It takes a variety of skills to garner media interview opportunities. Knowing how to target the right media decision makers, formulate a winning pitch, and the best ways to reach the right producers and editors are all critically important. But timing your media pitch matters as much as everything else. And, when good timing fails, then it’s critical to know how to create a winning news hook.
In part, good timing is a matter of good planning. To maximize the potential of good timing, tie your pitch into upcoming seasons, holidays, and current events. That way, the media knows why it should interview you now.
However, good timing also involves good luck. To some degree, you cannot control the effectiveness of your timing when you’re trying to garner media attention. Here’s an example.
When President Obama asked the United Nations National Assembly for the last time, you’d think that would grab headlines. And, ordinarily, it would have. After all, President Obama is, well, President Obama. He’s the leader of the free world. Plus, he speaks eloquently. That means, when he speaks, and dozens of reporters have to capture his words and disseminate them to audiences throughout the globe.
Unfortunately, the day on which President Obama spoke to the United Nations happened to be the day that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt announced they were getting a divorce. Oops. The media was certainly on fire — but it wasn’t because of anything that President Obama had said. No. The only words that media consumers were interested in, on that day, were those of “Brangelina.”
Angelina and Brad, effectively, blew Barack right off the front page of the news. Timing is everything.
Because you can’t control what happens in the world, you have to learn how to use what’s happening in the world to help you convince the media to interview you now. The way to do that is to formulate hooks based on the news.
If you were pitching yourself as a potential guest in the wake of Angelina and Brad’s divorce (or any other front-burner happening), your willingness to formulate a related news hook can mean garnering media attention because of what’s happened — or losing the opportunity forever.
The news hook your create is an individual process and is very much dependent upon your expertise. Here are some potential news hooks that relate to Angelina and Brad’s divorce announcement:
For a relationships expert, your hook might be, “Wow! We thought Angelina and Brad’s relationship was eternal, but their announcement should remind us that nothing is forever. We all need to work on our relationships. Here’s how.” A parenting author might offer a news hook like this: “Angelina and Brad’s children are entering a new phase with their parents’ breakup. Here are the steps the couple should be taking right now to make sure their kids get through this difficult time in one piece.” An expert on women’s issues might create a news hook such as, “Angelina Jolie appeared to have everything, but even celebrities have to deal with protecting themselves against men who will behave badly.” A finance expert might spin a news hook: “To facilitate the process of fairly dividing property and bank accounts, here’s how to begin.” A legal expert might say, “Okay, then. Here’s why I recommend that everyone have a prenuptial agreement in place. Do it now, and here’s what to keep in mind.”
Here are some tips for creating news hooks: