Lead Generation to Land Free Publicity
When thinking about where to get leads, I like to ask myself four questions related to Steven Covey’s “Begin With The End In Mind.”
- Where would you like to be covered?
- What trade journals do your clients read?
- What media outlets would give maximum exposure to your products, services, or corporate culture?
- Why are you trying to land PR?
Once you know the answers to those questions then you’re ready to start mapping out your PR strategy.
First, make a list of all the media outlets you want to cover you. Think about TV, radio, online, magazines, newspapers, blogs, newsletters, trade journals, and community papers.
Then, find out who has covered your competitors? Who has covered similar companies in other industries? All of those people can write about you too.
The key is to find the best writers and journalists within each of those media outlets. Remember, someone who covers oil and gas companies won’t write about a medical supply company. Someone who covers mergers and acquisitions won’t write about your company’s corporate culture.
All contact information for writers, journalists and photographers can be obtained through services like Media Atlas or Cision Point. You can also find it quickly by entering the person’s name, company, and the word ‘phone’ or ‘address’ into an online search engine. In a worst case scenario, you can always call the main switchboard and ask for the person by name– –I always do this with a tone of voice that implies they’re practically my lifelong friend. I just casually say, “Oh hi, Mike Smith please,” and if they ask if I’d like his voice mail I say “sure, what’s his direct line again so I don’t bother you next time?” It usually works.
You want to target top media outlets like we did with the Top 20 idea. Go online and grab free lists of the top newspapers and magazines by circulation, top blogs by readers, and so forth. Once you have those lists, have your team pick five from each category. Stay hyper-focused. Resist the urge to simply say they’d all be good. It shouldn’t take you more than an hour to do this whole exercise and the focus it provides will be extremely beneficial.
For more information on this topic, check out: Generating Free PR.
