The number one rule to build a relationship with a journalist
By Paul Green
I’ve always said that good PR is more about stories than contacts… you could be best friends with the editor of The Sun, but she still won’t give you publicity without a good story.
However it is true that as you start to build a relationship with journalists they will be more open to the story ideas you have. Good contacts can make great stories go further.
Sadly many business owners struggle to build a decent relationship with journalists. And that’s because they break the golden rule. It’s actually really simple, and has lessons for every aspect of your business.
The golden rule is this: Give the journalist what they want and need, when they want and need it.
So simple, yet so hard to get right.
To understand why this is so important, you have to look at the conditions a journalist works under.
All journalists work to fixed immovable deadlines, and often rely on business owners like you to provide them with essential information for stories they are creating.
If you promise to provide a piece of information or a photo by 5pm, and don’t send it till 6pm you’ve let the journalist down (especially if their deadline was 5.30pm). It makes their work harder, and naturally that’s going to affect how much they rely on you in the future.
Worse, if your competitor provides the correct information on time, they will get the brownie points and blow you out of the water with that journalist. It’s human nature to rely on the people who regularly give us what we need.
The business owners who consistently get media attention and build great relationships with journalists do these things:
1. They set clear expectations
2. They always beat those expectations
3. They delight journalists and put a smile on their face
Hang on a second… isn’t that how you build great relationships with customers? Yes! Journalists are no different to customers. The ones you look after will return to you time and time again.
It rarely surprises me to discover that businesses which attract lots of media attention on a regular basis look after their customers just as well as they look after their journalist contacts.
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