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June 2005
Index of all
past
Affiliate Corner columns
Get above the "noise" to have media outlets take interest in you
By Greg Sherwood, The UPS Store
In the competitive world of real estate sales, getting your name known and building your reputation can be challenging due to the amount of "noise" being generated by your competitors.
One way to differentiate yourself may be to get the media to look in your direction. Over the years, I have come across and implemented some great advice on how to work with different media outlets and to get articles written about me and my company.
Some of the best tips I ever received were from Kim T. Gordon, a writer for Entrepreneur Magazine. Here are some things I adapted from her advice:
- Make a contact list. Most REALTORS® have more than one type of story to tell. For example, a story about your involvement on the CAR Board of Directors might be of interest to the real estate trade press, and your creative fundraising approach with CARHOF would be most interesting to the Aurora Sentinel (or Denver Post or Rocky Mountain News).
- Don't waste editors' time. Remember, the press is interested only in stories that will help them sell more issues or increase ratings. The stories must be interesting and compelling to their readers, viewers or listeners. If you don't have a story that fits their immediate needs, don't waste your energy sending useless materials. Either tailor the story for your target outlet, or don't send it.
- Establish relationships with key journalists. Instead of "blasting" your story to all the media, take some time to develop relationships with members of the media and provide them with exclusive materials or story ideas. Making an exclusive pitch requires contacting an individual journalist to discuss your story concept, then being willing to contribute to the follow-up work so he or she can finish the story. For example, you might do a poll of buyers' current desires in home layouts. The results of the poll could then be turned into a story you could pitch to a key real estate editor.
- Send great materials. Sometimes it's a good idea to send your media relationships something other than the standard release or media alert. Members of the media are inundated with run-of-the-mill stuff-from minor announcements to ho-hum news. Some media outlets get thousands of releases a day. What makes your stuff stand out? One way to win publicity is to provide quality materials that take some of the work out of covering your story, such as sending photographs, e-mailing links to web-sites, or providing a page of tips that the writer can use as story background or for your interview.
- Understand deadlines. REALTORS® new to publicity often don't understand the time pressure that writers work under. If a journalist is writing a story about you or your company and tells you he or she is "on deadline," drop everything to get them what they need or your stuff will go in the trash can. If you get the reputation of providing what reporters need as soon as they need it, they will begin to call you for quotes or ask you to submit articles for them. The opposite is also true. If you promise to get back to a writer, and then don't do it quickly, he or she will drop you like a hot potato, and your competitor will get the call next time.
Bottom line: Once you understand how journalists work, it will be easier to get quoted and used as a reference source in real estate articles. The more you are mentioned, the better your reputation will be and the more clients will want to work with you, because you are "obviously one of the best!"
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