How Can My Business Get Press?
We get asked all the time, “How do all these businesses get such great press?” So, we are breaking down the elusive subject of Press and P.R. and are sharing our straightforward approach to press that has landed some huge wins for our clients.
What is Press? When we say press, we are referring to articles written for a publication, also called editorials, not paid advertising to run a print ad.
*Disclaimer: I have never worked with a P.R. (public relations) firm, and I wouldn’t be able to tell you what P.R. firms do. I’m not saying anything negative about them, I just legitimately don’t know what they do. Our approach to Press developed naturally from talking to magazine editors, writers and news media outlets.
The Classic Approach to Press
Every publication has editors and writers. If you have a list of email addresses and a story you think is worth sharing, you can send a press release to that list. A press release is a succinct, unbiased summary of facts about your story. After receiving a press release, a magazine editor may assign the story to a writer based on the information you’ve provided. In other cases, a writer may fall in love with the story themselves and ask for the green light from the editor to write about it.
The Clever Punch Approach to Press
Press releases serve a purpose, and we’ve written a lot of them. Although sometimes you come across a story so compelling that it’s worth the risk of time and energy to pursue an editor or writer. In those circumstances, this is the step-by-step way we will go about getting a great story published:
Worthy Storytelling - First, we need to be sure it is a story worth telling. No one likes stories that sound like advertisements. When business owners become overly involved in controlling their own story, the result can end up being excessively biased — and that will send your story straight into the trash bin. So, you have to honestly ask yourself — Is this interesting? Does it evoke emotion? Is it time sensitive?
Ghost Writers - We write the story ourselves. Yes, it’s a lot of work but here is the thought process; Everyone is busy. What if someone emailed you and said, “Hi, I did this thing for you. I don’t have any expectations, but if you like what you see, it will save you about three days worth of work.” Sometimes, we even offer them the opportunity to do what they please with the story, and don’t even worry about giving us credit. In that case, we become a “ghostwriter.”
Professional Photography - We may even go as far as providing unreleased professional photos specific to the story.
Exclusive Coverage - We offer our most coveted publication the exclusive. So, instead of sharing a press release for everyone to see, we give it directly to one publication, making them the only ones who know about our great story.
Follow Up - Then, we follow up. And follow up. And follow up some more. We learn what they are thinking, if we are getting any traction and if there’s anything else we can do to make the story newsworthy for them.
Stay Gracious - Last, we hope for everything but expect nothing. In all honesty, there have been times when we have spent energy on a story that just never came to fruition. Sometimes the story doesn’t resonate. Sometimes the timing isn’t right. But we’ve also had some incredible wins.
Our Top Four Clever Punch Press Wins!
NO. 2 - COAST SUPPLY CO. ON KEYT
NO. 1 - BEVYHOUSE IN MALIBU SURFSIDE
Back in April, Coast Supply Co. donated $25,000 worth of windows to Hope Refuge, a local Santa Barbara non-profit that helps young girls who are survivors of sex trafficking. We learned this was happening on a Thursday night and rallied our photographer and videographer to be at the location at 7:00 a.m. the next day to capture the donation in action. After filming, editing, and finalizing, we sent the video clips to KEYT News by noon on Friday. The story aired on live television the very next day
Bevyhouse had the first modular home permitted since the devastating 2018 Malibu Woolsey fires. This story was worthy of press, so we wrote an article and pitched it to local editors. The Malibu Surfside took the story and published it, reaching an audience of 12,000 people.
NO. 3 - DYLAN STAR CLOTHING BOUTIQUE FOR SANTA BARBARA BOWL AND SB NEWSPRESS
As you can imagine, creating a trusting relationship with the Santa Barbara Bowl and Goldenvoice does not happen overnight. We wrote a story around pairing six outfits with six summer concerts. Then we produced a photoshoot at the bowl and brought in other businesses to collaborate on a giveaway when the story was released. The result was a full-page spread in Santa Barbara NewsPress (see exactly how we did it here) and content on sbbowl.com for the entire summer. We estimate our story reached more than 70,000 people.
NO. 4 - FOLDED HILLS IN SANTA BARBARA LIFE & STYLE
My first ever published article called, “A Year in the Life of a Winemaker,” followed Folded Hills winemaker Angela Osborne for an entire year as she harvested grapes, made wine, bottled it and had a baby. Santa Barbara Life & Style ran the story I wrote word for word, across five pages.
Key Takeaways
The way we handle press is the same way we do most things here at Clever Punch — like a human with good common sense. We think about what other people would want. We take the time needed to build relationships. We stay positive and relentless. We expect nothing but hope for everything. And when we get some traction, we take it to the moon!
Do you feel like you have a story worth sharing? We’d love to hear about it. Drop us a line at info@cleverpunchco.com