[Build Backlinks Online] An Eight-Step Plan to Get PR-Driven Links

Build Backlinks Online has posted a new item, 'An Eight-Step Plan to Get
PR-Driven Links'

Posted by Jess_Champion
In a past life I worked exclusively in traditional print and broadcast PR,
where digital coverage was viewed as a bonus. But since landing a job as a PR
consultant at Distilled, all of that has changed. My goals have shifted.


Previously my goals were things like brand awareness and changing audience
perceptionsâand these were driven by press coverage.


But, while these goals still come in to play, I have a new goal tooâto
build links. And, as most of you know, link building is not easy.


So, eight months down the line, I feel it's time to share what I've learned.

An eight-step plan

There are a few tried and tested methods for PR driven link-building, like
guest posting and pitching for by-lined articles, but these can be slow-burning
processes.


What I'm going to talk you through is a process which, if invested in and
executed well, is much more likely to result in multiple links from high
quality, authoritative news sites.


There's no quick fix. Even before search was on my radar, I'd always believed
in integrated communications. Link-building is just another component of what
should be a multi-faceted approach, and as such, I believe that links are
symptomatic of a well-executed PR campaign.


For any marketing campaign you should be looking to use multiple channels.
However, the purpose of this post is to specifically explore ways of working
with the media, and consequently how to build links on top-tier media sites.

Step one: Find the story

If you want to be in the media, you need to find a story. It's as simple as
that. No amount of spin is going to see your latest annual review on The New
York Times' homepage.


In a recent Distilled blog post, I wrote about the eight criteria that make
something newsworthy. In brief, these criteria are:




Image: @Distilled



Head over to that post if you'd like more details and examples of each one.


Sometimes you'll have things going on that already fit the bill. Maybe you're
launching a new product in time for Christmas. Or perhaps you've got a great
case study which will help you tell a human interest story.




Relating to real people, like Batkid, will help you tell your story


(Picture: Bhautik Joshi/Flickr)


Oftentimes, though, our clients just haven't got anything newsworthy going on.
And this is when you need to create your own story.

Step two: Create a story

There are a few different ways you can create a story, the most obvious being
PR stunts. But these often mean spending big bucks. A cheaper way to create a
credible news story is to conduct a survey.


For example, I recently ran a survey for our client Worldpay Zinc. We only
launched it two weeks ago, but here are some of the results so far:

An article on the website of one of the UK's national newspapers, The
Telegraph, incorporating two links
A write-up on The Guardian, which also included two links
Daily Mail coverage
3 pieces of national print coverage
30+ pieces of online regional coverage
A BBC Radio 2 appearance
A mention on national TV

You'll notice that I've included results that don't include links, but that's
to reiterate a point that I often make at Distilled: Links are symptomatic of
great PR.


That's not to say there aren't ways and means to increase your chances of
getting links, though, and we'll explore these in the steps below.

Step three: Conduct a survey

Once you've decided on a survey topic and incorporated as many of the
newsworthy criteria as you can, you'll need to devise the questions. Here are
some general rules for conducting robust PR surveys:


1. Start with the story and work backwards


It makes a good deal of sense to have an idea of your angle before you start,
so always think about the story you'd like to tell. Each question should
directly relate to this story, regardless of whether you get the results you
expect or not. The aim here is not to manipulate, but to make sure the answers
translate into interesting data points.


2. Choose a reputable market research agency


Journalists are much more likely to cover surveys if they come from a
trustworthy company. The agency will also help you fine-tune your questions and
make sure you're not being unintentionally leading.


3. Think about your demographic


Surveying the general public is fine but sometimes looking at a specific niche
will strengthen your story. If your client is a parenting website, why not run a
survey of parents? As an aside, if you poll the general public then you'll need
to survey at least 2,000 people. 1,000 is generally fine for smaller niches.


4. Split your demographic


A great way of drilling down into a story is by splitting your demographic
into subcategories. Most polling companies will do this by age, gender, and
region as standard but, often at additional cost, it's possible to dig even
deeper. A strong leading stat with lots of subsequent data points will help you
create a much more robust story.


5. Ask as many questions as you can


As a rule, you should ask at least 10 questions. Along with the demographic
splits, this should give you enough data to write a compelling news story with
lots of interesting points. The more details you can add to a story, the more
news copy you'll generate.


