Just tell us the real answer

I recently contacted a hotel with regards to a press stay for a national newspaper.

“We don’t have availability to host a stay for you,” responded the PR.

“That's strange as I can see availability. Would May 12-14 be more suitable?”

“That is correct, we indeed have availability. But we are unfortunately not able to offer you a complimentary stay in exchange for exposure on the dates you mentioned."

"I understand* (*I don't). Which other dates are available?"

“Thank you for your understanding. But unfortunately we are not interested in your offer for the exposure. So we are therefore not able to host you.”

It took at least five emails for the truth to unfold - they simply weren’t interested. So instead of all the to-ing and fro-ing, please just say this.

If you/the company you represent don’t want to comment on a piece, don’t say you don’t have the time/can't meet the deadline because a journalist can sometimes chat to the editor and come back and extend the deadline for the right comment (this usually then results in another flaky excuse). 

The MD isn’t available? Ok, sometimes we’re happy with someone lower down the chain.

Honestly, 18 years I have done this and rather than the emails back and forth and the lies, just tell us – “Sorry, we’re not interested in contributing right now.” I’d much appreciate that rather than trying to extend the deadline and come back to you, or figure out new dates for the press trip and then be declined again when actually, it wasn’t the dates that didn’t fit – it was because you/the company just didn’t want to be in the press (or in that particular title).

Taking steps to ensure the language you use is inclusive

How journalists write a story and the words they use matter. Of course they do. Language is nuanced and forever changing. While progress has been made, ableist language still exists. Inclusion London’s report, Disability, Crime and Hate Crime in the News, examined news coverage of 300 crimes against disabled people over the last 18 years and found that news stories about crimes against disabled people (using the language in Disability News Service here) contained disablist portrayals, frequently using descriptions such helpless, weak, and vulnerable.

While reporters, editors, subeditors and so on have a job to do, PRs and those working in comms also have a role to play to help ensure the language used is inclusive.

I’m bringing this up today as my lovely friend Sara Thornhurst, who provides disability focused inclusion training for PR professionals, has recently worked with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) to launch a new guide designed to help PR and comms professionals improve their understanding of the language to use when it comes to disability. It is one of five guides, and is available to download here.

For those who are keen to learn more, Sara offers online training sessions for PR agencies and teams. More information here.

An insight into the commissioning process

The topic for this blog comes from a question asked in my last workshop: do editors ask me to write stories on certain subjects or do I pitch ideas?

Good question. I’ve gone through periods, especially back in the day at trade magazines, where pretty much all the feature briefs were fielded out to me by the features editor rather than me pitching. But when I started working for the nationals and consumer titles and those editors didn’t know me from Adam, I had to pitch fresh ideas myself. These days, it’s a combination. Sometimes an editor will drop me an email and ask if I have any ideas and could I send them over, other times they’ll send me a brief and ask if I have availability to work on it. I’d say most of the time now I’m in a fortunate position to work on ideas I want to work on (usually that means they're sustainability focused, or feel-good/solutions-based journalism). One editor knows not to contact me with suggestions as I’m quite particular about what I want to cover for that particular title. I wasn’t always in this fortunate position and I know things could change again and so I don’t take it for granted. Although I’m far from raking it in, due to the media consultancy (the workshops, the online course, the content network agency and the Power Hours), I no longer have to say yes to absolutely every single potential commission that lands in my inbox, giving me the luxury and breathing space to focus more on stories that I’m interested in, and generally for publications I want to write for.

Of course, this is just my way of working. There’ll be freelancers who won’t write for certain publications if they asked them, there’ll be some that due to the terrible rates in journalism need to accept any work that comes their way, while some journalists will only work on particular features for high-paying publications.

If you have any subjects that you would like me to discuss in a future workshop or newsletter, please send them over as I’m always on the lookout for new ideas.

It pays to be kind

I’d finally refilled my Le Labo bottle after several failed attempts and was happily walking to my workspace in London when I was suddenly reminded of an arrogant entrepreneur in one of the beats I used to cover. A veteran in the industry, he was a strong contact of the magazine and was one of the first people I interviewed when I joined. From the offset he was rude, condescending, and always tried to assert control. In order to continue dealing with him I had to put my feelings towards him to one side. When I broke free, I never had to deal with him on that level again – well, till I was freelancing on a newsdesk and I wrote a critical story about his company and then he turned on me. Karma anyone? 

