CHENNAI : I often see a lot of entrepreneurs struggling to get their first media coverage. Firstly, many are unaware of the process and manner in which they should approach media, and secondly, they have no networking with media personnel. Good news that can be discoverable if reached through proper communication channels becomes stale hitting the walls. So today, let’s figure out what it takes to get your first media coverage.
Identify your news premise
Each of these would likely be covered by different journalists of the same media house. A journalist that covers funding news might not be writing product reviews. So it is very important for you to identify what is the premise of your news.
Draft a press release
Drafting a press release that clearly covers the following three aspects is very important. 1) Conveys the news
2) Conveys why the news is authentic (you can give quotes by founders, data points, market size information, etc.)
3) Conveys the impact of the news. If your news is whimsical or just self-pleasing and does not have an impact on an overall ecosystem of entrepreneurship/technology/industry — it might not be a worthy byte.
Identify journalists
Do a little research and go through newspapers/website articles of the journalists who have covered news in the similar domain previously. A thorough research will help you prepare a list of journalists you would want to reach out to.
Reach out with the news
If you have a connection who can introduce you to the journalist then great. If not, try mailing them and wait for their response. You can alternatively contact the company board line to direct you to the journalist’s desk.
For any queries, write to Rajeev@TBSPlanet.com