10 Ways to Get Coverage in Features (and only one is Response Source)

I saw on Daryl's blog today that 15,000 requests were sent through the Response Source system last year.

It's not clear whether 15,000 features were posted on the service, or whether 15,000 mails were sent out to PRs (features can be listed in numerous categories, so it's possible one feature might generate several requests) but whichever way you look at it, that's a lot of journalists using Response Source to get comment - and a lot of PRs using requests to get coverage.

While I'm not the world's number one fan of web PR services as a journo, they're doing a great job for plenty of people. But what happens when you're a smaller player and you struggle to stand out amongst the many PRs who respond to those 15,000 enquiries (especially those relating to national newspapers or consumer magazines, where it's possible to get 200+ responses in a couple of days)?

The good news is there are other ways to track what hacks are up to, and get coverage if a web PR service isn't enough on its own (and it really shouldn't be). Here are our top 10:

1. Sign up to the features lists published by magazines and newspapers themselves. This is particularly helpful in alerting you to changes in editorial planning that may not be picked up immediately by the web PR services.
2. Many freelancers now have websites with details of current commissions, and the really smart ones are publishing those commissions as an RSS feed, so you can easily see when they’re working on a new article.
3. Web PR services are undoubtedly a great way to have opportunities come to you – but don’t only sign up for one service. Ask Charity is a great web PR service for non-profits and charities. There are also services like Gorkana PR, Food4Media, Property4Media, Travmedia etc.
4. Sign up to Facebook groups like this one, where journalists post requests for case studies. There are Facebook groups around industry events, academic disciplines, industry sectors – sign up and keep your eye on new postings and requests from members.
5. Track the requests on sites like StarNow, for entertainment value, if nothing else.
6. Depending on your client, consider signing up for relevant forums. Mumsnet regularly posts requests from journalists looking for people with particular stories to tell, while journalists regularly post requests on industry forums such as Journobiz,  UK Press, Fleet St Forum and Journalism.co.uk. The massive advantage of these sites is that they will also allow you to build relationships with hacks beyond the simple transaction of the web pr services.
7. If you’re working within a vertical sector such as health or financial services, make sure you’re in touch with the relevant hack associations. The Guild of Health Writers or the Guild of British Travel writers regularly hold events where you can meet key industry players, as well as distributing news on behalf of PR types.
8. Given that this is a blog, I should also mention that social media can be a great research tool for PR professionals. Social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook are increasingly being used to source expert comment for features – and logging into Facebook this morning, three of my journo colleagues were using their “status” message to broadcast requests for help from friends. 
9. Don’t just wait for hacks to come to you. Consider whether your client should be listed in places where hacks will find them. For example, if your client is a leading hotel group, why not list them on Expertsources as a potential talking head for travel features? If staffers aren't returning your calls, why not find a freelancer who specialises in this sector through an online directory?
10. Finally, let’s state the obvious. If you’ve got a great client with a great story, don’t wait for opportunity to land in your lap. Start pitching anyway. Not sure how to stand out? Come to one of our courses and learn to craft killer pitches!

Comments

[old yellow bird]

Thanks for these Sally - some stuff I've not heard about before, so could be very useful.

Perhaps I need to improve my pitching too, as I so often find email pitches sent through RS aren't even acknolwedged.

B

[Sally]

You're welcome.

This post also contains some brilliant ideas on finding people,although it's aimed more at hacks than flacks.

http://joannemallon.typepad.com/joanne_the_coach/2008/01/going-undergrou.html

[Will Smith]

Thanks for an interesting post.

We've used response source in my agency for a number of years and I have noticed that pitches on behalf of some clients do seem to just disappear while others work really well, so I'm hoping that they're interesting and relevant - is it common to get hundreds of responses from PRs?

[hypertextual]

I've used Sourcewire for a number of years and would say 200 responses is unusual - typically for a business magazine,you'd expect to get around 50 pitches from PRs, and 40 will be crap.

It's sod's law though that if I'm writing for the FT I will get a minimum of 200 responses, often more like 300. But if I'm writing for a small specialist magazine I might be lucky to get 2 pitches. (and one of those will be nothing to do with my request but will say I notice you are writing about virtualisation in server farms, and wondered if you'd be interested in my client, who provide tea parties for little girls?" ;-)

[Daryl Willcox]

Excellent post Sally - this is an very comprehensive guide to techniques and services for getting coverage.
The number I refer to in my blog refers to individual requests made by journalists, not the total number of messages sent to PRs. The actual number of requests was 15,222 for the year to 29 January.
That probably works out at around 50 million emails sent out to PRs.
We actually find that smaller organisations (and we do have a lot of small businesses, charities and public sector organisations) do very well on pitches beacuse they often have a unique story to tell. In that way Response Source is a bit of a leveller.

[norm]

I think you're imagining that PRs will spend a lot of time investigating editorial opportunities - why bother, when Gorkana emails them straight to me, allowing me to get on with something less boring instead??

[Will Smith]

I am not sure I agree with Daryll that smaller players do better on response source than bigger companies. I find it's my two smaller clients that are overlooked even when they have a strong story and angle for a feature. I have worked on a major tech company and find that when we pitch them via the same service, often to the same features as one of the smaller clients, the bigger company always gets picked up at their expense.

I think with smaller clients, what works better is building personal relationships with journalists and use that as a way to introduce them to the client in a less competitive scenario. However that can take a lot of time and is really difficult to do, because you don't really know who you should be building the relationship with in many cases.

[Danny]

the really smart ones are publishing those commissions as an RSS feed, so you can easily see when they’re working on a new article.

What an excellent idea. I just set one up and I'm getting the assistant to maintain it. Gives me somewhere to point all the PR people asking what I'm writing about. Nice one, Sally.

Good luck with the requests blog, too. Another good idea you have there. I'll be interested to see how it goes.

[Sally]

Thanks Danny - of course, all inspired by your online features list experiment, so you know, you can claim royalties if it pans out!!

[Richard Wilde]

Starnow is a good source for tracking requests, as if www.fame4anyone.com. again i agree if nothing else its good entertainment value.