Submitting bylined articles to print and online publication can be a highly effective communications strategy, particularly for small or new companies that receive limited press attention. But it only works if the pieces get published. Too many companies spin their wheels drafting post after post, only to be rejected by editors even though it’s free content for them.
Why? Most likely, it’s because the content isn’t up to par. While press outlets aggressively seek out industry voices to weigh in on the issues of the day, that doesn’t mean they’re desperate for anything with a CEO byline. Here are a few thoughts on how to make sure your article passes muster next time.
It’s Not About You
Nobody cares what your company does, makes, or sells. And they certainly don’t care HOW you do any of that. That’s not an easy thing to hear, but unless you’re Apple, it’s a fact you’ll need to accept before putting pen to paper. Don’t even attempt to write a piece describing your latest software update, or your revolutionary new product, or whatever. Don’t write about how the sausage is made. Save that stuff for your internal company blog.
When you’re attempting to publish a guest post in a blog or print outlet, you need to focus on an issue. This can be a problem you see in the market based on your perspective as a company operating in the space (preferably one your product/service/whatever solves), criticism or praise of a news item or industry development, or analysis. Ultimately, your goal should be to provide context that is both informative and that puts your company in the best light. But resist the urge to discuss your product, or it’ll set off alarm bells with any editor considering the piece.
See for instance this post by a client commenting on a Facebook product launch that impacted his value prop. It works because it focuses on the issue, not the company or the service. The last thing people want to print is corporate shilling under their banner of journalism.
Be an Authority & Advocate
You spend every day navigating the landscape of your market, trying to make your product the best solution to whatever problem exists out there. You analyze, you research, and you learn hard lessons. So write about that. A guest piece should establish you as an authority on the topic that your company is involved with. Cite stats that you follow which inform your decisions. Even better, if yours is the kind of company that collects data and metrics that can be applied to further inform this topic, cite those stats as well. Doing so serves two important purposes. First, it established you and your company as a good source for journalists looking for insight and analysis on the topic in question (both those working for the outlet you’re submitting your piece to, and those who read it). Establishing this kind of relationship with the press will pay dividends when the time comes to release company news. Second, it allows you to influence the conversation about your industry in a way that casts your strategy in the best light. Check out this post for example, from a client trying to establish themselves in the very entrenched music merch business.
Relevancy is Everything
Retail may be all about location, location, location. But in the world of press, it’s timing, timing, timing. Whether you’re proactively writing a post that socializes a point of view, or reacting to a story that impacts your company or industry, you need to be newsworthy. Generally, you’ve got about seven days to remain relevant before a storyline becomes stale and the window of opportunity closes. A proactive strategy would be to wait for a timely event, like an anniversary, a milestone, or a key date (such as holiday, new year, etc.). A reactive strategy is to quickly respond to a news item, either something written about your company directly, or one about a partner or other company in your space whose decisions affect you. Both are valid strategies, so long as the timing is right. See for instance this post by a client riffing off his observations at the CES conference.
Don’t Pitch
If you’ve got something smart to say, it’s timely, and you say it well, then let the content speak for itself. If you’ve followed all the rules above, and you have a decent social media following, simply make your post available on your own blog and let other outlets come to you for the right to share it. For example, I wrote this post for a trade association, commenting on a big news story that broke the day before. We just posted it on the blog, and linked to it on social media (Facebook/Twitter). It wound up getting republished here, and here, as well as retweeted multiple times by key industry influencers, and featured news aggregation emails. We didn’t make one request. Now there’s nothing inherently wrong with submitting stories and asking outlets to print your guest article, but there’s a sales element involved and it can set off editor’s BS meter. Inspire them with good content, however, and suddenly it’s their idea, not your request.
Hire a Pro
No, I’m not breaking my first rule above about not talking about yourself or your product. I’m saying don’t leave this to PR flacks who either a) can’t write, or b) don’t fully understand the issues involved. If you have a PR firm, make sure they outsource these kinds of things to freelance journalists. If your communications is done in-house, find an outsider who can bring a fresh perspective to the piece. You need someone writing this that has the reader in mind first, not your company mission. That’s critical, because you can’t have someone who drinks the Kool Aid drafting these or the editors you send it to will see right through it.
Antony Bruno is a corporate reporter and content strategy consultant with 20 years of experience as a reporter, editor and conference organizer. Learn more at www.antonybruno.com.