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Guest post from Kate Thompson of Nutmeg PR
As a small business owner myself, I know how tricky it is to allocate the time to promote what you do through PR.
In most cases we are all so busy actually doing the work, we really don’t have the time to sit down and agonise over writing press releases that we fear will end up being filed under BIN when we send them to our local paper or trade publications.
The good news is you don’t have to organise elaborate PR campaigns to let people know about your successes – you just need to start telling stories.
I’ve been writing for more than 20 years as a journalist on regional papers and magazines and now I work as a freelance writer and editor. I also work with businesses large and small advising them on building their profile.
Seeing your website as a way to set your own news agenda is a really positive move. You can create your own blog space and keep people up to speed with everything that is happening in your business.
Don’t see it as a selling tool but as a way of communicating with the wider world. Turn your online editorial into stories with a purpose that will charm and draw the reader in, offering a real insight into your situation.
There is a balance to be struck and you should beware of being too indiscreet – but at the same time your stories should inform and entertain.
Remember engaging stories are:
- about people rather than processes
- build empathy
- written in a bright, breezy style
Getting into the habit of writing for your own blog will make it easier to make the next step -making relationships with local media.
Contact books stuffed with the names and numbers of people to ring on a slow news day are the lifeblood for any journalist – and making your way onto a contact list for a local reporter should be a priority.
Often there is a concern that cultivating links with a journalist could land you in hot water and you could end up in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. My advice is simple – if you don’t want them to know something, don’t tell them.
As a former regional journalist looking to fill pages every day with the latest hot news, I know the pressures that newsdesks and reporters are under. Often they are tied to their desks crafting copy with no time to get out and about meeting new contacts.
I can assure you journalists in print, radio and TV rely on people contacting them with a news story and often it can become the start of a great relationship.
Here’s a few important tips:
- Make sure you are ringing with a genuine news or picture story – a journalist can spot PR ‘puff’ from a mile off
- Journalists are busy people – check when their deadlines fall and call when you know they will have time to listen
- As the relationship builds, you can become their eyes and ears tipping them off about stories – this will really get you in their good books.
For more than 20 years Kate Thompson worked as a journalist on regional newspapers. Her background is in political writing but most recently she worked as the Woman & Lifestyle Editor at the Daily Echo in Southampton for five years.
In 2007 she became a freelance writer and set up Nutmeg PR. She is the editor of Shoreside magazine and has also written two books – one commemorating the 50th anniversary of D-Day and the other about allotments.
