email

Most media professionals don’t like to be pitched in DMs unless they specifically state so. Many are active on social media and it can be a great place to network and build relationships with them. The majority of those we spoke to, do not like or want pitches in their DMs. Many told us that they feel it is an invasion of their personal social media accounts. They prefer email as it is easier to read, sort, and search pitches in their inbox.

channels journalists prefer — Source: Muckrack survey: The State of Journalism 2021

5. Freelance media need to market themselves

Journalists, and especially freelancers, need to market themselves to bring more work in. You can help them be more visible by liking, commenting, and sharing their work. Bonus points for tagging them with their social handle when you share or post their content.

6. Related media supports your story

When you have related images or video to enhance a story, please share it with the media as long as you are the creator or have secured or gotten authorization to use the media. This helps us craft a better story and makes our work easier as we don’t have to go source images or video. Do not send media that you don’t have explicit rights to use/or for the media to use.

7. Don’t ask for a link to your website

If the media can put one in the story, they will. It is the publication, and not the journalist, that sets the link policy for content. Asking is not going to change that. They are not going to make an exception for you, so please don’t put the journalist in an uncomfortable position by asking.

8. Don’t ask the media to update an article to include you

If it’s already published, there is no updating a story. Find another angle to pitch or pitch it in time for next year’s roundup list. Do let the media know if something is factually incorrect in a story, as that is something they will want to update immediately.

9. Unsolicited packages are unwelcome

More media professionals than ever are working from home and don’t like unsolicited and unexpected packages. They can cause some concern for the recipient who doesn’t know what a package is or if it is safe to open. They may not have room to review and store unsolicited books or products. They may not be expecting a package, and it can get lost. You’ll save money and energy, maintain a good working relationship, and get a much better response if you only send samples to the media who have expressly given you permission to do so.

10. Respect the media’s privacy

While more journalists and freelancers work from home, it is important to respect their privacy and safety. Even if you can locate their private contact information online, please don’t use their professional contact info such as home phone or cell phone to pitch the media, unless the media professional specifically gives you their personal information.

Thanks to:

Joni Sweet, a freelance writer and editor who focuses on travel, health, and wellness. Her work has been published by Lonely Planet, SELF, Forbes, Health, National Geographic, Thrillist, Prevention, Greatist, and dozens of other publications. You can learn more about her at www.jonimsweet.com

Candice Sabatini, Editor in Chief BeautyNewsNYC and Content Creator

► Related Content: 7 Must Haves For a Successful HARO Pitch

Combining LinkedIn and PR can get you more press

This post is based on my interview with Karen Yankovich,
LinkedIn expert on the Good Girls Get Rich podcast –
How to Use LinkedIn and PR Together

Karen: There’s a lot of focus on how to use LinkedIn and PR to get more visibility, because that gives you more credibility. I think that that is something that is so powerful and so overlooked. I’m really excited about having a chance to dive deeper into that today with you Jane.

You and your next-door neighbor competitor may be apples to apples across the board, but when you are the one that’s ‘as seen in’, it takes you to the top. That is completely creatable by you. And, probably, Oprah’s not going to come knocking on your door. You’ve got to go after it. You’ve got to look for the opportunities and I love that that’s what you’re helping people. when you are doing what you love to be doing, I want to shine a light on it so the whole world knows.

Jane: I’m so glad you mentioned that the media don’t come knocking on your door. Sometimes people think, “Oh, she’s lucky. She’s getting press.” Yes, there is always a certain element of luck, synchronicity, timing, but really luck is what happens in my opinion, or publicity happens, when preparation meets opportunity. The people who are on stages, who are getting publicity, who are in Oprah or any other publication, are out there pitching, or they’ve got someone helping them with the pitching. It doesn’t just magically happen.

Look Worthy of Press

Karen: You have to have a great LinkedIn profile and be connecting with people on that level. So energetically, you’ve got to be showing up like an influencer, somebody worthy when they’re checking you out and of being in their publications. And then building relationships from that point. You have to look worthy of press.

Jane: So true. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. People are going to judge you on your photo, on your profile and on the comments you make. Everything until they know you, and then they may give you a little bit more leeway. You want to be on brand, on message and really coming across as professionally as possible. I know you teach this and we certainly go through a lot of this with our clients on giving that professional appearance and looking like you are media ready. That way if the media want to feature you in a story, they know that any of their audience who goes to check you out is not going to think, “Whoa, who’s this person, how did this happen?”

Karen: Take the time upfront to create a LinkedIn profile that makes you look worthy of their time. You’re making it easier for them to want to be connected to you. If you do all of this, with a LinkedIn profile that has dust bunnies on it, you have no credibility. They’re going to love that you did it, but chances are, they’re not going to be going out of their way to continue to build that relationship.

Build Relationships – Human to Human

Karen: Working with clients on a PR plan, what does that look like?

Jane: Very much like the way you teach your clients to use LinkedIn, PR is really about relationships. Having a great profile is a start. The LinkedIn platform is great for building relationships, I’m not saying to connect and immediately start pitching someone but connect with the media to start a relationship.

I teach my clients to do something we call hug an influencer. When I say influencer, it can be someone who is a thought leader in your industry, someone you respect, or a journalist. It can be an Instagram influencer or anyone in that category. Follow them, share their content and be authentic. Don’t just do this to get in their good graces, but let them know if you like something they wrote- comment, share it and tag them.

The tagging is a really great thing to do. A lot of people don’t do this because some of the tools don’t make it easy. Take the time to find out their social handle and include that. This does a couple of things. It sends them an alert and lets them know you’re sharing their content, which is great. It gives them credit and the recognition which they deserve. Today, as many more media professionals are freelancing, they need to get this visibility. It also helps put you in front of their audience because when you tag someone, it’ll get shared to their network. So, you’re increasing your visibility along with theirs. It’s really a win-win-win.

Karen: What you just described, is really a simple thing to do.

Jane: Exactly. It’s so simple, and it can help you stand out because, so few people take the time to do this.

Karen: So, it’s about paying attention to not just the content, but the person that published the content.

Jane: Exactly. As you know, it’s so frustrating and sometimes a little bit unsettling when you put content out there and no one comments. So be that person that comments and shares and acknowledges someone else’s content.

When you start getting out of your head and responding to people on social media, you build relationships authentically and easily. You just told me something great. I’m human, I have to respond.

Karen: It’s often human to human and which, by the way, is where the money is. That’s where the profit is. People buy a $50 something off of a funnel and a web thing. But nobody’s buying your $5,000 or $10,000 stuff without a human-to-human conversation.

How to Connect With and Pitch the Media on Linkedin

Karen: Now that I’ve identified some journalists one LinkedIn and I’m doing all the good stuff [optimizing my profile…commenting…]. Do I pitch them? What do I do?

Jane: You can start following them. You can comment on their posts. You can send them a connection request without a pitch. Just say, “I’ve read your content.” It’s always good if you’re specific. Instead of, “Hey, I’ve read your content,” which could be a cut and paste message, instead say, “I just read your article on the new LinkedIn Stories. And I love that you explained how to do X, Y, Z in great detail. It let me get into action right away.” Something so specific it lets them know that you had to have taken the time and read the story. You’re actually speaking personally to them, not sending a blast and just changing the first name.

Karen: You’re building the relationships so that when an opportunity may come down the road where you’ve got something interesting, you can maybe reach out then and say, “I’ve got this idea and I thought of you,” and pitch them.

Jane: Yes, now that you have built up some social currency, you can pitch them your idea or you can offer additional value by offering access to your contacts. “I’ve got a good network here on LinkedIn. You’re welcome to look through my contacts if you need an intro or a source. Or if there’s someone specific you’re looking for, I’m happy to try and make a connection for you.” Be of service and try to give before you ask.

How PR Grows Your Business

Karen: How does this PR help us grow our business?

Jane: The thing about PR, which makes it really the most valuable form of content, is that it gives you third-party credibility. They featured you in the media, rather than your so-called competition or somebody else. That positions you as the expert and it’s as if the media endorsed you, although technically it’s not an endorsement.

How do you use it? You share your press on LinkedIn and you thank the person who wrote the story by tagging them. You tag the publication and again, let them know. Not only does this acknowledge and thank them, but it also puts you in front of their network, so you get even more visibility.

