We all want media coverage.

Positive coverage creates exposure, authority, trust, and often valuable backlinks.

But for many people, the path to getting it is a mystery. Others believe myths about how it works.

Some believe you have to be at the very top of your industry before the media will care about your story.

That’s simply false.

Others believe you can simply buy your way into media coverage.

There’s a small degree of truth to that.

You can find contributors willing to feature you (or your client) for a fee, but this blatantly violates every outlet’s contributor guidelines. You may land the feature, but editors will eventually find out.

What happens then?

First, the article gets deleted or any mention of you and your links gets removed. Then, the contributor gets removed from the platform and blacklisted in the media industry. Finally, you get blacklisted too.

Good luck getting featured again. It won’t happen.

The reality is that you can get featured in the media.

You just need to understand the process and execute it consistently.

Develop your story

You probably have a great story — you just may not realize it yet.

The media has to produce a constant stream of content. If you have a strong story, you’re already one-third of the way to getting featured.

Let’s start with what doesn’t make a great story.

• You’re the first.
• You think you’re the best (everyone thinks that, and no one cares except your mother).
• You’re the biggest.
• You want to change the world.

So what does make a great story?

Like the answer to most SEO questions: it depends.

A great story starts with an actual story.

You have to explain, in an engaging way, why anyone should care about what you have to say.

For example, I often tell the story of how I used PR to rebuild my success after being on my deathbed.

I explain that my agency’s specific PR approach comes from the exact process I used to rebuild my own business — and that I want to give others the same advantage.

And my story is easily verifiable.

But you don’t need a life-or-death struggle to have a compelling story.

You just need a story that shows a deeper purpose. A mission. Something people can get excited about and care about.

Craft your pitch

Even with the best story in the world, you still need an effective pitch.

Your pitch has to cut through the noise and grab attention. Journalists, producers, and others in the media are inundated with pitches — many receive hundreds every day. Your pitch has to tell your story clearly and quickly, and motivate them to respond.

Easier said than done.

Most pitches are sent by email, so most people start with the subject line. That’s the exact opposite of what you should do.

Start with the body of the email. There’s a reason for this, which we’ll get to shortly.

Find a way to connect your story to current events. If a topic is already popular in the media, other outlets are more likely to cover it.

But remember: while the story involves you, it isn’t about you.

You have to pitch from the perspective of what the audience wants. The journalist’s, editor’s, or producer’s needs come second, and yours come in a distant last place.

Sorry, that’s just the way it is.

You need to distill your story and why the audience should care into a few sentences. You can add a little more detail after that, but keep it short. If they see a wall of text, they’ll likely delete your email.

Once your pitch is solid, write your subject line. It should be short, punchy, and aligned with your pitch.

Short and punchy matters because the subject line determines whether they open your email.

If the pitch doesn’t align with the subject line, they’ll likely delete the email without reading it. Getting attention means nothing if they don’t read the message.

I once saw a publicist use a subject line that certainly grabbed attention, but it had zero positive impact and damaged his reputation.

What was it?

“Fuck You!”

Bottom line: your pitch must quickly and clearly show the value the audience will get, and your subject line must grab attention in a positive way while aligning with the pitch.

Build your media list

PR isn’t a numbers game.

Yet people treat it like one. They buy or compile lists of media contacts and blast their pitch to anyone they can find.

That’s no different from spam emails selling generic Viagra.

Success comes from sending the right pitch to the right people at the right time.

Finding the right people means identifying journalists, producers, and other media contacts who cover the types of stories you’re telling.

Several expensive tools can help you find these contacts and their information. But you can often find the same information with a search engine and social media. In fact, that’s how I built most of my media relationships.

As for the right time, that’s largely a matter of chance.

Send your pitch

There’s no magic formula.

The time of day you send your pitch doesn’t matter much unless it’s extremely time-sensitive, which most business topics aren’t. Producers often check email at certain times, but they won’t touch it while preparing for or running their show.

Now here’s something you need to avoid:

Don’t bombard them with follow-up emails!

For truly time-sensitive stories, it may be acceptable to follow up within the same week. In most cases, though, wait about a week. Frequent follow-ups will annoy journalists, producers, and other media contacts.

Stop after two or three follow-ups. If you haven’t received a response by then, they likely aren’t interested in the story.

Try not to take it personally. They probably won’t tell you it’s not a fit. Given the sheer volume of pitches they receive, responding to every one would be a full-time job.

Nurture your relationships 

Most of your pitches won’t result in media coverage.

The problem is that most people stop after a rejection or no response.

That’s crazy to me.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “no” or received no reply before finally landing a feature.

It happened because I didn’t pitch once and move on. These contacts all started as strangers, but I invested time and energy in building real relationships.

As a result, when I reach out, they open and read my emails because I’m not a stranger. Those relationships make it far easier to turn a pitch into media coverage.

Most initial outreach won’t lead to coverage. But if you nurture the right relationships, you’ll eventually build a network of responsive press contacts.