Getting Editor’s Interested In Your News

newsWhat is newsworthy? Or more to the point, what are good news hooks to secure interest from an editor? I was talking with a client recently about this exact topic and I shared a few ideas. Especially for small and mid-sized companies it’s hard to get attention from editors. Hard news, like an acquisition or a major product rollout, is almost always of interest to editors. But in the absence of hard news, how can you get an editor interested enough to cover your company?

AIIMOne of the organizations we work with at McKenzie Worldwide is AIIM, which is the Association for Information and Image Management. Since the group doesn’t make product announcements or acquire other companies, it can be difficult to get editors interested. How did we clear this hurdle? By talking with a reporter about a self-generated industry report – ECM at the Crossroads – which discussed industry issues. The reporter at CIO Insight was able to develop an article –Mobile Access to ECMs Needs Improvement –and a slideshow based on the research.

In today’s editorial community you must get creative in order to secure coverage. Consolidation of industry publications, fewer reporters, and a constantly moving 24-hour news cycle make it more challenging than ever to get your news out there. Here are some tips to consider when trying to generate coverage:

  •  “What trends are driving the industry?”—conduct a survey
  • “Ride the coat tails”—announcement with big name partners like Google, Apple, and Facebook
  • “Follow the money”—a funding announcement
  • “Create content”—Graphical images to catch the reader’s eye, such as an infographic
  • “And in the future…”—Q&A interviews are a good way to discuss current trends
Rob Goodman

Author: Rob Goodman

Rob Goodman is a communications professional with more than 27 years of experience in public relations, marketing and content creation.