Develop Your Media List
- Research all of the newspapers, magazines, television and radio programs in your area.
- Then find the name of the beat reporter for real estate in that publication (or the main editor if they don't have a real estate specific reporter).
- Now it's your turn to become the journalist! Call the publication/news outlet or use Google to find the phone and email address of each contact.
- Using Associated Press Style, write a press release about your newsworthy event.
- Be sure to use a lead sentence which provides top-down information (all the important who, what, when, where, why in one sentence).
- Keep it brief and succinct.
- Use a bold and captivating headline.
- Go to your selected news outlets' websites and determine if they have editorial calendars. If they do, see if they have a real estate issue or small business issue and record all subjects that relate to your news.
- Find out how the news outlet prefers to be contacted - phone/email/fax.
- Find similar stories in their publication and reference them in the next step, "Send Your Pitches".
- Send an email to the contact you found, using their preference of communication and in a few short sentences explain to them why your news would be a good fit for their publication.
- Reference the section that your story would be a good fit for or list a similar story you found in the last step and mention how your news is similar and therefor appropriate.
- Attach the press release, provide your contact information and offer to send high resolution photography.
- The last step is to make follow up calls to your contacts you send pitches to the day after or a few days after.
- Simply make sure they received your press release and see what you can do to help them with the story.