6. Use lists


Where you can, compile lists. Journalists love a good "Top 10 list." In fact,
the WPZ survey I mentioned earlier has two articles on the Telegraph site. The
second was titled "The 10 jobs men don't trust women (or men) to do."



Step four: Make your story link-worthy

Once you've analysed your data and come up with a strong story, you then have
to find a way to generate links. Increasingly, newspapers are reluctant to link
out, and in my experience, the only way to get a decent link on a high-tier site
is to create something of value to both the journalist and their readers.
Digital journalists are crying out for great visuals and digital content; if you
can create something that genuinely adds value to the story (and makes the
journalist look good in front of their editor), then you're onto a winner.


For the WPZ story we created a report and an infographic, both of which
garnered links.


Click image to open(via WorldPayZinc).

Step five: Present the story

The press release is something that is hotly debated in the PR industry, with
arguments both for and against.




However, as David Hamilton says in the article linked to above, while the
context may have changed, the need for press releases has not: "The key is to
make sure that they are part of a proper strategy and are a supplement to, not a
substitute for, proper relationships with journalists."


I use press releases to get my ducks in a line, to get to the crux of a story
and to help me establish my key messages. I don't publish them on newswires. For
me, the press release comes at the end of a conversation with a journalist. For
the most part, it's a tidy way of sending them everything they need, after
they've already expressed interest in a story. It's worth noting that I do still
get asked for press releases. When written well, with your target publication in
mind, they can really help out a busy journalist. You should also publish your
press releases on your website, so journalists can find them online if they need
to.

Step six: Writing the press release

Rather than trying to big-up your client with hyperbolic language that will
surely piss off journalists, spend your energy trying to think like a reporter
and find the most interesting elements of your story. You can do this by
thinking about the "w's:"


Who? Who's involved in the story? Who cares?


What? What's the story? What's new?


Where? Where is the story taking place? Is there a local angle and/or local
publications you can target?


When? Is the story relevant now? Can you tie it in with a current or
forthcoming event or "hot topic?"


Why? Why should people care? Why are you telling this story? Why is it
relevant to the media you're targeting?

Structuring your release

Think of a press release as an inverted pyramidâget as many of the w's
as possible in the first paragraph. While doing this, get straight to the point
and keep it simple. Remember to avoid jargon and hyperbole.


The reason for visualising an inverted pyramid is that, historically, editors
would slash a press release from the bottom up if they didn't have space for the
whole thing. So get crucial elements of your story in early. Your following
paragraphs should flesh out the story and give more detail.




(Image: Wikipedia)

Be human: Quotes that'll get you quoted

The majority of the release should be factual and straight to the point. There
is, however, room for some colour in the form of a quote or two. Quotes are
where a little hyperbole is permitted. For survey stories, quotes should be used
to say how you feel about the results. Are you shocked? Saddened? Thrilled? For
further credibility you could also include a quote from an expert, or from a
case study.


You should always include quotes in a press release but never quote someone
who won't be available for interview. This is a guaranteed way to irritate a
journalist calling for a follow-up with your spokesperson.


Most importantly, make sure your quote sounds like a real person. This is the
ideal opportunity to get your passion for the story across. Don't spew mission
statements or company visions, and don't sound like a robotâor worse
still, an advert. Read it out loud, does it sound like something someone would
actually say?


As an aside, if you can, try to ensure that your spokesperson has a profile
page on their website. Journalists will occasionally link to this profile page
if they feel the homepage is too commercial. Similarly, another trick that has
worked for me in the past is to include the website's URL in a spokesperson's
job title.

Freddie Starr Ate my Hamster: getting your headline right

Keep your headline as short and interesting as possible, but don't try too
hard. Occasionally there's scope for a great pun or witticism, but if not, don't
sweat it. It's more important that it actually makes sense and piques interest
in the reader.


Try to keep your headline on one line, and if possible, short enough to be
tweeted with a link. And, tempting as it is, avoid putting the company name in
the headline. Remember, you're offering the journalist an interesting story, not
an advert.

And you're off!