Share it more than once, which is good for you, good for the publication and the journalist. This is a step a lot of people miss and therefore lose out on more visibility. Think about it like this… that old adage, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one’s there to hear it…. you know the rest.” How this relates to PR is that if you’re in The New York Times today, and I haven’t picked up The Times today, for me, it didn’t happen, unless you tell me it happened, right?

It’s important to let your audience know about press you get, because we’re all bombarded with so much information and may not have seen it. When it comes to the publicity you get, it’s not a one and done; you can put your press into your scheduler. Six weeks later, pull out one line, a sound bite from the article or interview and mention it again on socials. Also, add it to your media room. You can add the media logo to your, “as seen in”, or “as seen on” bar, which gives you additional credibility on your website and social media.

Their First Impression of You is Your Digital Footprint

Karen: We’ve learned a lot in the past year of being virtual. And I think a lot of it really is, what is your digital footprint? We learned about how the first impression is what we’re learning about people digitally.

Jane: Yes. If you start now doing one simple thing each day, which could be five minutes of commenting or connecting. By the end of the year, I’m not going to do the math, but you can have hundreds of comments and connections. Amazing things can happen that you weren’t expecting. So, you have to be in it [the pr game] for that to start happening.

Karen: It’s exactly right and you can take control of this by doing yourself. You can control your digital footprint by building these kinds of relationships. Understand how powerful publicity could be for you, no matter what the stage of your businesses is.

Resources:

► Listen to the full podcast interview of Good Girls Get Rich – How to Use Linkedin and PR Together – with Jane Tabachnick

► Take our Visiblity Assessment

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Why You Need To Keep Positioning Yourself As An Expert

The Case For Why You Need to Keep Positioning Yourself as an Expert.

This is the second time in my life it’s happened. A stranger asked for my autograph as I stood on the street. I was positioning myself as an expert without even realizing I was doing it.

I’m not a celebrity or a known personality. So why did these passers-by ask for my autograph?

I was a perfect September day and the passers-by were just following their instinct and conditioning.

You see, I was with my client Marya who was about to be featured on NBC to talk about her new book Career X, that we had recently published for her. We thought it would be fun to hire a video crew to document our experience leading up to being on NBC, and both she and I could use the video in our marketing.

So, the passers-by didn’t recognize us or mistake us for celebrities. They just assumed that we were celebrities based on our positioning -the video crew following us signaled to them and made them believe without a doubt that we were celebrities and they were just too bashful to even ask who we were.

They were attracted to us as celebrities – whoever we were.

So why am I telling you this?

As an entrepreneur or author, you should always be positioning yourself as the expert so that you stand out in your niche. It helps do the following:

Solidifies your expert positioning
Presells prospects on working with you
Creates an enhanced desire to work with you
It sets the expectation that as an expert, they can expect to pay premium pricing to work with you

Even if you are higher priced than your competitors or the highest price in your market, positioning yourself as an expert reduces price resistance and negotiation.

Take a lesson on expert positioning from celebrities like Richard Branson

Here is another example of expert positioning from a true, internationally recognized celebrity – Richard Branson – one of my business heroes.

Doing lead generation on LinkedIn, I noticed something in conversations with my new connections. Following some back-and-forth messages and a few phone conversations, if I believe that a connection might be a fit for my services, I will ask if they’ve ever thought of writing a book. On numerous occasions, I have gotten a sharp response back saying, “I’m already an author.” In one instance, the response was “I’ve written ten books and they are translated in multiple languages.”

I’m human and sometimes I make mistakes, so feeling I had possibly goofed and missed it on their LinkedIn profile when I initially reviewed it, I went back and checked. Nowhere on their LinkedIn profile is there a mention of their book. This always surprises me. For most people, writing a book is something that they’re immensely proud of. It’s a big achievement. And it’s a great expert position piece. So why isn’t it on their profile?

Branson and Gary V recognize the importance of positioning, continually. They both showcase their books in their profile graphic and title description.

Richard Branson takes his positioning even further by including endorsements for his book from other recognizable names – Sheryl Sandberg and Bill Gates. He shows that positioning is an ongoing process, even after you reach celebrity status.

