The big difference between people who get media coverage and

those who don't is that those who do have something to say

that others (their target audience) are interested in. There

is a very common tendency -- we all suffer from it -- to

assume that if we're interested and excited about what we

have to say, others will certainly be too. Well, sometimes

they're not.

Man Reading NewspaperFor business people, consultants and

entrepreneurs it can be very difficult to step outside what

you have to offer, and know so well, to critically consider

whether anybody else is likely to be interested. The key is

to take an "outside in" perspective. If you were just Chris

Consumer would you think what you have to say is

interesting?

A couple quick -- and common -- examples may help

illustrate:

-- The company that receives an award and wants to get media

coverage. The award may be very important to the company

(inside out thinking), but is highly unlikely to interest

anyone not involved with the company unless there's

something in it for them. And usually there's not. You may

be able to interest your local media in a brief mention, but

you're not likely to land a feature story and you're

certainly not going to see your name in the Wall Street

Journal.

-- The company that is introducing a new product. Again,

obviously very important to you (hopefully important to some

specific target market you serve), but often not likely to

be that interesting to the masses.

As always, there are some exceptions and those exceptions

can be important and fruitful for you. Suppose the award you

received comes with a large grant of some sort that is going

to allow you to add jobs to stimulate the local economy --

or cut costs and consequently pricing for your product or

service. Or, suppose that your new product really is the

equivalent of a better mousetrap -- something that will have

a significant and widespread positive impact on the masses.

Having an outside, third-party perspective to help you

critically consider whether you really have a newsworthy

message, or just a self-serving advertisement, can be

helpful.

But, you can take an outside in perspective yourself by

simply being brutally honest and obsessively skeptical about

the likelihood that anyone will be interested. You will be

basically playing devil's advocate with yourself and then

trying to convince yourself why what you have to say is

valuable from the outside in.

And then, putting yourself in the position of the audience

you hope to interest/reach (not the reporter or the

journalists, but the media consumer), keep asking and

answering the question:

"Why should I care?"

As you go through this internal monologue, jot down the

responses that seem most likely to resonate with "the

outsiders."

But, if you find this outside in approach simply too

difficult to do (you are, after all, an insider), give us a

call. We can help.

Signing out,

Mickie Kennedy
Founder, eReleases.com
CEO, eReleases.com & Press-Release-Writing.com

http://www.ereleases.com
http://www.press-release-writing.com