Over the years since I’ve been freelance I’ve had different PR agencies put him forward for interview slots. He might be a name, but when I think of him I just remember that sense of entitlement and his overwhelming arrogance. It’s always a big fat NO from me. We all know it pays to be kind, but if you or your client are rude or a walking ego, journalists (like most people) remember, meaning perhaps they won’t want to work with you or your client again in the future.

Here’s Where More Journalists Are Hanging Out

In the last 48 hours I’ve had at least four alerts of journalists doing the same thing. Ping. Another has joined. And another one has joined. What is it, you might ask? The answer is Substack, the newsletter publishing platform.

Writing newsletters ain’t anything new but there appears to be a new breed of journalists choosing to go down this route. Many writers are jumping into this field because the traditional publishing model isn’t working for them anymore. Maybe there’s fewer opportunities to cover what they’d like to be writing about. Perhaps they view publishing a newsletter as an additional revenue stream, with some asking subscribers for a reasonable £5 a month to read their words. It may well be early days for some of them but they might turn into a strong side hustle or equate to a decent salary.

It’s another place you can get a glimpse into a journalist’s life (if you want to). You might gain more of an affinity or glimpse into their lifestyle which might make them easier to pitch to. Maybe they might cover what they’re working on at the moment (like moi, sometimes), or there could be an opportunity for you or your client’s brand to be featured in the newsletter as some may be landing in the inbox of your exact target audience. It might be impossible to subscribe to all of them (time-wise or money-wise), but perhaps there’s certain writers in your sector, or some you feel more naturally associated with, that you may wish to follow.

Also, it’s always another great way to build relationships with journalists. “Oh, I read your newsletter on and xxxx” etc might catch their attention and make them feel slightly more inclined to respond.

Here’s a few journalists on Substack that have caught my eye recently:

• Kate Spicer

• Tiffanie Darke

• Caroline Criado Perez (starts from £5 a month)

• Flic Bowden-Smith

• Farrah Storr (from £6 a month)

A Masterful Way To Raise A Profile

About four years ago I received an email from the Guardian that both thrilled and scared me: Would I be interested in hosting a couple of Guardian Masterclasses? One exploring freelancing for journalists, the other focussed on how PRs and small businesses can improve their press coverage. A former colleague at the Guardian had recommended me. I knew I should jump at the chance – it could potentially lead to something – but I felt nervous. Running a masterclass for the Guardian? Eeek. To cut a long story short, I accepted the PR Masterclass gig. The programme leaders viewed the session as a success and on the back of it they lined me up to run sessions every quarter or so. Seizing the opportunity and disliking the fact it was just for Londoners (or those on the outskirts), I decided to set up my own workshops across the UK - where I will have met some of you in person - before jumping into webinars, courses, and so on. If I never said yes, I doubt I would be emailing you now. Although I've stuck to journalism and that will remain my core focus, it's meant that I'm a little less worried about money than I used to be. It leveraged me to become an expert, super charged me as a teacher, brought with it countless opportunities, and also helped me feel comfortable with public speaking.

So why should this backstory interest you? Because there's an opportunity for you or your client to host classes or courses with national titles.

The Guardian is investing heavily in its masterclasses and is constantly searching for experts to host classes on a range of different subjects.

If you're looking for a new way to raise your or your client's profile, why not pitch yourself or your clients to become a Guardian Masterclass host? Becoming a teacher can give you/your client a dash of gravitas – and ultimately help sell some more products/services.

Their timetable showcases a list of experts ranging from life coach Fiona Buckland to business strategist Simon Alexander Ong.

Here's the Pitch Your Masterclass page, which features a pitching form. Add details for yourself/your client, what are you pitching - a one-day workshop or three-hour session, for example, and include your bio – do flag up if you have lecturing experience, and if you have a particularly sizable following on social media.

