Do you consider yourself a bit of an introvert?
Getting press and PR for yourself can be hard at the best of times but it can be even harder if you are someone who feels more comfortable behind their computer than out in the world. Getting press and PR takes a little bit of work, planning, and persistence but the great thing is these days it doesn’t mean you have to leave the comfort of your couch to do it.
I think more and more people these days would say they are introverts rather than extroverts, or even a combination of both, but that doesn’t have to be a negative when it comes to getting the media’s attention. You don’t need to be a total extrovert to get press and promote your business. These days there are many people who are running online businesses and getting it done like a Boss from behind the computer screen. There are lots of great ways to connect with the media, even if you are a bit shy.
Nervous IRL (In Real Life)? Online Rocks
Now worries, that’s the beauty of social media, this is your shared media. Social media is a great way to connect with journalists and build a relationship with those news gatekeepers. Be sure to make your social media profiles (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, TikTok, and, of course, Clubhouse) as complete as possible. This is a great way for journalists to find you and the stories/content you are sharing. If you are running a business, especially an online business, you are using social media to connect with your customers and community but don’t forget that is how journalists are finding you too. Be sure to utilize the tool to not only sell but highlight your expertise.
Social media platforms are also a great way to find journalists to follow, see what stories/content they share and find out what they talk about. More than 70 percent of journalist say they use social media, like Twitter, every single day to do their jobs (researching stories & finding sources) so if you are not there engaging and participating I have to ask why? Start following media outlets, shows and publications, follow the people who work on those shows and publications and then create a list on Twitter of all your media peeps so you can easily find them.
Your website is also a way for journalists to find you. Think of this as your owned media…it is your online real estate, your online home and you own that space. You want to make sure you have all your important contact information on your website because you need to make it easy for producers and reporters to reach you. Be sure to leave an email address and phone number in a spot that is easy to find. If the only thing you have is a contact form as a way for people to get in touch you will likely miss out. Journalists don’t have the time to look for your contact information or fill out a form and wait for you to get back to them. A great way to make sure you have all the right information is to create a Media Kit or Press page and post it as a page or a pdf on your website.
Networking Not Your Thing?
Networking can be hard, no matter if it is in person or online. If networking is not your thing that’s O.K. Journalists rarely have the time to attend events in person, especially producers, as a way to search for stories or contacts. Even if they do attend networking events and the like, they are there to have a good time just like you, so don’t expect them to come with notepad in hand to source stories or listen to the hard pitch. If you are pitching a story to a producer, email is still your best bet. You would rarely find producers taking pitches in person at an event, they likely want to leave work at the office. Networking in person is a way to collect the contact so you can build a relationship later on. The same goes for online networking events too. Remember, networking is all about relationship building, making connections and expanding your community and it’s the same thing for journalists so don’t just think about the hard pitch but use these events to warm the introduction and build the relationship for the future.
Phone Phobic?
Afraid to make cold calls to journalists? Well, that’s a good thing. Many journalists are not fans of the phone pitch. They are busy people and are always on deadline. They rarely have the time to chat on the phone and prefer to get pitched via email. Remember what I said about more than 70 percent of journalists who use social media every day to source stories? Well, the same number of journalists still prefer to receive story pitches by email. They can read the pitch when they have time! That is not to say phone pitches aren’t possible but you need to do your research first so you know when it is best for a journalist to chat on the phone.
Build It And They Will Come
This one is great! If you are sharing great content and are active online, journalists will find you. Build a great website or blog and create content that resonates with your community and clients then journalists will find you. Start sharing that content via your social media channels and you increase the chance they will find you. Many journalists use social media, like Twitter, to research stories and search for ideas so make sure you are there too so they can find you. Be sure to include a media kit on your website or, at least, have all the necessary information, like phone number and email, so the journalist can contact you. Don’t make them work at finding you.
So, in order for journalists to find you, you need to be sharing great content from your own blog/website but also from other sources via social media. Be sure to share stories related to your niche or industry and add some comment/commentary. You want people to get a sense of who you are when you are sharing. It is all about creating a solid online profile or footprint. You want to drop those crumbs – leave a solid trail – so journalists can follow them to you.
Help A Reporter Out
HARO is a great way to connect with journalists. Sign up for free and you get emails just about every day to your inbox listing journalists looking for experts/guests/contacts for their stories. Sourcebottle.com is also a great tool you can use to get press. Both of these allow you to sit behind your computer and find journalists who are looking for someone just like you!
Everything But TV
I know you are probably wondering how you can do PR & media if you are an introvert and prefer to work from behind your computer screen but hear me out. I know most people think doing media and getting press means getting on television. Sure, that’s a big part of the media landscape but it’s not the only game in town. Radio, podcasts, newspaper, magazine and website interviews make up a large portion of the media landscape. OK, those mediums make up practically the rest of the media landscape and the best part is you can get yourself in all of them while sitting behind your computer. These are the best forms of media for all you introverts. You can do interviews for all of these from the comfort of your home – think Skype/Zoom calls, phone interviews, and email interviews. You don’t have to do T.V. to get press.
There is no doubt more and more of us are making a living from behind our computer screens. Let’s face it with the pandemic people around the world were all of a sudden working from their home, and these were people in industries that didn’t traditionally embrace the idea of working anywhere but the office/corporate environment. We all were forced to embrace virtual like never before. It is a way for introverts to comfortably be out in the world without being “out in the world”. Don’t let the introvert in you stop you from reaching out and getting press.
Want more tips, tools, and techniques to help you get press? Join my Facebook group Media + PR Collective For Entrepreneurs
