With so much emphasis on social media and digital marketing, it’s easy to believe that traditional media is a thing of the past. Newspapers have been replaced with tablets, radio shows with podcasts, and live TV with streaming services. If you live in a city where most people rely on public transportation, you forget that in other parts of the country, people drive to work, probably with the local NPR affiliate or morning shock jocks playing. And while many Millennials have given up their TV, the Gen Xers still turn on TODAY or Good Morning America as they get ready for work. The landscape of traditional media and the way it’s consumed may have changed, but it’s hardly a thing of the past and remains an important facet of most successful campaigns.
All traditional media outlets fall into one of two categories: print or broadcast. Print outlets can be further broken down into magazines and newspapers, and broadcast outlets into TV and radio. And those can be broken down even further.
These magazines are distributed partially through subscriptions, the rest through in-store purchases, usually at grocery stores and pharmacies. For anything you’re interested in, there is a monthly magazine. Whether it’s knitting, bass fishing, or overcoming addiction, there is a publication out there suited to your interest. There are also location specific magazines highlighting attractions and people in certain cities or regions. There are also many trade publications, like Publishers Weekly or the ABA Journal, which are specific to certain industries. Even though print publications are on the decline, most magazines still have a wide enough distribution to make them worth pursuing for media coverage.
Nearly every city, town, and village has a local paper, albeit, some smaller than others. Most daily newspapers are sold through subscriptions, but some are still purchased at newsstands and in vending machines. Daily newspaper subscriptions have greatly declined, but coverage in your local paper still makes a difference. If you live in a bigger market like New York or LA, a feature in a local newspaper will reach a bigger audience. If you live in a smaller market, the rate of people who subscribe to the newspaper tends to be a bit higher because people want to know what’s going on locally, so you still reach a captive audience. And if you live in a really small market, there’s a great chance of people having already heard your name or being somewhat familiar with your work. A piece in the local paper could be the factor in turning you from someone they’ve heard of to someone they read.
Community newspapers are specific to a certain neighborhood or market within a larger demographic region. For example, in Chicago the daily newspapers are the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. But we also have the Chicago Journal, which covers the near south and west sides, and Insider Chicago, which covers a handful of neighborhoods on the north side of the city. While community newspapers tend to be neighborhood or location specific, alternative weeklies are broader. Some of these weekly newspapers are still independently owned and serve as the alternative news source to the big corporate newspapers, but many have been purchased by larger companies and have moved under the corporate umbrella. Examples of these papers include LA Weekly, Chicago Reader, Creative Loafing, and others. Most of them are free and tend to reach a younger demographic.
When it comes to pitching TV appearances, you’ll mostly be pitching to the news shows. Most stations have a morning and evening news broadcast, and some also have a midday show. Most syndicate the national morning shows (TODAY, Good Morning America, etc.), but some stations produce their own (Fox’s Good Day, WGN News). Some shows, usually the evening time slots, are all news and don’t accommodate guests. You want to focus your attention on the shows that produce segments, cover lifestyle pieces, and host experts to discuss events in the current news cycle. These are usually the morning and midday shows.
There are also shows on the 24-hour news networks like CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. Some of these shows will bring on experts or host segments, but others don’t. All national shows can be difficult to book, especially if you’ve never done TV appearances before, but understanding the shows and what they cover will help you become more knowledgeable of the market as a whole.
Rather than a news format, these shows revolve around interviews and lifestyle segments. There is usually one host who interviews a series of guests along with some on-site coverage. While the topics may revolve around something timely (a book release, political race, etc.), the talk shows are not the ones breaking news. They are planned and recorded ahead of time. Most of these shows are national (Ellen, The View, The Late Show), but there are some networks that produce their own. Again, the bigger the reach, the more difficult it is to book, so first focus on the local markets before shooting for the nationals.
These shows can be broken down by national, regional, and local stations. The bigger the demographic, the further the reach. Most radio shows will interview guests over the phone, which is great because you can reach a market without actually setting foot in that state. There are talk radio shows which, like the TV talk shows, focus on guest interviews and commentary on current events rather than actually breaking the news about them. These are the shows to focus on because listeners tune in to hear people talk. There are also music stations that host interviews in between songs, but these aren’t as effective because their listeners just want to hear music and often change the channel when they find out there’s going to be 10–15 minutes of talk. Like other traditional media, the national shows are the most challenging to secure. Start small, focus on the local stations, then work your way up.
