The Clean and Green Club

Ok, you read last month’s Frugal Marketing Tip and you’ve identified reporters who’ll be receptive to your pitch. What next? It’ll take two months to answer, because there are two different situations.

If you’re responding to a reporter query on HARO or PR Leads/Profnet

First of all, speed is essential. HARO has gone from zero to over 55,000 subscribers in its first year, and will continue to grow rapidly. Profnet and PR Leads have thousands of subscribers, and many of them are PR agencies with lots of clients to pitch. That means the reporter will pay much more attention to the first 20 or so queries that hit the mailbox. If you’re number 200, unless you manage to get opened and then just blow the reporter out of the water, the chances are, that reporter already has plenty of sources. Most reporters are on short deadlines, although if they’re working on a book, they may still open a late mail. HARO typically mails around 5:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m., and 5:45 p.m. every weekday, and Profnet comes out roughly once an hour between about 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. You should check your mail as soon as possible after these are mailed. (With such large lists, it may take a while to reach you–just keep checking until it shows up.) Remember also that both services post their most urgent queries on Twitter: follow @Skydiver (HARO) and @ProfNet.Scan them immediately, and answer the ones where you could be a source. DON’T pitch off-topic; on HARO, that will get you instantly banned.

Next, use a subject line that immediately tells the reporter you’re answering the query. I use one that starts Profnet or HARO, then a colon ( : ), then–unless the reporter specifies something else in the query–the exact subject line the query used. I also set up filters so that anything that comes back with haro or profnet (lower case OR capitalized) in the subject line gets marked as priority, because reporters want quick responses if they get back to you.

Third, answer the question–right there. This is a huge advantage we have as individuals over PR agencies. The agency will say some variation on “I have a client who can help”–while we can just get in there and actually give the reporter a pity, on-target quote.

Keep it short. Usually a couple of paragraphs and/or a few bullet points is plenty.

Fourth, give your credentials. There are two things you accomplish by this: first, you convince the reporter you know what you’re talking about, and second, you provide the identifier that the journalist will use in the story (so make sure it includes your website–and your book title, if you have one).

Fifth: This is optional, but I always paste the reporter’s query at the bottom, so when I get a response, I can easily find the original query even if the reporter has stripped out the context. If you get a reporter writing back saying “tell me more about that,” and you’ve tossed the original query, it’s not going to be pretty.

Here’s an actual example of a recent successful query: the reporter asked:

“I’m currently working on a book and whitepaper series on the topic
of Thought Leadership Marketing. I’m now in need of examples of
individuals and companies that currently employ
thought leadership in their marketing (speaking, whitepapers,
social media, giving info away to help the market, etc.).
Interviews will all be conducted via email or telephone. Please
reply with your name, title and brief description of how and why
you or your company are using thought leadership in your marketing

And I responded:

Subject:
HARO (Peter Shankman): Need Co.’s Practicing ‘Thought Leadership Marketing

Body:

Hi, Dana,

As a copywriter, marketing consultant, and publishing consultant, I use these techniques almost exclusively, and have used them for over 20 years. (There is one side of my business that draws largely from Yellow Pages, but it’s a very small piece.)

Some of the strategies I use:
* Writing award-winning books that establish my expertise (I think I got the first client from a book I’d written around 1987 or 1988)
* One you didn’t mention: getting interviewed as an expert by the media (I’ve been quoted several times in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Woman’s Day, Entrepreneur, etc., etc., as well as numerous radio stations and blogs and a bit of TV)
* Public speaking (I especially like this one because I get paid to do my own marketing)
* Seeding articles all over the Internet
* Creating content-rich websites in my key subject areas
* Participating actively in both e-mail and social-media-based discussion groups

Note: Please keep “Shankman” in the subject line so that my email program will mark it as Priority.

__________________________
Shel Horowitz, Author, 7 books. <MY EMAIL ADDRESS>
413-586-2388 (Hadley, MA)  https://www.frugalmarketing.com, https://www.frugalfun.com
Covered in Bottom Line * Cleveland Plain Dealer * Home Office Computing * Christian Science Monitor * NY Times * Boston Globe * Fortune Small Business * L.A. Times * Woman’s Day * over 200 radio stations…

Talking Points (Low-Cost/Ethical/Cooperative Marketing): Flame-proof Internet marketing, Zero-Cost Websites, free media exposure, slash your ad costs while building results, why market share doesn’t matter, how your competitors can become your sales force… Books: Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First; Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World; Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers

Sign the Business Ethics Pledge – Help Change the World
https://www.business-ethics-pledge.org

Blog on Corporate/Government/Marketing Ethics:
https://www.principledprofit.com/good-business-blog/
__________________________

Next month: How to pitch when the reporter hasn’t asked for sources.