The Times has followed suit and now runs masterclasses and courses via its website. Allyson Stewart-Allen, CEO of International Marketing Partners, has run one on personal branding, designer and maker Nicole Akong has hosted a session on dressmaking, while Lucy Gough regularly leads workshops on styling your home.

Consider This When You're Organising A Press Trip

Image by Josh Nezon

I was impressed last week when a press trip invite landed in my inbox offering to pay for journalists to travel to the exhibition (Norwegian Presence) in Oslo by train. Agency Zetteler emailed to say the team would be travelling to London to Oslo by train (already earning my respect as fellow environmentalists) and invited journalists to join them on the adventure, throwing in a link to Seat 61 and outlining that from London it would be 3-day, 2-night stop-over journey via Paris, Brussels and Copenhagen. Flagging up that they had partnered with Byway Travel to manage the whole journey for everyone, no matter where they were travelling from (not all journalists live in London), they even said if people wanted to come by any other means of public transport, they would cover that too.

Bravo team Zetterler. Readers of this newsletter will probably know this would capture my attention. I've flown once (when I suddenly had to leave Berlin when borders were closing in the midst of the pandemic) since 2018, when I really started to understand the climate emergency we're in. I understand this isn't possible for everyone (what with families and relationships abroad), but for me, I think now I will only fly if there's no other way to get there, really (anyone else fancy travelling to America by cargo ship?!).

The invite came on the back of a story I just wrote about people giving up flying. Funnily enough I was invited to a press trip to Nigeria the very next day.

Now I know many journalists will still fly to go on press trips but I do know some people are reducing their flights. I think if you're going to invite hacks abroad at least offer to cover alternative means of getting there. There's lots of talk from companies about how they're trying to be green etc, and a lot of it is greenwashing, but actually stepping up and offering an alternative to flying just proves how much you truly mean it.

Also, I wrote about this initiative a few years back but while I'm here, it's worth mentioning Climate Perks, a scheme that works with climate-conscious employers to offer at least two paid “journey days” per year to staff who travel on holiday by train, coach or boat instead of flying. Perhaps one to encourage your company to sign up to.

Thanks for reading.
Susie

Don't Lose A Press Opportunity This Way

Photo by Souvik Banerjee

Hi everyone

Hope you're all enjoying February.

If I can't find a press email address on a company's website, one thing I regularly do is tweet the business (if it's an active account) to ask for a number or email for press enquiries. Often I receive a response, some times it might come through a week or so after I fired off that tweet, and many times no one responds. Obviously there's other ways I might contact the company – finding the CEO on LinkedIn, for example – but if you or your client do have active social media accounts, it really is worth them checking in on them regularly. With a lack of response to their general email address, this week I contacted a company via Twitter for a media email address for a potential interview for a BBC article and pinged a message to the CEO on LinkedIn. It's very likely in the next few hours I'll just find another company, meaning they've lost a great press opportunity.

Two week's today I'll be running my first in-person workshop in London in two years. Fancy learning more about how you or your client can boost your press coverage?  Join us in London on February 24.

And remember if you can't make my workshop, you have until end of February to secure 10% off my online course, Lessons from a Journalist: How to Secure Press Coverage. Just enter the code Winter10 at the checkout. ps If you have attended the same-name workshop or webinars, you're entitled to 50% off my course. Just drop me an email and I'll sort it out for you.

Thanks for reading. 

Susie

Come Join Me For A Webinar With Digiday

Hi everyone,

First off, what a lovely reaction to my paid newsletter which I announced earlier this month. Thank you. The paid newsletter will land every other Thursday, which means subscribers receive a newsletter from moi every week. I've also added an annual subscriber fee which works out cheaper than paying every month.

Whether you're based in the UK, US or Kenya, if you or your client are an expert, then you don't want to miss next week's paid newsletter where I'll be discussing a brilliant opportunity to be involved with the Guardian and The Times.

This isn't a #journorequest or anything like that. It's an opportunity to give you or your client more exposure and gravitas both nationally and globally. I've also provided contacts so you can jump on these opportunities straight away. Here's how you can subscribe to find out more next week. 

When you sign up to the newsletter you'll also receive details of a really exciting new national small business section with press opportunities for you or your client, plus a free ebook and 10% off my course.