While this technology officially launched in 2001, Satellite radio truly didn’t gain popularity until 2008 with the formation of Sirius XM. Unlike network radio, which relies on advertisers to keep them in business, Sirius XM is a paid subscription that allows you to skip the ads and just listen to the music or programming you want. In addition to various music channels, there are also dozens of programming channels, ranging in topics from sports, to politics, to LGBT issues. Like monthly magazines, whatever you’re interested in, Sirius XM has a station for you. And since there’s more programming and less reliance on advertisers, there is more room for guest interviews.
When planning your traditional media outreach, it’s important to factor in lead time; how far in advance media outlets plan their coverage. Most monthly magazines work on a 6–7 month lead time, meaning the right time to pitch your June book release is in December. By the end of January, the magazine will have closed its June issue. Daily newspapers or weekly publications have a shorter lead time, but if you’re seeking review coverage, you have to factor in time for critics to read the book. TV and radio have a much shorter lead time, but if your dates aren’t flexible, like if you’re going to be in a particular city only the day of your event, you should give yourself an extra week or two to ensure you secure your slot.
While this shouldn’t be taken as gospel, here are the basic guidelines for most media outlets:
Keep in mind that these guidelines are for pitching reviews and interviews where the primary focus is on your book. These feature stories, or fluff pieces, are scheduled further in advance than pieces pertaining to the current news cycle. There may be times when something happens in the world and you happen to be an expert on that topic (we’ll address this further in the “Pitching” section of the book). In those instances, outreach should begin as soon as possible and can happen within the hour. When an American was gored at a bull running festival, CBS This Morning had a car picking up our elite bull-running client, Bill Hillmann, that night to take him to the local studio and discuss the topic. Breaking news trumps all coverage, and because stories develop so quickly, it requires little to no lead time.
When planning out a traditional media campaign, it’s important to establish clear goals. If you’re a novelist, your primary goal is probably book sales. If you write nonfiction, media appearances can help leverage speaking engagements or build a platform for their next book. If you’re in academia, publishing op-eds and essays can help secure a new position or help build your profile in your university.
I’ve heard countless authors who tell me their goal is to “just get their name out there,” and my response is always the same: why? What purpose does “getting your name out there” serve you if it’s not directed at your target audience or going to result in book sales? I never advocate media for media’s sake; all media appearances should aim to accomplish a goal.
In most cases, the goal is to sell books. Therefore, all media appearances should be directed at your target audience. If men are your primary book buyers, then appearing on Ellen or The View isn’t going to help you. If you’re a romance writer, then an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal isn’t going to reach your readers. Once you start planning out your campaign and thinking of different ways to pitch you and your book, you may be surprised by how many opportunities are out there. But not all media opportunities are created equal. If it doesn’t help accomplish your goal, then you’re better off spending that time writing your next book or looking for a better opportunity.
Go back to the list you created in the previous chapter. Who is your target audience and where do they get their information? Use that list to evaluate media opportunities and focus your efforts. If your target audience doesn’t read monthly magazines or watch the morning shows, then you shouldn’t focus your efforts there. Picture your typical reader and imagine their typical day. Think about what shows they watch or listen to, if they read in print or on a device, if they read mainstream news sites or prefer more video- and image-driven sites. If you can’t picture your reader, it’s going to be difficult to market to them.
Using your answers from the branding questions as a guide, take a few moments to jot down every traditional media outlet your target audience may consume. These can be as broad as “local TV news” or as specific as “Fox & Friends.” Don’t worry about how hard these media outlets are to reach or if there’s a way to pitch the interview. Just think about your typical reader and how they get their information.
Let’s say you write business books and your target readers are those in high-level executive positions, or those who hope to rise to those positions in the near future. This reader is informed, probably a news junkie. Your reader could be male or female, though probably male, in his 40s– 60s. He’s still working, so the broadcast media he consumes is in the morning or later in the evening. He doesn’t consume his media online, other than a few news sites and newspaper-based subscription services, but he probably travels for work, so he could still use an e-reader.
Take a minute and write down all the media outlets your typical reader consumes. Here is a sample media list, using the business book reader as an example:
Once you have 10–15 outlets written down, identify any patterns. Can you identify the patterns in our sample list?
Once you identify the patterns of your list, expand it using other media your readers might consume. For example, if our target audience reads the national newspapers, chances are, they also read the local one too. While one member of our group may watch Fox News, there could be just as many people who would watch CNN.
Here is our expanded media list:
If your target audience is teenage girls or stay-at-home moms, your media list will look completely different. Don’t be afraid to cast broad generalizations or use people in your life as examples. If your spouse fits the description of your typical reader, jot down all the things they read, watch, or listen to. If your friends or neighbors fit your description, don’t be afraid to take a quick poll and find out where they get their information.
