Another way you’ll know if your campaign was successful is when the phone starts ringing off the hook. Reporters will be calling because they saw the information somewhere else, but now they want to do a story on your client or company.

It’s a pleasure to form a working relationship with the media, once you master their methods of interaction and communication. It sometimes gets a bad rap, as editors and writers face off as opponents in the writing process.

But in reality, the two of you are working together to do one thing – get your message out. You have news that needs to be heard. The editor has an audience that wants to hear some news. Work together to make it happen.

You do your part by developing the idea, the story, and the meaty details of the content. The editor will do his part by spicing it up in a way the public is used to seeing – he’ll throw in a splashing headline to turn heads in the audience.

The media is not a one-way production company. They rely on you and your clients to provide them with the very news that sells their papers, and pays their salaries. It’s not that they’re seeking to deny your submission.

They’d like nothing better than to have a stack piled to the ceiling of news they could run with without revisions. But that’s not the case, and so they suffer burnout when it comes times to review the onslaught of unsolicited news sitting staring them in the eye.

Take pity on your editor and cater to his ego and his mindset. Empathize with him when he growls at you for not following his guidelines. Don’t argue with him about the policies of the paper. He has no time to change policies in mid-stream, he’s just concerned with making it by his two o’clock deadline later that afternoon.

Use the Golden Rule when dealing with the hurried news personnel on the other end of the phone. No matter how they treat you when you call to verify a contact name, inquire about the stylebook, or ask a question they’ve already been asked 2,000 times that day, treat them with respect and kindness, and they will appreciate it and return the favor.

Your most important weapon against lessening your chances of being published is knowing your target.

Never be intimidated by the prospect of developing and distributing a press release. The worst thing that ca happen is you don’t get published. If that’s the case, try your news from another angle.

Revisit your publication target and learn even more. Talk to others who have made it, and find out what tactics they use in communicating with the same media contacts. Network your skills, your availability, and your know-how.

Develop a credible reputation with your media, and you’ll have your foot in the door to one of the most powerful communication tools mankind has ever seen. Once there, maximize your message, and keep in tune with the audience and the editors.

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