3 questions to help you brainstorm media outlets for publicity

While landing a feature in a big publication like Forbes can take time, there are likely lots of opportunities for publicity in front of you right now. Starting small will help you clarify your message and gain the confidence to eventually speak to a larger audience. Plus, you’ll be putting your work and message out there at the same time. 

While there are countless media outlets, blogs and podcasts you could potentially be featured on, where do you start? 

Here are 3 questions you can ask to start compiling a list of outlets you can pitch to. 

Which publications do you already read? 

Start with what you know. What kinds of media are you currently consuming that relate to your industry? What media platforms, podcasts or resources do you turn to for your own professional development in your industry? Go through them and make a list. 

Which publications do you love?

Take a step back and think about the publications you love to read. They may not have anything to do with your industry. Just make a note of them. This step could be as simple as listing New York Magazine. You can come back to this list and look at your favorite publications more closely with an eye for the specific sections that might be interested in the stories you have to share.

Where are your colleagues being featured?

List 3-5 of colleagues you admire and look up to. Then, look up which outlets have featured them. This could be as simple as plugging their name into Google News or looking up their press on their website. 

This method is also a great way to find smaller sites and blogs you didn’t previously know about that may be interested in featuring you. Don’t underestimate the value of smaller publications. Smaller publications may speak more directly to the potential clients you’re trying to reach. 

Next steps
If you take the time to fill out these prompts, you should have a great list of publications and other media outlets to start reaching out to. Amazing! In a future post, we’ll talk about how to start reaching out to the list you just made.

Want inspiration about how to brainstorm story ideas you can pitch to these publications? Read this blog post 5 questions to help you brainstorm story ideas for publicity.

The Mindset Shift That Will Help You Pitch & Publish Stories

Publications are not only interested in stories from writers. They are also interested in stories that come directly from experts like you.

In fact, here’s the thing that experts often don’t realize. Editors really, really want to hear from you. They need your stories! 

Journalists serve a very important role of translating information from a subject matter expert into an article that the general public can understand. But experts can provide a perspective no one else can and if they know how to clearly communicate to a general audience, it can be an invaluable story!

The challenge is taking your expertise and turning it into stories publications will want to share with their readers. That can be hard for experts who’ve been in the field for years if not decades and have potentially lost sight of the real, basic issues readers care about and problems they want to solve. 

For example, say you are a professional interior designer. You live and breathe interior design and have been doing so for the past twenty years. If I now asked you to tell me something really interesting about your profession that you thought about recently, you might have endless thoughts to share about an obscure color theory, but these insights might be so advanced that a general audience would struggle to relate to it. 

Basically, you could be at a point in your career where the topics that interest you go above everyone’s head. A general audience most likely just wants to know what color they should paint their bathroom. 

Translating complicated subject matter into something readers are interested in is something journalists are really good at. But there’s also no reason you can do that on your own for your own story. And there’s no reason why you can’t send your own stories out. It starts by thinking about the reader’s needs and centering them. Instead of thinking about your story, ask yourself, how can I use what I know to help people? 

When an editor sees that you can put a story together, that you’ve thought about their readers and can present an idea their audience is interested in, chances are good they will want to publish your story. The way to demonstrate that you can write for a general audience is with a really good pitch.

This process might take time but it can absolutely be done. And if you’re an expert in your field, it’s likely you already have the perfect pitch to send to an editor who will be excited for this story of yours to land in their inbox. 

How to Pitch Stories Publications Want to Publish — and Why it Can Be Difficult as an Expert in Your Industry

Publications are not only interested in stories from writers. They are also interested in stories that come directly from experts like you.

In fact, here’s the thing that experts often don’t realize. Editors really, really want to hear from you. They need your stories! 

Journalists serve a very important role in translating information from a subject matter expert into an article that the general public can understand. But experts can provide a perspective no one else can, and if they know how to clearly communicate to a general audience, it can be an invaluable story!