Dan Kennedy, legendary marketer and author stated it well when he said:

“The simple truth is, if you aren’t deliberately, systematically, methodically – or rapidly and dramatically – establishing yourself as a celebrity, at least to your clientele and target market, you’re asleep at the wheel, ignoring what is fuelling the entire economy around you and neglecting development of a measurably valuable asset.”

Want help with your celebrity positioning? Schedule a complimentary strategy session here

Ready to add Author to your resume and positioning? Join us for the 8 Week Book Coaching Program

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Are You The Best-Kept Secret in Your Niche ?

Being the best-kept secret in your market is a disservice to you, your clients and the world. Most brands, like my clients, LOVE what they do. They also create great impact in the lives and businesses of those that they work with.

This inspires me and makes me proud.

It also makes me mad…

What? It makes you mad Jane?

I know this applies to some of your companies, my dear, talented readers….

The problem is…..

You may still the best-kept secret…

So… the best-kept secret I want you to meet is YOUR COMPANY! You have a gift, you have a message that needs to be heard. Your brand can make a difference in peoples’ lives, health, wealth…. And so your not being seen enough – that makes me mad – how can your brand share it’s gifts, services and products if the right people don’t know about you?

I want to help you so that more people know about you and what you can offer. Simple mindset shifts, as well as learning more about simple publicity you can do for your business can be both fun and profitable. Often the solution is simpler than you think!

So I have a question – what stops you? Why isn’t your company getting the word out, getting more visibility and reaching more people who want and need you and what you offer?

I have a sneaky suspicion…. As well as how to fix it… and I’ll share with you in an upcoming post. I am also going to be talking about this on Facebook, so please follow me there and like my page so you get notified when I add content or go Live. I’ve also created a new program to help you Magnify Your Message.

Of course, I love to hear from you… Please comment below.

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5 Ways to Amplify the PR Value of Your Guest Podcast Appearance

Podcasting continues to increase in popularity and there is significant PR value for podcast guests. 75% of the US population is familiar with the term “podcasting,” according to Infinite Dial 2020, up from 70% in 2019. Podcast guest interviews are increasingly seen as a required component of a promotional strategy, and there are ways to amplify the PR value for podcast guests.

This year, First Lady Michelle Obama just launched her own podcast, and top podcaster Joe Rogan signed a record breaking, exclusive deal with Spotify for a reported $100 million.

According to The New York Times, Rogan and his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience” became an “unlikely political influencer” in the 2020 presidential election after presidential candidates Andrew Yang and Tulsi Gabbard both saw measurable surges in both popularity and fundraising following guest appearances on the show in 2019.

As a form of earned media, podcasts are ideal PR because their main format consists of a host conducting interviews with guest experts. Whether you are a brand with a new product, an author publishing a book, an expert looking for more visibility or a person with a unique story to tell, being interviewed on a podcast puts you in the spotlight and provides you with a lot of free exposure to a new audience.

The rise of leveraging guest appearances as a PR tactic offers big visibility and positive brand association, but it has also created stiff competition for interview slots on top shows. PR firms now offer podcast appearances as part of their service offerings. This trend has also created a whole new category of service providers and booking agencies.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Many interviewees don’t take full advantage of the PR value for podcast guests, and there are a lot of opportunities to get PR mileage out of being a guest on a podcast’ @JaneTabachnick” quote=”Many interviewees don’t take full advantage of the PR value for podcast guests, and there are a lot of opportunities to get PR mileage out of being a guest on a podcast.” theme=”style3″]

Many interviewees don’t take full advantage of the PR value for podcast guests, and there are a lot of opportunities to get PR mileage out of being a guest on a podcast.

Here are the top 5 things to amplify the PR value for podcast guests:

1. Promote the show

Promoting the show you are guesting on is a good way to enhance your visibility with a podcast’s audience along with your own connections and followers. Your positive brand association with the show, along with your role as the featured guest expert, are powerful earned media wins.

Promoting the show is also a way to help the host get more visibility for their efforts. Don’t just market your interview right after it airs—also add it to your content calendar or scheduler to promote it again in the future. This increases the PR value for podcast guests as well as their show hosts.