By now you should have a good idea of what makes a decent press release but
here are a few extra pointers to help you on your way:

Make sure you include your contact information (including a phone number), and
make sure you're actually available to respond swiftly to any resulting
enquiries.
Double space your release so it's easy to read.
Try to keep the main body of the release on one side of A4 (roughly 8.5x11").
If you must write more, make sure you don't go over two pages.
Copy the press release into the main body of an emailânever include
attachments.
Similarly, if you have accompanying images, just let the journalist know
rather than clogging up their inboxâthey'll tell you if they want to see
them.
If you'd like to see an example, the Worldpay Zinc press release can be read
here.
Step seven: Find journalists

The most important aspect of pitching a story is making sure you find the
right journalist. And this is nothing that a good old-fashioned Google search
can't help you with. Look at stories on similar subjects, or those written for
similar audiencesâand don't undervalue smaller niche sites.


Once you've found the journalists you want to target, finding their contact
details needn't be too difficult. I'm fortunate in that I have the luxury of a
subscription to a media database. If you can't afford this luxury, here are a
few tips that could help:

Take a look at this post from our COO Rob Ousbeyâit contains tonnes of
great tricks for finding email addresses.
Call the switchboard of the organisation you're targeting. It's fine to call
and either say, "I have a story on X and would like to know who best to pitch it
to," or to simply ask for an email address.
For UK-based journalists, take a look at journalisted.com
For US-based journalists, take a look at helpareporter.com
Contact journalists on Twitter. I've had success just by saying, "I have
something I'd like to pitch to you, mind if I send an email?" Usually they'll
reply with their email address, or at least tell you where to find it.
Step eight: Pitch to journalists

Now that you've got the best possible story and have created valuable,
link-worthy assets, it's time to pitch. Pitching is something that I get asked
lots of questions about and I've met many people that seem terrified of pitching
to top-tier journalists. But let me tell you a couple of secrets:


Secret #1: Journalists are human too


Secret #2: If you've got a great story lined up, pitching isn't hard.


Here are my top pitching dos:

Craft your subject line well. Don't waste space telling journalists who your
client is, tell them about the genuinely newsworthy story you've so lovingly
crafted.
Be human and personable.
Get their name right. You'd be surprised how many times I've heard a journalist
moan about being wrongly addressed.
Reference their work. Tell the journalist about an article you particularly
enjoyed. But use flattery sparinglyâbe genuine.
Build a relationship first. Journalists are more likely to read your emails if
they recognise your name. Twitter's perfect for this.
Leave a reason to follow up. "Just checking" emails don't go down well. Ask
them if you can help with any more information or an embed code, for example.
Pre-pitch. If you have a genuine news story, then you'll need to do all your
pitches in one go. (Use Boomerang to schedule emails.) A tactic I've had a lot
of success with is to pitch the story ahead of the release. Give the journalist
enough information to pique their interest. Use an embargo if you need to. (But
use sparingly and only for genuine news stories.)
Keep it short and simple (KISS). Journalists don't have time to read long,
rambling emails.

And don'ts:

Take advantage. If you have success once, don't be tempted to go back to the
journalist unless you're certain your story will interest them.
Blanket bomb journalists with a press release. Press releases are still useful
(and journalists still ask me for them) but they should come at the end of a
conversation. It is ok to just send releases to general news@ addresses, but
don't expect these emails to be fruitful.
Call to follow up. Many a PR has been known to call a journalist to say, "Did
you receive my press release?" Don't do itâit will only piss them off!
Call ahead if you like, but never after.
Use hyperbole or buzzwords. It's just plain annoying.
Ramble. If you call them, don't launch into a pitch and ramble on. Ask if they
have a moment to spare first.
A quick recap: remember
The most successful digital PR campaigns incorporate a newsworthy element.
However, they must contain complementary digital assets in order to get links.
Surveys are a great way of creating stories, but be sure to use a credible
research company.
The press release isn't dead. But we'll kill it if we abuse it.
Pitching isn't that hardâas long as you are pitching something worthy.
Links are symptomatic of good PR.

I'm hoping that by now you'll have a better idea of the process of creating a
story and selling it in to the digital press. Just remember that PR isn't an
exact science and there are never any guarantees. When it does pay off, though,
the results really do speak for themselves.




Success for Worldpay Zinc: Coverage (and 2 links) on the Telegraph
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