I am working on this social networking site for a client and he has asked me for what he should do to get the sites and newspapers writing about this site. The site is on the larger scale so apart from the PRweb.com kind of releases he is looking for write outs on site's like www.mashable.com. Should a letter just be sent that we have launched this site, please have a look and see if you can write about it or what is the right way? Since i don't know how this work, i thought i'd ask here
You would use a variety of PR writing tools to get sites and journalists to write about you, such as: 1. Press releases 2. Pitch letters (blatantly pitching a journalist on your news, such as offering them a review copy of a new book prior to publication or something similar) 3. Op-eds (opinion pieces on issues relevant to your niche / industry) 4. Letters to the Editor (works well for local media coverage - include your name and company / site name at the end) 5. Features (similar to press releases, but usually distributed to one media outlet, and designed to be printed as-is)
Hey jennifer, Thanks a lot. Just to be specific..supposedly i had to send one to mashable, how should i go about it?
Every site or publication has their own policies and preferences actually. The best thing to do is first check their contact page to see if they mention their preferred contact method for something like that, and then to call them or shoot off an email to ask them how they'd prefer to receive news items if there's nothing useful on the contact page.
This will maybe help you out for mashable. Infact i'm going to give it a go submitting myself to them so i'll let you know how it went.
^^ Cool..let me know how it goes @jhmattern- As in but what kind of a email should i send them 'Hey, there is a new social network..check it out and see if you guys want to publish it' or should it be something else? As in i know sounding desperate get's you nowhere
If you write the email in a promotional tone, acting like you're not directly affiliated with the site (like in your example), if they have two brain cells to rub together, they'll see right through you and trash the email. Just be honest about what you're looking for, ask for the appropriate person there to speak to, and disclose your affiliation with the site. Don't think of it along the lines of email marketing, but rather a business letter. There's a big difference between a pitch letter and marketing copy. Write it in a professional and straight-forward tone, include contact info for them to reach you, etc., and you'll have a better chance in most cases.
I found that the best way to go about asking bloggers to write about your site is to simply email them. If you have something interesting that is related to the theme of their site, there is a good chance that they will cover you. If it's just another social networking site, I wouldn't hold my breath.