2. Use hashtags

By using hashtags that are relevant to the podcast topic, you help people interested in the general topic find the episode you are featured on, and associate yourself with the larger subject matter. It will also show up in searches for those hashtags, increasing the visibility of you and the show. A podcast may have its own dedicated hashtag, which you will want to use in addition to topic-related hashtags.

3. Engage with the host on social media

Shout out the host by adding social handles to your social promotion. This is a great opportunity to publicly thank them for having you on as a guest. It also associates you with their brand. It is another way to get you and your episode more visibility in front of their audience, as well as allowing it to be found via search, so it can reach even more people.

4. Repurpose the content

Making a guest appearance on a podcast provides a lot of content that can be repurposed into different lengths and formats, extending your PR value even further. Interview soundbites make great social media graphics and posts, while interview transcripts can be turned into blog posts or other written content. A short audio clip can be turned into an Audiogram– those animated soundwaves you may have seen pop-up in your social media feed recently.

5. Add it to your media kit

Treat your podcast interview like other media hits and add it to your media room and media kit. This adds fresh PR to your clippings, and shows that you can shine in multiple interview formats.

The value of one podcast interview can pay dividends for years to come. To get the most value, continue to share the episode and its repurposed versions on a regular basis. Unless your interview is focused on a topic that is specific to a time period and can become dated, there is no expiration date or shelf life on promoting your podcast interviews.

> This article first appeared on MuckRack Blog

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What is a Podcast Audiogram?

A podcast Audiogram is an audio wave animation. A short animated movie of an audio file. It can be a great way to share a podcast interview or audio clip or sound bite on social media, your website or Youtube.

Think of it as a way to turn .mp3 and .wav audio files into movie files. As a result, listeners are more engaged thanks to the animated sound wave of the audiogram.

Audiograms can include:

Images
Video
Sound waves
Captions

Here is a podcast audiogram we created for our 2020 PR & Marketing Predictions:

Audiograms can really boost engagement on social media.

The results of a study conducted by Headliner found that when they shared a static image with a link to a podcast, and an audiogram for the same show on Facebook, the audiogram generated 5X the results and traffic. The static image generated 118 clicks and the audiogram generated 660.

Three popular tools for creating audiograms are:

Headliner – https://www.headliner.app/

Wavve – https://wavve.co/

Descript – http://www.descript.com

audiogram podcast Publicity resource tool

How Chrome Extensions Can Boost Your PR Campaigns and Productivity

Chrome extensions help you trick out your browser to customize your computer, in turn making you more productive. Here are the top Chrome Extensions that help my PR efforts – and can help entrepreneurs or anyone in any industry or niche be more productive.

What’s an Extension you ask?

“Extensions are small software programs that customize the browsing experience. They enable users to tailor Chrome* functionality and behavior to individual needs or preferences. They are built on web technologies such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.

An extension must fulfill a single purpose that is narrowly defined and easy to understand. A single extension can include multiple components and a range of functionality, as long as everything contributes towards a common purpose.” Source – Chrome
* Extensions exist for other browsers as well

Here are my top Chrome extensions for PR Campaigns and Boosting Productivity

Alexa Traffic Rank – Lets you see the global Rank and the US rank for any website -free
Use: I use it to evaluate both media list building for PR campaigns and guest posting opportunities. Does a site get enough traffic to warrant pitching them or submitting a guest post there?

Grammarly – writing editing software – free and paid versions.
Use: It will check spelling and grammar and will make suggestions for better words, will score your content’s reading level, let you know if you are using too many colloquialisms, etc. A must before launching a PR campaign, pitch letter, blog post or any writing and communication.

Hunter.io – email address finder – free
Use: Looking to connect with the media or pitch a website on submitting a guest blog post? This extension will help you find any publicly available emails that are listed on a website, even if you couldn’t see them or find them when visiting the site.

One Tab – A browser organizing tool that can save up to 95% memory and reduce tab clutter – free
Use: If you are like me the queen of opening multiple browsers, this extension helps organize them into a single page so that your browser is less cluttered, it reduces bandwidth usage, and lets you save the tab. Ideal if you are doing a search – save the search in one tab for future reference.

Awesome screenshot- a screen capture & image annotation tool – free
Use: Show and tell with pictures. It is true that a picture is worth a thousand words. Good screen capture with notes can help move a project forward with less back and forth. The image of browser extensions in this post is a great example of how you can use screenshot & annotation.

Loom – is easy to use and free video screen recorder for Mac, Windows, and Chromebooks. Record your camera and screen with audio directly from your Chrome browser and share it easily – free
Use: Show and tell with video. Want to share your thoughts, do a quick demo or tutorial, review of a document, graphic, website…. This easy tool lets you film your desktop with the option to appear on camera as well.

Have a favorite Chrome extension? Please share it below in the comments!

Boost Productivity Chrome Extension Entrepreneur PR PR Campaign

Why You Need to Promote the Media Mentions You Get

Many companies make the mistake of sitting back and waiting for sales and opportunities to come in as a result of the media mentions they get. This is both a mistake and a missed opportunity.

The reason that your media mentions are better than advertising, content you create, or social shares, is that being written about in the media gives you free visibility and instant expert positioning as well as the impression that you are being endorsed by the media. Since people trust the media, for the most part, this provides third-party credibility.

Getting featured in the media is a positive nod to your brand. Media mentions are also the best type of content possible. They are sometimes referred to as earned media. This is because your brand has done something the media deems worthy of writing about. This could be can be anything from successful projects, a unique perspective, the way you are transforming an industry or sector, your methodology….

Let’s face it – no one cares what you say about your brand – but they do listen to what someone else says about it.

Here is why not promoting the media mentions you get is a mistake and missed opportunity:

The mistake – assuming your media mention gets seen by your ideal audience and as much of that audience as possible

It is a noisy world. We are all bombarded with messages in our inbox, online, at the supermarket checkout line.

Imagine for a moment that your company gets featured in the print edition of the New York Times. Congratulations – you just got in front of over 400,000 new people. Of course, not all of them will be your ideal prospect, but there will be a segment that is.

Consider for a moment the following:
only a portion of the 400,000 will read the article
Some of your existing customers, partners or prospects in your pipeline may not see the article or read it

The missed opportunity – not leveraging and amplifying your earned media. Now that you have third party credibility from a recognized media outlet, this may be the best brand asset you have – today and years down the road. It’s news worth sharing widely and often. This includes all of your stakeholders – from your employees, partners, vendors, customers to prospects.

6 Easy Ways to Become a Great Source for the Media

With continual deadlines, the media are always under pressure to gather information and sources for their stories (while often juggling multiple stories and deadlines at the same time). The media depend on a great source or two to help them with each story.

As a source, there are some simple things you can do to make their job easier and more efficient and become a sought-after source.

1. Meet deadlines

Stories have deadlines. Getting all the research done and finding sources and images on time can be stressful for the media. Be a reliable source and provide requested information in a timely fashion, ahead of the deadline.

2. Use white space

When pitching or responding to the media via email or written document, use short paragraphs and lots of white space. It makes it easier to read your content and reduces eye strain. This is especially welcome as journalists read a lot of documents and emails.

3. Use identifiable file names on photos

Rather than labeling your photo ‘headshot.jpg’ when submitting it to the media, use ‘yourname_headshot.jpg’. That way, it can easily be identified when they are compiling your story and they can avoid unnecessary time needed to double check who is in the photo, and thereby avoid errors.

4. Don’t ask for updates

While it’s tempting to want to get updates on a pending story you have contributed to, don’t ask for updates, and don’t ask when a story will run.

It’s unreasonable to expect the media to let you know when your story gets published. The media are stretched thin already and don’t appreciate your ‘just checking in’ or making requests.

Instead, set a Google Alert, and monitor the media so that you know when your story is live.

5. Share stories and credit the journalist

Share stories on social media, and tag the journalist, not just the outlet. Journalists rely on social media for publishing and promoting their own content.

You can help them get more visibility by promoting their work and helping them reach a wider audience.

6. Secure image rights

If you are offering or providing photos to accompany your story, secure the image rights and provide them to the journalist. This saves them the time and trouble of having to do this themselves.

