tl;dr? Send an exclusive preview! It works wonders!
I frequently get asked about what the best way to get news on EN World's news page is. I figured a short article explaining how I go about it might be of use to some folks! This isn't general advice - other websites (or, indeed, other columnists on this website) might do it differently, but this is how I do it. None of this is a rule or anything; it's just what I feel tends to work. I don't want to sound all rulesy about it; but this is what I find works best.
This isn't addressed to readers who send me scoops about stuff they heard/discovered; never stop doing that! This is more about the direct promotional side of things. The stuff that publishers and manufacturers send along.
First of all -- the way to do it is to email me. My email address is morrus@hotmail.com.
Now, as a preamble - I get a dozen or more emails a day with some variation on the words "can you give us a shout out?" and a URL to a Kickstarter.
I know it can be hard to get the word out. I've been there, too. And I know it can feel frustrating when your stuff isn't being reported on. It's not just you; the sheer volume of stuff is immense these days, especially Kickstarters. This is great for consumers, but I understand that it makes it harder for you to get word out. Honestly, I've totally been there and I really do empathise.
I'm always very happy to share news, although sometimes I need some help doing so. Here's what I don't usually do:
For that reason, my advice is to send along an exclusive preview of some kind. Something I can write about, show off, and share, and which readers can get their teeth into. That's so much more interesting than a press release, and - usually - works much better from a promotional point of view. A page or two from your book is perfect, and will garner much more interest from readers.
One other quick note - podcasts. Podcasts are awesome, and I love listening to them when I walk my dog. Sadly, podcasts are also long, which limits the amount of listening I can physically do. If you've interviewed somebody on your podcast and you figure that folks might have a particular interest in what that person had to say, by all means let me know. However, please do try to tell me what the "scoop" is, rather than just sending a link to an hour-long MP3! I promise I'm not trying to be awkward, but there are so many awesome podcasts, and it's not a medium you can skim for the juicy content. So an email which says "Chris Perkins said X about halfway through our podcast episode" is really helpful; one which says "We had Chris Perkins on the show" is less so. Then I know to listen to that podcast on my next dog walk. I know that sounds lazy, and I really do wish it were possible to listen to them all.
I'm so sorry that there have to be conditions and guidelines and stuff. I promise it's not to to be awkward; I hope that this helps you as much as it helps me! And really, I love sharing previews, and folks seem to love seeing them a lot more than they like seeing press releases or copy and pasted paragraphs from Kickstarter pages. So send along an exclusive preview, and I'll share it for you!
I frequently get asked about what the best way to get news on EN World's news page is. I figured a short article explaining how I go about it might be of use to some folks! This isn't general advice - other websites (or, indeed, other columnists on this website) might do it differently, but this is how I do it. None of this is a rule or anything; it's just what I feel tends to work. I don't want to sound all rulesy about it; but this is what I find works best.
This isn't addressed to readers who send me scoops about stuff they heard/discovered; never stop doing that! This is more about the direct promotional side of things. The stuff that publishers and manufacturers send along.
First of all -- the way to do it is to email me. My email address is morrus@hotmail.com.
Now, as a preamble - I get a dozen or more emails a day with some variation on the words "can you give us a shout out?" and a URL to a Kickstarter.
I know it can be hard to get the word out. I've been there, too. And I know it can feel frustrating when your stuff isn't being reported on. It's not just you; the sheer volume of stuff is immense these days, especially Kickstarters. This is great for consumers, but I understand that it makes it harder for you to get word out. Honestly, I've totally been there and I really do empathise.
I'm always very happy to share news, although sometimes I need some help doing so. Here's what I don't usually do:
- I don't often post press releases unless they're really industry-shaking (although you are welcome to do so yourself in the press release forum, which feeds onto a column on the news page).
- An email or message with just a link saying "can you help us get the word out?" or "can you give us a shout out? is quite hard to turn into an interesting article.
For that reason, my advice is to send along an exclusive preview of some kind. Something I can write about, show off, and share, and which readers can get their teeth into. That's so much more interesting than a press release, and - usually - works much better from a promotional point of view. A page or two from your book is perfect, and will garner much more interest from readers.
One other quick note - podcasts. Podcasts are awesome, and I love listening to them when I walk my dog. Sadly, podcasts are also long, which limits the amount of listening I can physically do. If you've interviewed somebody on your podcast and you figure that folks might have a particular interest in what that person had to say, by all means let me know. However, please do try to tell me what the "scoop" is, rather than just sending a link to an hour-long MP3! I promise I'm not trying to be awkward, but there are so many awesome podcasts, and it's not a medium you can skim for the juicy content. So an email which says "Chris Perkins said X about halfway through our podcast episode" is really helpful; one which says "We had Chris Perkins on the show" is less so. Then I know to listen to that podcast on my next dog walk. I know that sounds lazy, and I really do wish it were possible to listen to them all.
I'm so sorry that there have to be conditions and guidelines and stuff. I promise it's not to to be awkward; I hope that this helps you as much as it helps me! And really, I love sharing previews, and folks seem to love seeing them a lot more than they like seeing press releases or copy and pasted paragraphs from Kickstarter pages. So send along an exclusive preview, and I'll share it for you!
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