The Web, of course, has made getting in touch with the media much easier. However has anyone had luck with emailing a journalist (you don’t know) a story and actually get published? If so, what is your secret? In most cases however, (in the words of David) “PR people are spamming journalists with unsolicited and unrelenting commercial messages in the form of news releases and untargeted broadcast pitches.”

Don’t worry, David is here to help with The New Rules of Media Relations:

• Nontargeted, broadcast pitches are spam.
• News releases sent to reporters in subject areas they do not cover are spam.
• Reporters who don’t know you yet are looking for organizations like yours and products like yours-make sure they will find you on sites such as Google and Technorati.
• If you blog, reporters who cover the space will find you.
• Pitch bloggers, because being covered in important blogs will get you noticed by mainstream media.
• When was the last news release you sent? Make sure your organization is “busy.”
• Journalists want a great online media room!
• Some (but not all) reporters love RSS feeds.
• Personal relationships with reporters are important.
• Dont’ tell journalists what your product does. Tell them how you solve customer problems.
• Does the reporter have a blog? Read it. Comment on it. Track back to it (send a message whenever you blog on a subject that the reporter blogged about first).
• Before you pitch, read (or listen to or watch) the publication (or radio program or TV show) you’ll be pitching to!
• Once you know what a reporter is interested in, send her an individualized pitch crafted especially for her needs.

Now your rate of getting noticed will hopefully be much more successful when you use these tips. And now let’s fast forward a bit, you have used the New Rules and started building relationships. How do you pitch to these journalists now? David has a few tips on this as well…woo hoo!

• Target one reporter at a time.
• Help the journalist to understand the big picture.
• Explain how customers use your product or work with your organization.
• Don’t send e-mail attachments unless asked.
• Follow up promptly with potential contacts.
• Don’t forget, it’s a two-way street-journalists need you to pitch them!

Mainstream media is still very important and hopefully you will follow the New Rules and tactics to start getting noticed. To close the same way David did, “you need to be smart how you tell your story on the Web-and about how you tell your story to journalists.”

Next week we will cover chapters 17 and 18 on Blogging to Reach Your Buyers and Podcasting and Video Made, Well, as Easy as Possible.