Additionally, keep in mind the tangential audience. If you’re trying to reach teenagers, another way to do that is through their parents. If you’re trying to reach older readers, another way to do that could be through librarians and booksellers since many older readers still prefer print books.
Once you have your initial media list, you’ll need to find the appropriate people to contact. There’s a misconception that the rolodex of media contacts is something exclusively built by PR professionals and only they hold the key to securing media coverage. That’s not true. Many producers and editors are happy to hear from authors directly (as long as they’re approached in a professional manner), and their contact information is accessible to anyone. In reality, there are two ways to do this: buy a media database or do the research yourself. One way saves you a lot of time, but tends to be costly. The other is free, but can take up a lot of time.
As a PR company, we reach out to media on a daily basis, so it makes sense for us to invest in a media database. These databases not only provide contact and background information for all media outlets in North America (or internationally, depending on your service), but they maintain that information so it’s always up to date. Reporters and producers come and go on a regular basis and their assignments are frequently changing, so having a subscription to a media database saves a lot of time and research. However, they can be expensive ($2,000–$4,000 a year, depending on your plan). If you’re planning on doing your own PR for multiple books, it may make sense for you and a few of your author friends to go in on one together.
Some of the most popular media databases used by PR pros:
If you don’t have the budget for a media database or have the time do the legwork, contact information for most editors and producers can be found online. It just takes a little googling.
Start by going to the media outlet’s website. Peruse the various sections and think about where coverage of you and your book would fit in. Does the publication have a “Books” section, or is it lumped into “Arts and Culture”? Does the radio show do on-air reviews? Guest segments? Knowing where you fit into the current coverage is the first step in identifying the appropriate contact. Also make notes if they’ve covered a similar book, published articles from guest contributors, or brought on guests for expert commentary.
With these notes in hand, look for the “About Us” or “Contact Us” page. Most print publications provide a detailed masthead. Try to find the most specific editor possible and then work back from there. If you’re seeking a book review, your best contact is the “Books” editor. If there isn’t a “Books” editor, look for the “Arts & Entertainment” or “Culture” editor. No dice? Then go for the features editor or even the managing editor if it’s appropriate. Bigger publications have larger staffs, so you want to be as specific as possible, but smaller publications may only have a couple of editors, or even a sole editor in chief. If it’s a small publication, there’s no harm in contacting the editor in chief. The same is true for radio; at smaller stations, hosts book their own guests and produce their own shows. When finding the appropriate contact information, take the size of the outlet into consideration.
While many media outlets have the appropriate contact information readily available, there are others who make it a little more difficult for people to contact them. They will have contact forms or generic editor@publication.com email addresses. You shouldn’t discount these options completely—at Kaye Publicity we’ve had plenty of successes pitching to generic email addresses if that’s how the publishers have preferred to work, but since these sites probably receive thousands of emails at these addresses, I wouldn’t assume that your message reached the appropriate person. In these instances, I recommend first emailing the generic address, then following up with a phone call to a specific editor. We’ll address follow-ups in a later section, but in the meantime, make a note of the outlet’s phone number.
On the rare occasion when there is no way to contact the person online, you’ll have to pick up the phone. I know this is scary for most people, but trust me, good things come to those who call.
When you call the main line, chances are you’ll be greeted by the operator or receptionist. Be friendly, say you’re trying to get in touch with the books editor or the producer for a particular show. Hopefully, they’ll connect you to the appropriate person, but it may take some bouncing around. Half the time, you’ll be greeted by a voicemail. This is great because all you have to do is leave a short elevator pitch with the offer to send more details via email. Speak slowly, clearly, and leave your phone number and email address twice. If you do get a person, introduce yourself, say you were interested in sending them a pitch, and ask if they have an email address you can use. If they ask for your pitch on the phone, have your elevator pitch ready!
Doing the research definitely takes a lot more time, and it may be more difficult to get contact information for the bigger outlets. But that doesn’t make it impossible.
There is no question that the pool of traditional media outlets, particularly those covering books, has shrunk dramatically over the last decade. If you spend most of your time with the millennial generation, it can be easy to view traditional media as obsolete. But traditional media still plays a role in most successful publicity campaigns. There are a few exceptions, but if you look at the books gracing the top ten bestseller lists, it will be hard to find any titles that haven’t received some sort of traditional media coverage.
Cision.com
pr.robin8.com
MyMediaInfo.com