We all have a device right close at hand that allows us to contact 
the media. It's called a telephone. Alexander Graham Bell went to so 
much trouble to invent it and we don't use it nearly enough.

Awhile ago I approached a reporter about a story using one of my 
restaurant clients. He liked the idea and told me to have my client 
call him directly. I briefed my client on the pitch and told him to 
call the reporter. A few days later I asked my client how it went 
and this is how the conversation ran:

How was the interview?

What interview?

The interview with the Newspaper.

Oh, he didn't want to talk to me.

But he told me to have you call him.

Well, I called him once and he never called back.

So my client called him once and never called again. He actually 
assumed the reporter would drop everything and immediately return 
the call. When he didn't, my client dropped it. Fortunately, I was 
able to patch things up and set up the interview. So often people 
just don't call or call just once. Either they really believe the 
media will call back or they are so arrogant they expect the media 
to contact them. Of course, if you are one of the industry's 
superstars, the media will contact you. But even then, you have to 
be available.

I always tell my clients, the person who stands to gain the most has 
to make the first move; in this case, the phone call.

So many people are fearful of contacting the media. Really, what is 
the worst that can possibly happen? Do you expect reporters to 
gather on your doorstep waving torches and muttering curses? Of 
course, not. The worst that can happen is they will say "no." Isn't 
that terrible, they will say no. Mr. Restaurateur, you own a 
restaurant, you know how to deal with people or, at least, you 
should. Are you so delicate that you can't bear to be told no?

I would be the last person to tell you to make a nuisance of 
yourself, calling every hour on the hour. But I frequently call 
once, leave a message and then when they don't call back, I call 
again. But when I make repeat calls, I leave no message and hang up 
if they don't answer. That way, they don't get so many messages they 
feel I'm stalking them. And if they don't answer, why leave another 
message? I wait until I'm lucky enough to speak to them and then go 
into my pitch.

The important thing to remember here is you must make the call in 
the first place. There are very many people wanting publicity and 
only a comparatively small number of people who can give us that 
publicity. Another thing to remember is to be available at the 
reporter's convenience, not yours. Remember: many of us and few of 
them. They don't have to interview you, they can easily interview 
your competitor down the street who makes things easy for them.

A number of years ago I had a client who had been the recipient of a 
good deal of publicity and it went to her head. I called her one 
afternoon at home with the happy news that one of the top New York 
papers wanted to interview her that day. She didn't want to do it 
because she was waxing her legs! Couldn't the reporter do it another 
day? I explained that no, he couldn't and she finally agreed to come 
into Manhattan for the interview (two pages).

So, remember, please: you make the call and you make yourself 
available at his convenience, not yours.

About The Author

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Ivana Katz
Websites 4 Small Business
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