The challenge is taking your expertise and turning it into stories publications will want to share with their readers. That can be hard for experts who’ve been in the field for years, if not decades, and have potentially lost sight of the basic issues readers care about and problems they want to solve — and how much your expertise can help them!

For example, say you are a professional interior designer. You live and breathe interior design and have been doing so for the past twenty years. If I now asked you to tell me something really interesting about your profession, you might have endless thoughts to share about an obscure color theory, but these insights might be so advanced they wouldn’t be relevant to a general audience. 

Readers most likely just want to know what color they should paint their bathroom. 

Journalists are really good at translating complicated subject matter into something readers are interested in. But there’s also no reason you can do that on your own for your own story. And there’s no reason why you can’t send your own stories out. It starts by thinking about the reader’s needs and centering them. Instead of thinking about your story or your business, ask yourself, how can I use what I know to help people? 

When an editor sees that you can put a story together, that you’ve thought about their readers and can present an idea their audience is interested in, chances are good they will want to publish your story. You demonstrate that you can write for a general audience with a really good pitch.

This process might take time but it can absolutely be done. And if you’re an expert in your field, it’s likely you already have the perfect story to send to an editor who will be excited for this idea of yours to land in their inbox.

Want to brainstorm ideas for stories readers will be interested in? This blog post can help! 5 Ways to Help You Brainstorm Story Ideas for Publicity.

How journalists choose sources for stories — and how you can get publicity as an entrepreneur

Maybe you’re an entrepreneur who, for a long time, has been thinking, “I could get more clients if only I could just get featured in a large publication.” There are countless people you could help with your expertise. If only more people knew who you were. 

Publicity is one of the best ways to get your message out to the people who need it. But from the outside, the world of media can seem like a mystery. 

After writing and publishing stories in various media outlets for 10 years, I’ve learned a lot about what publications want, what makes a journalist choose one source over another and how this whole media thing works. 

So today I want to talk about one principle to getting publicity. 

Of course, the entire industry of public relations is dedicated to getting clients publicity. But at the heart of it, being featured in an article really comes down to this: 

Getting quoted in a publication — no matter how big — is a matter of getting the attention of the right person at the right time with the right idea. 

It really can be that simple. 

If you’re an expert in your field, I can tell you that right now there is a journalist on deadline who needs nothing else than to speak to someone who does exactly what you do.

The process of finding the right person at the right time and connecting with them can and usually does take time, effort and trial and error. (Which is why there is an entire industry dedicated to this!) But it doesn’t have to. 

As a writer looking for sources to quote in my stories, there were many, many times when I quoted people in Forbes, simply because:

• They were available

• Their expertise was relevant

• They were easy to work with 

• They responded quickly (and I was on deadline!)

Essentially, working with journalists and getting featured in publications is no different from other types of business. Writers, just like everyone else, want to work with people who are professional, easy, timely, and make their job easier. 

I was grateful to my sources for their help. I needed their expertise to tell a story about something I wasn’t an expert on.

When all these things aligned, I did not need to go through a PR agency. I communicated directly with the subject matter expert. And I remembered them and came back to them the next time I needed a similar source. 

So if you are unsure where to begin, do this: 

Start with what you are already familiar with. Are there any publications you can’t get enough of and that you’d love to be featured in? Look at the writers who are publishing stories you like. Then see what other kinds of articles they are publishing. 

Send them an email to introduce yourself, show them that you are reading what they write and tell them how you can help. For example, a journalist who focuses on health may likely want to speak with a nutritionist. You might also want to share an idea.

Journalists receive a lot of emails, but an introductory email can put you on their radar. So the next time they need a specialist in your field and are racking their brain (and on deadline!), they might think of you. 

5 questions to help you brainstorm story ideas for publicity

As an expert in your field, you have information publications are looking for. These questions can help you turn your expertise into stories editors will buy.

