Tips Learnt From 6 Weeks Of Selling In Press Releases – 10 Yetis Insight

I’ve been working with the awesome PR team here at 10 Yetis Digital for six weeks now and have been given many responsibilities and opportunities to boost my knowledge and enhance my skills. I’ve learnt so much already about the PR industry, and there’s been one area in particular that I’ve been spending a lot of time; selling in press releases to journalists.

Reaching out to journalists may seem pretty terrifying. It certainly was to me the first time I sat with my very first press release in front of me, preparing myself to begin my very first outreach.

Six weeks in though and I’ve learnt some handy tips worth knowing for selling in press releases to journalists – so here they are;

Know Your Audience

If you’ve got a press release about makeup, you don’t want to be reaching out to men’s lifestyle press – my point here being that you need to ensure you’re reaching out to journalists who have a proven interest in what you’re writing about. You’ll only be wasting your time and theirs if you’re outreaching to the wrong person in the time or the wrong sort of publication altogether.

Determine Your Hook

It’s imperative that your press release has a hook; something that will entice journalists to read your press release, and then go on to write about it. When emailing a journalist, make sure this is at the top of your email and if you’re phoning a journalist then again, keep it short and sweet and get straight to the point. They’re busy and if you can’t convince them one or two lines to read what you’ve got, you’re going to lose them.

Don’t Be Afraid To Ask Questions

Just because a journalist doesn’t want to run a piece you’ve presented them with, it doesn’t mean you can’t ask them what about the story wasn’t to their liking or even what sort of topics they’d prefer going forward so you can offer them targeted and relevant content. You never know when you could get lucky and get yourself the opportunity to sell in another release that may be of interest.

It’s OK To Be Friendly

I get it, some journalists will sometimes just want absolutely nothing to do with you; they’re busy and they don’t have the time to talk. But they’re all people at the end of the day, just like us, and sometimes it doesn’t hurt to have a laugh and a joke, to discuss something that’s of interest to you both, and just generally build a rapport. Use your personality as a tool; be the one phone call from that day that they’ll remember.

Don’t Give Up

Whether you’re emailing journalists, you’re calling them or you’re even talking to them on social media, don’t give up just because you get a few rejections. At the beginning, especially, it can be hard to have journalists say “no” to your press release, but you can’t give up, there’s a “yes” coming your way very soon!

I’ve learnt so much from my first six weeks here, and this is by no means the only points to take into account when selling in a press release to a journalist, but it’s a great starting point.

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you’re looking for someone to help with your PR needs.