How to Give Product Samples to Media

One of the best ways to get free publicity is to give samples of your product to the media. Sometimes, the media themselves will approach you, requesting a sample for them to photograph or review.

However, even if you don’t get such requests, you can be proactive in sending out samples.

Doing so demonstrates your confidence in your product. The media themselves –or someone they know and trust–can try your product first-hand and give an unbiased opinion on it.

Plus, it’s much easier and more compelling to write about a product that’s already in your hands, especially if it’s relevant to your beat (a topic assigned to reporters). For example, a beauty editor may be more likely to write about a new moisturizer if they receive a sample bottle to try.

That said, there are right and wrong ways of giving product samples. Below are some useful tips to remember:

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How to Get PR for Your Live Event

You may not realize it, but having a live event is an excellent PR opportunity. The event itself is usually newsworthy. If you think it isn’t, then make it so!

Make the most of this opportunity by planning your PR efforts for every stage of your event, as you can see below:

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Do You Still Need Traditional Media for PR?

With the rise of social media, many “experts” have predicted the demise of traditional media, whether for information dissemination, advertising, marketing or PR.

In fact, one of our readers recently commented, “I am not so sure I need access to a traditional reporter anymore!”

While I encourage my clients and students to include social media in their PR strategy, I would not advise anybody to drop traditional media.

It may seem that traditional media is losing its usefulness. Many newspapers and magazines have folded up. More and more people are turning to social networks first to get the news. And popular bloggers are reaching incredible numbers of people.

All this is true.

However, we still need traditional media for PR. Here are five reasons why:

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5 New Year’s Resolutions to Get More PR in 2011

Another year has rolled in, and I hope one of your business goals is to get more PR for your business.

PR doesn’t have to cost you thousands of dollars or hundreds of hours to achieve. In fact, with a few well-ingrained, PR-attracting habits, you can easily become a virtual PR magnet.

Below are five resolutions that will help you get more PR in 2011:

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How to Get Story Pitch Ideas From Watching the News

If you want you or your product to have exposure in the news, then you need to be an avid consumer of the news. Both your local and national news are excellent sources of story ideas to pitch to journalists on your media list.

By using what’s already in the news as your inspiration for media stories, you have a better chance of coming up with topics that are already relevant and interesting — in other words, newsworthy.

Here are three examples of how you can get story ideas from the news:

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In Today’s Changing Media Landscape, Reporters Have Never Been More Accessible to Tell Your Story

Today, we have another guest post, this time from Emmy award winning journalist, Mark Joyella. Mark talks about how the changes in media mean more opportunities for us business owners to connect with journalists. He also gives us tips on how to approach journalists online. Enjoy!

Not that long ago, there were two general classifications of reporters; those who worked in print (newspapers and magazines), and those who worked in broadcast (TV and radio). Once a reporter picked a path, they largely stayed on it through the end of their career.

Today, the categories have blurred beyond recognition—you’re likely to meet a newspaper reporter carrying a video camera today, and a television reporter who just wants to talk over the phone for a story he’s writing for the TV station’s website.

In a sense, today’s reporters do it all—they tell stories on traditional newscasts like the 6:00 news, and increasingly, they pump out information in small bites all day long on Facebook and Twitter.

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Advanced Media Interview Tactics From Football

At some point in your PR adventure, you’re going to encounter a “difficult” question.

Perhaps it’s a question that’s potentially contentious, for instance, one that pits you against a competitor.

It could be a question to which you don’t know the answer.

Or it could be a question whose answer is confidential.

How do you respond to those challenging questions from journalists? The hackneyed response, “No comment,” is overused and essentially useless. It raises more questions than it answers and makes the reporter (and his audience) suspicious of you.

As an alternative, I’d like to share with you a media interview tactic inspired from… football.

It’s called block-tackle-recover.

It’s a strategy that will buy yourself some time so you can collect your thoughts, redirect the interview to your key points, and help you deliver your key messages without totally ignoring or avoiding the reporter’s question.

Below, I describe each step and give concrete examples of what you could say to a reporter. The assumption here is that you’ve prepared for your interview by having your key main messages prior to the interview.

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PR and Social Media Training for British Columbia Businesses

If you’re a business based in British Columbia, I’ve got exciting news for you!

Starting the end of November, I’m going to be giving a PR and Social Media Intensive training program for BC-based small businesses.

The goal of the training is to turn employees into “company evangelists” who create buzz-worthy stories about their companies and make them viral through social media.

Why Should You Be Interested?

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Publicity That Lures In Reporters Like Insects To A Venus Fly Trap

Today, I have a guest blogger, Patrick Garmoe. Patrick was a former staff reporter for Duluth News Tribune, suburban city staff reporter at Daily Herald, regional reporter at Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, and editor-in-chief of The Creightonian.

This is the first of what I hope to be a number of guest posts from journalists or former journalists, to give you the other perspective of how media works and how it feels to be on the other side of the PR process. I’m certain this knowledge will help you, the business owner, to get publicity more effectively and build mutually beneficial relationships with journalists and editors.

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About this time a year ago, I swapped banging on doors as a reporter for a Minnesota newspaper, to pounding the pavement for a new job.

One thing I didn’t miss about journalism were pesky public relations types, or local business owners trying to bend my ear in a largely fruitless attempt to lure me into writing about their latest service or gadget.

Looking back on it, I have more empathy for those hunting for headlines. As great as social media is, those megaphones traditional newspapers and television stations provide can still pump out the kind of exposure that could take months or years to garner, no matter how many Twitter followers you’ve got.

So here are some insider tips on successfully pitching reporters, that all reporters assume you intuitively know. I explain further down exactly, how to word your pitch.

If You Must Cold Call, Do It Before the Late Afternoon.

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42 Years, One Lesson

I’m 42 today and I wanted to share with you one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned.

Sometimes I can’t believe it. I still remember when I thought 30 was… old. But here I am and since my father died suddenly at 50, I’ve been determined to live my life to the fullest for a while now.

So…

• I’ve traveled to more than 40 countries and met many amazing people.

• I’ve had the adrenalin rush of riding in a race car and finishing a triathlon.

• I’ve nurtured creativity and learned to paint and take ballet as an adult.

• I’ve danced in a music video, dated a movie star, met with royalty.

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