Hello! I’m Leeron. I started this blog to help demystify the media for business owners and entrepreneurs who want publicity but don’t know where to start. Maybe you’re an entrepreneur who dreams of being featured in publications like Forbes and Business Insider but has no clue about the first thing you need to do to make that happen. Or maybe you think these publications are reserved for other experts in the field, but not you.

I’ve been working as a journalist and writer for the past 10 years. I’ve been published in Salon, Quartz, Slate, the Village Voice, the Observer, Popular Science, Business Insider, Popular Mechanics, Apartment Therapy and many more. 

Along the way, I learned a lot about how the media works. Which stories get attention? What kinds of stories are editors looking for? What makes an editor get back to your story idea within 7 minutes and say YES?

And I realize that this world of media can be really difficult to manage if you’re new to it. So I’m sharing what I’ve learned with entrepreneurs who want publicity to reach — and help — more people here in this newsletter.

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Today, I’ll share ideas to generate story ideas based on your experience that editors will want to publish. You can then submit these ideas to publications. I will cover more about the submission process in future posts.

As an expert in your field, you have exposure and insight that the general population doesn’t have. Your experience is extremely valuable to publications. The trick is taking what you know and turning it into an irresistible story idea editors will want to publish.

So when you’re thinking about what ideas will work, use this as a guidepost:

Readers want articles that answer their questions and solve their problems. Editors want to publish stories their audience want to read. 

This principle really is that simple. But it’s not always easy to apply.

Acquiring deep knowledge in your field can make it difficult to gauge what is actually interesting to a general audience. It’s like you’re 50 steps ahead of everyone else. What you think is interesting is just so far beyond what a general audience can relate to. So coming up with story ideas editors will want to publish requires taking a step back. Use these questions to help you do just that.

Here are 5 questions that will help you brainstorm story ideas editors will want to publish

1. What are people most curious to know about when they hear about what I do? 

You’re probably used to people asking you about what you do. But take a moment to think about what people want to know most about your job.

The kind of articles you want to write are likely the kind that will help readers (this is called service journalism). Readers are drawn to articles that give them the answers they want. If you are a massage therapist or bodyworker, for example, you have in-depth knowledge about our anatomy and musculature. But let’s be real. Readers don’t really need to know all the details. They want to know how to fix their problems: How to get better sleep, have better posture, and get rid of neck pain. When someone learns what you do, what’s the one question they have about their own problem or situation? Your answers to this question could be the basis of your story.

2. What kind of trends am I noticing at work?

If you’re in a client-facing business, this question is particularly relevant. Pay attention to the trends you notice in your office. There’s a high chance that whatever you’re picking up on is relevant to the general population, too.

Say you are a therapist and you start noticing that a large number of your clients are talking about a specific topic. You’ve been a therapist for years and this is new. Whatever this general topic is, it’s likely on many people’s minds, and as a therapist, you’ll have specific insight and expertise to share.

3. What am I curious about?

This one simple question is the basis for so many story ideas that end up getting published. It doesn’t relate specifically to being an entrepreneur, but it’s a great place to start in general. Think about this question in relation to your business. What questions keep coming up for you? What is something you want to know more about for the next step of your business?

4. What is something people aren’t talking about in my industry, but should? 

Sometimes ideas can come from a feeling that something is missing from a particular conversation, either within your industry or by the general public. As an expert in your field, you likely have information that other people don’t have or a specific view or opinion on a subject matter. You can shed light or contribute to a conversation in a way that other people cannot. Great! Use that as the basis for your story. (This would likely be an op-ed — and I’ll cover more about this in a future post)

5. What’s common knowledge in my industry that no one seems to know?

Is there knowledge that you and your colleagues know but everyone else seems surprised to learn? That’s a great start to a story. For example, maybe you’re a fashion designer, and there is one trick you use to make all your clients look instantly better, but the ordinary person would never think to do it. Tell us! This is exactly the kind of insight readers want, and the right editor will be excited to publish it.

Use these questions to generate story ideas based on your experience. In future posts, I’ll cover how to get your ideas to editors.