You need a press release and you want it on CNN, Fox, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR and appearing in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Inc. Magazine, Forbes, Newsweek, Time and others.
It can happen.
Let’s take a look how this happens.
1) Attention-grabbing.
Beyond question, this is the No. 1 criteria for getting national news exposure.
Is your news revolutionary? Will it change millions of lives? Or, will it keep sick children from dying? Is your new more important than what elected leaders are doing? Is your news more heart-grabbing than rescuing a bunch of kids from a water-filled cave before they drown? Is your news going to make people stop what they are doing to read, watch or listen?
More importantly, is your news something people will talk about over breakfast at the local diner?
If yes, then you cleared hurdle No. 1.
2) Are you selling something?
Selling something is not an automatic killer, but what you are selling must be innovative, important, have mass appeal and be unique. It helps if what you are selling is important to a lot of people.If it is vital, even better.
Real medicines, new ones and shortages, are major news. By real medicines, I mean drugs that go through FDA trials and are regulated. Things like garcinia cambogia got major news traction because of Point 3 below.
Look at this from a different perspective. Would someone invest in your idea?
At any one time, Kickstarter has thousands projects seeking funding. When this blog was written, the crowdfunding website at 5,241 projects that were business-related.
That’s just one crowdfunding website. Plenty of businesses that are trying to take off never use crowdfunding sites.
Going back to Kickstarter, look at these most-
Whether or not you use a crowdfunding site if you are selling something, could you raise a million dollars in a week on a crowdfunding site? Be realistic. Just because family and friends say it is the best idea ever does not matter. What is the general public’s reaction? Could you take what you have, stand on a street corner and sell it to most of the people walking by?
If yes, you cleared another hurdle.
3) Are you famous? Or, is someone famous backing you?
We live in a celebrity-obsessed culture. A celebrity can endorse a line of vitamins and that is news. Celebrity sells.
If you can get someone famous to be your spokesman OR you are famous, then you have cleared a different hurdle.
Going back to garcinia cambogia, this fruit would never have exploded across the news unless a few people like Dr. Oz endorsed it. The fact is, hundreds of plants and plant derivatives can help with weight loss and better health in general. Unless someone famous steps up to endorse it, the news media won’t care.
4) Do you have money for promotions and advertising?
All of the above points are irrelevant if you have enough money. Yes, I am literally saying you can buy your way into the news. As a 30+ year veteran of the media, I’m telling you something that is not a secret, but most people don’t know.
The purpose of the media is to make money. We provide news that people want so advertisers will send money to be associated with that news. If the news does not attract an audience, it does not get printed, aired, published, etc.
Advertisers wield enormous influence over news content. Most media outlets will scream “NO!” at that statement. Empirical evidence says otherwise.
Corporate Interests and Their Impact on News Coverage
American Marketing Association
The Effects of Online Advertisements and News Images on News Reception
And, most damning of all for the media industry A Pew Research Center study.
Bill O’Reilly was bounced because of advertiser boycotts.
In short, if media outlets cannot make money, they go out of business. Not news, but the same thing.
5) What is realistic?
You can still get in the news. You can appear on Fox, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, affiliates, Your press release can appear on news websites around the world. Your press release can be published on press release distribution sites.
With a little effort on your part, your press release can appear in your regional news market.
If you have money, a few thousand dollars, you can even appear in press release distributions that hit every news outlet in the nation. Press release distribution companies offer a premium service that sends your PR to thousands of news outlets in North America. Many news media outlets look over these items to find stories.
We write press releases. We guarantee acceptance by the major PR distributors if you follow our guidelines. We’re ready to write to boost your products and ideas. Are you ready to find success?