One of the best ways to make your PR consistent and less time consuming is to build really good working relationships with journalists. The end goal is for the journalist to come to you as the go-to point of contact for your specific field – that’s the sign of a job well done. Here’s my advice ,from both a PR and freelance journalist perspective, on how to make sure your interactions create a positive and long – lasting relationship.
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1, Read their articles
I say it so often but the best way to get to know a journalist is to read their articles so you know you are pitching them ideas and stories that will be of value to them. Many journalists are now freelance and this is an advantage from a PR perspective, as they write for lots of publications meaning one relationship can lead to coverage across various different publications. So read the magazines and publications and keep on top of who they are writing for currently. Follow them on social media as they will often share their articles or search their name on ‘Muckrack’ : this website will compile all the articles they have written across publications so you can have an updated understanding of what kinds of topics thet are covering and where they are being published.
2, Make yourself valuable by making the journalists life easier
If you make yourself as helpful as possible then it’s much more likely that they will come back to you in the future, Remember don’t try to sell your product or service, listen to what they want. A few years ago a journalist came to me with specific questions about a research study and only had three hours to turn it around . So I tried to be as helpful as possible by trying to cut words down and being succinct , trying to mirror their style and tone, ensuring technical terms being used in the quotes were more mainstream and appropriate for the publication. Those little things ,though initallity time consuming for myself, made the journalist’s job a little easier so I could be their next port of call in the future. So be prompt and quick , they are working to a quick deadline so say things like ‘here’s my number if you need to contact me ‘ or ‘ here’s how to credit me in the article’. Saving the journalosts time will make you much more appealing for a future piece they are working on.
3, Don’t hassle them about when the article will be published
I know it can be really tempting and as it’s really exciting when you are going to be published but understand that many journalists do not know when the article will go live or be published in prin so there is much to be gained from frequently asking them. Freelance journalists often do not have internal access to systems so genurianly don’t know themselves when it will be published. Plans can also change if a big event happens so things back get held back and schedules change. Equally, I’ve worked with many people who have missed coverage as they expected the journlst to tell them when the article would be published but there simply isn’t time for the journalist to keep you updated. So there are two things you can do. Firstly, look yourself for the article – its easy to google yourself and or even set up a google alert for your name so you don’t have to bother the journalist. Secondly, you can ask politely and ask ‘do you happen to knwowhen this might go live’ but try to be patient and only ask once or twice.
4, Thank the journalist when you do get coverage
When I was a freelance journalist, the people who took five minutes out to email a thank you were always really appreciated. It doesn’t need to be long but a quick note to say thanks and how pleased you were with an article is a nice gesture and why not end the email by leaving your number or you could suggest a new topic or a way of keeping touch . Lots of people don;t take the time to say thanks so it might make you stand out . You can also share the link to the article on the tag the journalist on social media when you are promoting to and thank them publicly while getting more coverage for the article. (Just be aware of the copyright laws when doing this which I’ve written about here.)
5, Keep connecting with them
So now you’ve got some coverage from them, don’t stop. Make the effor to track the journalist’s articles and email to check in with them every couple of months. Say things like ‘I see you are working on ….’ and polietly put yourself out there , detailing what you are currently working on if you think there could be a valuable story in it for them.
Want to learn more about contacting and chatting to journalists? Get my free guide to pitching a journalist here: