Unless you have a good relationship with an editor or publisher, they won’t usually give you the time of the day unless your Lakeland public relations materials are really important and crucial. Think about it: you want a newspaper to publish an article you made about your new CEO. How can you convince a newspaper or a magazine to carry that story?
First, look at what you’re doing wrong. Your email and subject line may not be enticing enough for the editors and publishers. Failing to set up a mutually beneficial relationship may also hinder your PR efforts.
Not Building a Relationship With the Media
If you’re reaching out to the media only when you need something to publish, they are not going to take a second look at your materials. They’re going to feel used and abused. They are not going to give you the time of the day when you don’t take the time to build a relationship with them. You need to spend time with the reporters covering you. Take them out to coffee. Treat them to dinners.
Unenticing Subject Line
Publication editors receive hundreds of emails every day. An unenticing subject line will go unnoticed. They will disregard your emails if they cannot find any value to your subject line. They might not spend time to open your email and read its content. You need to write a subject line that will give editors a reason to want to open the email.
Impersonal Introduction
Write a personal introduction to the editor you are addressing. Make sure to address the email to the particular editor you’re sending the press release to. It is impolite not to use the editor’s name in the email. Using the editor’s name signals that you respect the publication enough to personally address the email to him.
The editors will appreciate the fact that the email was addressed to them. This will improve the relationship with the editors and publishers.
Vague Email Content
There should be a summary of what the email content is about. That will tell the editor whether it is worth opening and reading the rest of the email. When the content of the email is vague, editors and publishers will not give it the time of the day. Your email content should be as detailed as possible.
The right way to pitch an article to an editor or publisher is to make it interesting to their readers. You need to know what kind of readers the publication has. Once you created the right Lakeland public relations message, you can take the chance of pitching it to editors and publishers.