In other news, I'll be hosting a webinar with Digiday Future of Work editor Jessica Davies on June 17. Costing just £10, the session will last for around an hour and there'll be plenty of time for your questions. It's also recorded so if you can't make that time, you'll still be sent the webinar afterwards. Paid newsletter subscribers will be able to attend for free (and will be sent details in a future newsletter).  You can sign up here.

Thanks

Susie

A Green Opportunity For Press Coverage

Photo by Li-An Lim

Hi everyone,

Although my newsletter fails to sync with Earth Day next Thursday, I thought I'd still seize the opportunity to look at how the media has finally started to step up its attention on the climate crisis.

Given the climate emergency we're facing and the fact the UK is hosting UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November, there's set to be A LOT of coverage around this year's event. (This CN Traveller article by its sustainability editor Juliet Kinsman is just one example; it's also well worth a read.)

You might have already pitched a story to magazines to coincide with Earth Day, founded in 1970 to help protect and conserve the planet. But fear not, it's not too late to fire off story pitches and opinion pieces to newspapers and online titles.

Of course you don't need a date like Earth Day to pitch your climate-related stories. With climate change already here in the form of intense weather patterns, the media has stepped up their climate and environmental coverage significantly in recent times, meaning there's a stronger appetite for your green pitches.

We're seeing publishers establish dedicated climate hubs. In February The Independent created a climate section covering news, views and sustainable lifestyle features. (I checked and there's no devoted desk but if you ever have a straight climate pitch, I was told climate correspondent Daisy Dunne is your contact.) The title has also created a climate channel within its TV platform.

The FT has set up Climate Capital, a dedicated area on its website bringing all of its climate coverage under one roof, and appointed Emiliya Mychasuk as climate editor. Over at The Sun, political correspondent Natasha Clark is now reporting on environment and climate news ahead of COP26 in November.

Although by no means a climate reporter, over the years I've stepped up my focus on more positive and impactful journalism, with the environment becoming a stronger part of my (very varied) portfolio. In recent years I've whipped up a report on quantifying sustainability for WGSN (for subscribers only), reported on the rise of carbon trackers for the BBC, interviewed people cutting back on flying for the Guardian, explored the impact of business travel on the environment for the Guardian, honed in on rental fashion for the i, and interviewed an XR activist for the Guardian.

With being COP26 set to be held in Glasgow in November, there'll be an even stronger demand for climate-related stories. Get pitching.
 

Enjoy the rest of your week.
Susie

What Would You Like To See From Me In 2021?

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year. I hope you were all able to find some joy over the festive season despite youknowwhat.

Have you set yourself any goals for 2021? Although I'm sure 2020 taught us that sometimes even just basic survival is a good enough intention, I've set myself a few – from the ambitious (book editing and trying to create a physical space for a Library of Things in Margate) to the more achievable (hello adventures in the campervan and scouting out new wild swimming spots).

As you might be thinking about your press coverage goals for yourself or your client, I'd love to know what you'd like to see more of from me in 2021. Are there any subjects you'd like me to cover in the newsletter? Would you like a workshop on a particular subject? Please do drop me a line.

In the meantime, I've rounded up a handful of ways that I can possibly help you in 2021. You could:

Watch my FREE Twitter webinar How to Tweet Your Way to Media Coverage (if you enjoyed it, I'd love it if you could share it on social media - please note I'm in the process of adding captions)

Read my (free) How to Pitch to Journalists During Coronavirus and 17 Insider Tips On How to Pitch to Journalists During Coronavirus (now just £5)

Take my in-depth course Lessons from a Journalist: How to Secure Press Coverage – with a festive 10% off now extended to the end of January. This is half price for anyone who has taken my workshop or webinar - just email me for the code.

Check out my February 6 and 13 webinars and my pre-recorded webinars

Organise a brainstorming session with a journalist, an overhaul of the copy on your website with a copywriter, or any other content such as blog posts or an award entry, through my network of professional writers.

Reserve a Power Hour with myself or another journalist.

Explore booking a PR for a short or long-term project. I have many I can recommend.