By asking yourself, how can I be a better source, you are not just thinking about how you can get more publicity, but you are becoming a more valued asset.

“You can have everything in life that you want if you just help other people get what they want,” said motivational speaker Zig Ziglar stated.

Being a great source is a win-win. You can make a journalist’s demanding job less stressful, and you can have the satisfaction of helping them do their job more easily while gaining media coverage for yourself.

Being easy to work with is a desirable reputation to have. It can also make you the media’s go-to resource — they might just begin to seek you out for upcoming stories.

This article first appeared on Muckrack.com

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5 Bad Behaviors That’ll Leave You on a Journalist’s Blacklist

5 Bad behaviors that will land you on a journalist's blacklist

The inbox and the telephone are tools of the trade for a journalist. They can be useful platforms that deliver the next exceptional story or be the bane of their existence. Due to the latter, the journalist’s blacklist was created.

While it’s their job to be open to unsolicited pitches, journalists draw the line at certain behaviors that they will not tolerate. Do one of them even once, and you could get banned forever.

While this isn’t brain surgery, it’s worth revisiting these basic rules for successful pitching. Bad behavior, just like bad pitches, can come from individuals, PR professionals, corporate staff, influencers, or bloggers alike. Don’t be that person.

Here are the top five things that will get you banned by journalists.

1. Lying

Never lie to a journalist. They are smart, trained professionals who will find out the truth eventually. While this may seem obvious, any of these behaviors will brand you as less than truthful by journalists:

• Outright lies

• The omission of key details

• Withholding information

• Not presenting a ‘downside’ to the story, the product, or the main subject [that you are aware of]

Journalists never appreciate being blindsided or embarrassed when information ‘they should have known about’ comes to light after they have pitched a story to their editor, or even worse when it becomes known about a story that has already been published.

While your initial pitch should be brief, once a journalist has expressed interest it’s time to reveal everything you know about the story or risk being banned later.

2. Offering bribes

Do not offer any kind of compensation for coverage; this includes money, gifts or barter offers. Offering to share their article with your army of followers on social media as an incentive to write about you, your product, or client, is also taboo if intended as a bribe. Gifts of any kind, including an offer of any form of compensation, are against journalism’s code of ethics and will get you shown the exit faster than you can blink.

Instead, pitch a better story, one that they will want to write about. Make sure it’s on a topic that they cover.

3. Pitching the same story

Most journalists prefer or insist on an exclusive on a story. If you are pitching more than one outlet on a story with the same angle, you need to let the journalist know about this up front.

Don’t pitch the same story that has been covered before in a similar outlet or market, and most definitely don’t keep that fact hidden.

Journalists don’t want to appear as though they have an inside track and like to be the first to break an original story. No one likes to be a copycat.

Instead, find a new angle or an update to your story that hasn’t been covered before. Offer the journalist an exclusive for a limited period, and you will have much greater chance of success.

4. Making demands

There is no situation where it is appropriate to make firm demands or requests of journalists. This includes asking for specific placement, insisting a photo or hyperlink gets included or any other requests.

Whether or not a journalist or publication decides to run a story is at their discretion.

The specifics of what they choose to include in their coverage is totally up to them. Asking nicely, pleading, or hounding the can all get you banned from ever working with them again.

5. Late or missed deadlines

Journalists work on deadlines, and as a reliable source, you want to meet requested delivery dates for information, a quote, or a photo that has been promised.

The worst thing you can do is leave a journalist hanging on a story or miss a deadline by which you agreed to get back to them.

Not returning calls in a prompt fashion, can also cause them to miss a deadline altogether, which can be catastrophic on their end, giving them a good reason to decide to sever your relationship.

Things happen in life. Perhaps you can’t gather the information they are seeking from you or can’t get approval to use a photo they requested. Let the journalist know as soon as possible so that they can find an alternate source or kill the story with enough time not to leave a blank hole in their publication.

I like to think about how I can make it easier for a journalist to do their job. If you can do that, as well as bring them excellent stories, and follow these simple rules, you don’t need to worry about being banned. In fact, you can develop great working relationships with journalists. You will often see them start to treat you like a trusted resource, seeking you out when they need a source for a story.

This post first appeared on Muckrack.com

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