How to Make the Media Fall in Love With You

I spoke in Los Angeles to the Book Publicists of Southern California, last week on Valentine's Day. It was a delightful catered affair, with drinks, dinner, and dessert, I gave my talk to a packed room of about 130 people in at the Sportsman's Lounge in Studio City.
I explained "How to Make the Media Fall in Love With You" by telling story after story, demonstrating and analyzing media responses to news releases for books, innovative products and other news events.
The bottom line results show amazing similarity in media expectations. If I had "The Supreme Ultimate Maximum Editor" right here in front of me, and I asked her, "what do you want from me if I could get a feature story," she'd likely say:
Tell me story (a short, bed time story), give me a local news angle (of interest to my particular audience), hit me in the pocket book (make me or save me money), teach me something I didn't know before (educate me), amaze me or astound me (like in WOW!), make my stomach churn (in horror or fear), or turn me on (yes, sex sizzles).
So what you have to do when you write a news release is give the media what they want!
And guess what -- what "they" really want turns out to be what most people in America wants!

Surprise!
Look around you and you'll see that all news coverage is basically designed to cater to what the American Public wants.
And if you look around you, you'll see that this is really easy to identify. It's everywhere. It's simple to see. And once you see it, a light will go on.
And last Thursday night, I boiled it all down to one simple formula:

DPAA+H

These letters stand for "Dramatic Personal Achievement in the Face of Adversity plus a little Humor."
If you look at almost every media around you, from the front page of USA Today to the Olympics to the evening news to the sitcoms on TV, you'll see this is what the American public wants, desires, and craves.
As a culture, we crave to see the human spirit triumph in matters of the heart, and in trials of hardship and tragedy. We ask to be uplifted right out of the humdrum of our everyday reality into the exhilaration and extreme emotional of those who are living life on the edge.
It galvanizes our attention. It rivets us to our seats. It captures our attention and our hearts.
And this is what the media seeks to provide. This is what works.
You will see these elements everywhere you look in varying degrees. It is a rare media feature that doesn't contain these items. The media uses technology to increase the assault on our senses, enhance the effect, and make our experience ever more compelling and memorable.
And if you are writing a news release, what you have to do is recognize this insane desire and need, and then cater to it.
Do your best to write a news release so that it interests as many people in the audience as possible. Ask yourself who these people are and talk to them. Do your homework and know who your book, product or service will appeal to.
Then, write your news release so that it tells a story.
Describes the 5 W's: the what, who, where, when, and why, in dramatic personal adversity and achievement terms. This helps you cast your spell to the widest possible audience
There's a real business reason why this works.
Media are publishers, and authors and publishers need to look at them as publishers, in business, trying to do what all of us are trying to do -- make a living. Good news release converts to more subscriptions or market share for ad dollars.
So when you write a news release say this to your media recipient:
"Fellow Publisher -- will you give me space in your publication?"
"Fellow Publisher -- will you give me time on the air on your show"
Then put yourself in their shoes, and understand that the media executive is going to ask the following question:
"Is this better than everything else I have today?"
The answer determines their bottom line == Revenue!
So grab today's newspaper, and start thinking about it with a new set of eyes

Use DPAA+H.
If there are more dramatic personal stories of achievement in the face of adversity, plus a little humor available that day, you lose. If not, you win. One thing is for certain. If you learn how to use DPAA+H you will get more media coverage.