Here's to a calmer 2021* 

Thanks

Susie

* although after watching the storming of the US Capitol yesterday even that may be too strong to ask for.

How To Tweet Your Way To Media Coverage Webinar

Hi everyone

I don't know about you but I absolutely adore the build up to Christmas. My diary is usually packed with Christmassy events from watching the choir at St Paul's Cathedral to organising a festive lunch for freelancers in Margate. While most of that is obviously off the cards, I'm still trying my damn hardest to make the most of the season with mulled wine by the beach with friends and mince pies by the fire.

Talking about Christmas, I also have a little gift to give to you, my lovely readers. When I first began this newsletter back in the spring, I'll readily admit I didn't have a plan. But I've found I love having this corner of writing that belongs to me (free of what an editor wants) and your emails and messages each week responding to what I've said in the newsletter or professing how much you've enjoyed it or found it helpful have really meant a lot. Thank you. 

As you might have guessed, the Christmas treat isn't a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine. Instead, it's a webinar on Twitter. I know some of you might not be on Twitter while some of you might be quite prolific on the platform. Wherever you stand, I'm hoping How to Tweet Your Way to Media Coverage will help you come away with a better understanding of how journalists used the platform and you'll pick up a few tips on how to bag more press for your or your client. The 30-minute webinar is yours to view over the next month.

As you know this year has been tough for journalists with many publications going under and budgets slashed. The next line doesn't come naturally to me (and probably most of us) deep breath...if you like the webinar and it helps you, any contributions to my PayPal would be kindly appreciated.

In the future, I'm considering an advertising and/or subscription model for the newsletter, which would help me pursue more investigative journalism, which can be time-consuming and as with most things media-related, not of huge monetary value.

Of course, if this year has been tough for you too – I know many on my newsletter are hunting for jobs – please don't worry about donating.

So here it is. You can click the link here to watch it.

If you do enjoy it, I'd love it if you could mention it on social media. It really does help.

Despite all the uncertainty, I really hope you have a lovely Christmas.

Susie

It's not too late to pitch for Christmas guides

Photo by Micheile Henderson

There's still plenty of time to get your/your client's product featured in Christmas gift guides. While the monthlies have already gone to press, newspapers, weekly magazines and online titles will still be running Xmas guides until the 24th (when we'll see a run of guides of what presents to buy last-min etc.).

A few things to consider before you pitch:

• Which publications does my product suit?

• Does the readership match my audience?

• Is the price point a good match for this publication? For example, your £4 bath bombs might work for Stylist but not the FT.

• Be targeted in what type of gift guide it might suit: one aimed at men, women, travellers, pets, tech lovers, kids, or the ethical shopper?

• Be specific in your email subject line. For example, Christmas gifts for travellers: Personalised vintage-style maps.

If you want more tips and a great case study of a pitch and press release that led to a business being featured in a Stylist guide, a whole chapter in my course is devoted to pitching for Christmas (and Easter/Mother's Day/Father's Day etc) and product round-ups. Click here for more info.

Why You Shouldn't Pretend To Be A Journalist's Biggest Fan

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

I bet nearly every journalist has received an email saying something along the lines of “Hi [name of journalist], I'm such a big fan of your work. I loved your article on X [includes title and link to journalist's most recent article]" before going straight in for the kill: "Today we are releasing a line of new cosmetics and we'd love for you to cover it.”

Look, I can understand that some people think flattery may brighten up our inbox and I certainly agree that it's good to be a nice and kind human being. But you don't have to be a jaded and cynical journalist like myself to see right through the above. If you're such a big fan, why haven't you been in touch before? Why have you never dropped me a line to say how much you appreciated my naked yoga article (yes, I did go the full commando - for my sins) or how my piece on volunteering resonated with you? Telling us you're a "big fan" and then promptly going in for the sell tells me you're not such a big fan. If you admire a journalist so much, they might have seen you like their tweets before or comment on a post on LinkedIn. I'm not saying you need to start asking a journalist for a selfie before emailing them. Rather, just don't say it all.

I totally get that you might wish to engage with a journalist but unless you're going to impart something honest, don't say it for the sake of it in some strange attempt to win us over. It won't. 

 Enjoy the rest of the week,

Susie

ps I know most of you would never dream of doing the above.

Why you need to research who you're pitching to

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

When you have a story you want to sell into the press, as many of you with PR experience will know, you'll need to work out which journalists to contact.

I'm begging you not to just send it to any old journalist. I receive so many emails/messages on LinkedIn/Facebook DMs from businesses and PRs who think that because I'm a journalist I'll write about them or their client. Same applies to pretty much every journalist I've ever spoken to.

Please don't clog up our inboxes or contact a journalist "just in case" (words I'll regularly see accompanying a pitch).  It adds to our already stifling inbox and really doesn't help with building relationships with the media. It's like contacting an electrician about a plumbing job. I would never send an editor a pitch about gaming if their beat was music. And I wouldn't pitch a magazine without buying it and really looking at what they cover. 

You need to research which journalists your story might suit.

A journalist who specialises in tech? Women's issues? Education?

Research who's writing about your/your clients' competitors. Look at who is writing about your sector via Google News. Buy magazines and newspapers and browse the various sections. Look at the bylines to see who's writing about your industry. Check out media databases. If they're a generalist like me, you need to be specific and have a targeted pitch with case studies. Look at what we write on Muckrack. There you'll get a sense of the stories we like to cover.

Have a great weekend,

Susie

Why I'm Not Going To Be Covering Your Press Release

Every day my inbox is teeming with press releases. News of a new launch. A new product. A merger. A new campaign. Some of the news I might have written in my old life as a reporter, whereas the title might indicate, my job was to cover news in my industry. During that time, strong interesting stories pinging in my inbox were gratefully received.

But not now. Today, like many freelancers, I write features. So those press releases dropping in my inbox are often a waste of time for everyone. As well as most not concerning the sectors I write about (that's another newsletter), the simple fact is I don't write news stories so I'm not going to be reporting on your press release. I no longer sit on a news desk writing about new launches so the hard truth is that unless you're able to come up with a solid feature idea (something I talk about a lot in my webinars and online course) related to the press release, it can be just a waste of an email.

Also, it's worth pointing out that if the news is going to get picked up, it will be covered by an in-house journalist so if we pitched the idea to an editor – it's already out there. And they're not going to pay us to write up a news release. As much as I wish during these challenging times.

Why We All Need To Be More Sensitive During These Torrid Times

Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash

Journalism was already taking a battering pre-Coronavirus and now, with fewer companies advertising and people not venturing to the shops as frequently, we're seeing the industry face an even graver threat to its future. 

Last week Buzzfeed announced it was shelving its UK and US operations, Conde Nast revealed it was reducing its headcount by 100 while the Guardian said it was closing its dating arm, Guardian Soulmates (although this is largely influenced by changes in the dating market). While there's no doubt some publications focused on cooking, gardening and home are enjoying a rise in sales, overall it's a torrid time for the industry. Here in the UK quite early on we saw City AM close its print edition temporarily and the London Evening Standard reduce its distribution.

Against this backdrop, it's worth remembering that many journalists may have been furloughed, lost their jobs or seen their workload shoot through the roof as they take on their ex colleagues' work.

Many freelance journalists have lost work as a result of the pandemic. Personally a regular Guardian slot of my mine has gone (but will hopefully return) whilst across freelance journalist Facebook groups my peers are quite rightly concerned about the future as commissions drastically fall.

Although there are still plenty of opportunities for PRs and founders, for many freelancers, there are less places to pitch to. It's just something worth noting when you're pitching. It's a point made in my ebook as some journalists complained about getting chased needlessly at the peak of the coronavirus. Recently someone emailed me three times in a week regarding a pitch for a product I wouldn't usually cover. 

There can be upshots to waiting. A piece I pitched the Metro in April was responded to – and commissioned – without prompt, two weeks later.

Oh, and some good news, for those who haven't seen it already. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and newspaper group DMGT have joined forces to give away £3m worth of advertising space.

If you're looking for ways to improve your press coverage, I'm running two webinars this month. If you can't make it, the webinars will still be sent to your inbox afterwards for you to view for the next three months. 

Have a great week,

Susie