I know this may come as a shocker, but the financial
media does NOT exist to promote your firm or your personal brand.
Time-pressed journalists are charged with informing their readers/viewers about
the most important news, trends and best practices that impact their readers
every day. Do their readers really care if you just opened a branch office, hired
a new partner or now offer a new service? Not likely. It might be a big deal
for you and your team, but is that news going to make the journalist’s readers
more successful, more efficient or better informed? As President Biden would
say: “C’mon man!”
But, these are the kinds of questions you (and your agency) should be asking
yourself before you pitch. So, how do some advisors keep getting quoted, published
and cited by the popular press?
Hint: they’re not buying their way in or taking out big advertising schedules
in those media. Instead, they’ve learned to be a “Go-To” guy or gal for busy
journalists—a reliable source the journalist can count on time and time again to
explain complex topics to their audience in concise soundbites—without dumbing it
down or pitching their firm’s services.
That’s actually the easy part.
The hard part is getting on the journalist’s radar in the first place. You can
hire an expensive PR firm; you can spend lots of money blasting out press releases
on a wire service. But “spray and pray PR” rarely works.
Instead, you and your team have to do some old-fashioned
legwork. It doesn’t mean making cold calls (or e-blasts). You simply have to
isolate 10-20 media outlets in which you’d most like to appear. Hint: these are
the outlets where your clients, prospects and strategic partners spend their
time keeping abreast of your industry. Next, familiarize yourself with the
specific editors, writers, producers and bloggers who are most often covering the
areas that map to your expertise.
Next reach out by phone, email, snail mail and
social media with a brief, but carefully targeted “pitch” that shows you are
familiar with the writer’s work (i.e. their beat) and why featuring you or your
firm in an upcoming article can shed new light on a topic they frequently cover—or
should be covering. It doesn’t hurt to cite references to recent stories the
journalist has written about a topic on which you’re an expert.
Hint: Use a few of those keywords in the subject line of your pitch
email.
Hint2: Don’t give up if your first attempt goes answered. You may need follow
up three or four time before getting a response.
Better yet, let the journalist know you have research,
presentations or articles that could enhance their coverage of a topic and to
consider you a source the next time they cover that subject. While it’s hard to
get journalists to have lunch, drinks or golf, if they like your angle, they
will be receptive to a Zoom call, or at least an email exchange to discuss
further.
Finally, don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call. More often than not you’ll
get a voice mail. That’s fine. Even with many journalists working from home,
they check their voicemail regularly because heck, they don’t get many legit voice
messages anymore, and when they do, it’s usually important.
For more about getting media attention that matters, see our recent posts:
- Don’t ‘Pitch’
Stories to the Media; Be a Problem Solver
- Getting
Quoted in The Journal Is Not Impossible, But……
Conclusion
Newsrooms
are a lot thinner than they used to be and the news cycle moves faster. While
journalists can be cranky at times, they’re still human. They love a good story—and
even better—a good story teller. You’re a pro. Why shouldn’t you be on of them?
What’s your take? I’d like to hear from you.
#practicemanagement,
#wealthmanagement, #PR, #credibilitymarketing, #thoughtleadership
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