Getting featured in the media is GREAT for credibility, traffic, and sales.
And you can do it WITHOUT CONNECTIONS.
Here’s how…
How the “Drafting Technique” Helps You Score Loads of Press, Traffic, and Links
What an unfortunate freeze frame, right? Quick, press play!
How Bad Press Destroys—and Skyrockets—Sales
Now let’s say you land that press, but it’s not what you expected.
It’s not good press… it’s bad press.
Do you need to panic?
Or can you sit back and relax?
That’s where this part of the Social Triggers master class comes into play.
I invited Jonah Berger, a professor at the Wharton School of Business, to talk to us about the ins and outs of bad press.
This guy is the REAL deal. His research has been featured in almost every mainstream business publication you can think of.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
During this audio, you’ll learn:
- How a prostitute sold $1,000,000 of songs on iTunes.
- Why Borat helped increase Kazahkstan’s tourism (according to Hotels.com data)
- How “stinky socks” helped a wine company increase their sales.
- And more…
Right click this link to save the audio as an mp3 to your computer.
If you prefer a transcript, right click to save this transcript.
Also, if you absolutely love the research Jonah Berger talks about, go here to visit him at his website. There’s loads of different academic papers that I know you’ll absolutely love.
What Should You Do Now?
Now that you know how to get press using my “drafting technique,” and what to do when bad press strikes, it’s time to go out there and score media mentions.
Step 1: Make a list of 5-15 competitors. You don’t have to compete directly, but instead, list 5-15 people who are in a similar world as you.
Step 2: Find where they have been mentioned in the media. If they haven’t been mentioned, find competitors or related companies who have.
Step 3: Figure out how to contact the journalists who featured these companies.
Step 4: Don’t just pitch yourself, and ask for links. Reach out the journalist with targeted pitches, as I described in the drafting technique.
Step 5: Congratulate yourself 🙂
One more thing…
If you want to hear about the next master class, make sure you sign up for the newsletter list here.
Not only will you hear about the master class, you’ll also hear about new articles that can help you.
Now…
If you absolutely loved this free training, share it with three friends :-).
Also, thank Jonah Berger for joining us here!
Really great post, Thank you for sharing This knowledge.Actually i am also suffer this type problems Excellently written article, if only all bloggers offered the same level of content as you, the internet would be a much better place.
Please keep it up!
They say when you are ready a master will appear to teach you.
Well I can say I have been looking at this topic now for the last couple of months so as to increase my exposure and branding for my moving business.
I have paid for some exposure from a few 3 minute episodes on a local news station during their morning programming which has not worked at all for leads or the phones ringing.
I have asked influential people in the Chamber of Commerce how they did it but were very vague and unwilling to tell me how they did it.
Now I have a useful and “followable” procedure to use and see if it works. Thanks for the info.
Hi
This post is really easy to understand as newbie blogger.
Hey Derek,
Thanks for sharing the insights! How would you suggest following up with journalists? How persist should you be if you don’t get feedback from them?
Thanks in advance, and I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this.
Cheers,
Arthur
Hey Social Trigger,
I have got to change read similar post on other blog the name for technique was different. For this particular I have to say it’s a good technique but when it comes to actually work on the techniques. Lets say if we approach to the news publisher what if they ask to get paid posting? I know many will ask for this.
Thanks Derek! I picked up quite a few ideas I could use for my website and blog posts. I liked the idea of piggybacking on existing conversations which gets you better traction than having to build the conversation up from scratch.
I intend to use this tactic in future.
Wow, is all I can say! I’m new to this concept of how to use negative publicity in such a positive way, but in the industry where I work there’s always something negative going on! In the world of fashion, scandal is the middle name so taking events and topics and blogging about them from a different perspective, (or contacting journalists) will be helpful in really perpetuating my brand!
I’m excited to be in this course and look forward to learning so much more.
Hey Derek,
This is the first time I heard about this kind of technique but more or less it is very helpful to me. One must really have the idea of what to do on every problem they encounter within trying to work on publicity. Some negative publicity might help really but it might also a worse nightmare. Thanks to this interview.
you are a genious!
What a fabulous idea Derek, many thanks for sharing this.
By the way, I love your ‘slip-stream’ analogy too; it’s a great way of getting your idea across.
Thanks again!
Public Relations advice that doesn’t suck for once !
Hi Derek,
Great content! Just want to let you know that the link to Jonah’s page is broken.
Good stuff, I greatly appreciate you sharing it! I was wondering why celebrities don’t lobby to make tabloids illegal – they have a ton of cash and control over politicians, why not work to get their private life actually made private? Based on this post, it seems like those tabloids are actually beneficial to their careers. It’s a strange world we live in.
I have been on your site all afternoon. Wow, I have learned so much. Thank you for the excellent information and I hope we are able to help our bloggers like you do. I am sending them all to this link to get up to speed. I am so grateful and say thanks to people like you who share so openly.
Maria
[…] The Drafting Technique for Getting Mainstream Media Attention […]
Second time I’ve listened to this all the way through and I’m glad I keep coming back – I always find something new to think about. Thanks, Derek!
Hey Derek!
Thanks a lot for sharing this awesome post. How do you come up with these insightful tricks? What do you read that inspires you to come up with such noteworthy content?
Please share some of your tricks with us mate 😉
Keep up the good work!
Damn, it’s unbelievable how the principles in sports can be put into blogging. I was really in-sighted by your video. Awesome and amazing!
Hi Derek, I love the concept of drafting. Although, having trouble figuring out how I can use the concept. I’m in a bit of a niche market and I don’t really have any local competition…which is good and bad. I’m an occupational therapist and I offer handwriting tutoring to kids. How could I cold email journalists/press if there isn’t any previous media coverage?
[…] Getting featured in the media is GREAT for credibility, traffic, and sales. Well, here’s how to get major media without connections. […]
[…] Get Press With No Connections How To Craft Contagious Content […]
Interesting stuff Derek! It’s given me a whole new perspective. Thank you for the audio with Jonah!
Derek,
Good stuff! After mentioning the Go Daddy incident, and then following up later by asking if there was a good way to capitalize on bad press from your competitors, it made me remember what Go Daddy’s competitors did. Other hosting companies (without badmouthing Go Daddy) started offering promotions for switching by donating cash to PETA and pro-elephant organizations. Check out this article: http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/14/smallbusiness/godaddy_parsons_elephant/index.htm
Great job on the podcasts so far, and I’m looking forward to what is in store!
Derek
Hey Derek! I’m new to your site, and you give so much value. Awesome tip on cold emailing journalists and giving another angle to a story they have covered about your competitor.
Great technique. Simple but WOW!!
Thanks Derek.. I really love your master class.
Am I the only one who noticed Derek is wearing Dexter’s “murder shirt”… two words: Bad Ass.
Great video!
Good one Derek, I never new that this technique could be applied to the online world. Thanks.
Great stuff Derek, and thank you.
Ran into you from APPSUMO pages and very happy.
As I listen I realize I’ve been doing something similar to this to push public awareness for events I coordinated or produced.
I’m hoping it will work for my business too!
v/r, dave sends…
Nice one 🙂
Set the competitor as a benchmark which serves the purpose!
Good Stuff! Contacting journalist is something that I am currently working on. Thanks for the content!
Derek,
Be sure to let your readers know about “Google Alerts” this is a great tool to do the Drafting Technique. I’ve been using Google Alerts to track the media hits of competing groups for a month or so now and it has been really informative.
One thing this technique allows me to do is see what kind of news stories are trending in the press and customize our strategy to getting noticed.
This is BO much better than just blasting an email press release out to everybody and, it actually builds relationships, a key when you want your news out fast.
Thanks,
Ben
“SO” not “BO”
Derek,
I like when he talked about attention and what makes someone share something. People share the unexpected, both positive and negative. People NEVER share something that has no emotional reaction to them. Thus, the key is to draw a line in the sand. Make sure you either make people really happy or really angry/sad/etc.
Great stuff. What I remembered is to get an emotional reactive from your customers.
Derek, great interview. Jonah’s insight and research is pure gold. Thanks again for posting such valuable info. By the way Derek, totally dig your course on Mixergy.
Now to figure out how to apply this to my business(es).
Any suggestions? 🙂
Thanks for the audio download!
Kat
Nice work, Derek, looking forward to more material from you.
This is awesome and witty! And since I love adventure, i will do this 😉
Awesome Derek,
I waited till Sunday to get into this course, as I wanted to really sit down and learn. You made it fun and easy… not a lot of step 1, 2, 3… stuff but just DO IT. Yes, what have I got to lose really?
Let’s go drafting.
Thanks Derek and Jonah
A thing about journalists – with due respect to my journo friends – work wise they have pretty small attention spans and they speak a different language to us non-journos. So, it’s best to know when to contact, exactly what you are going to say in as few syllables as possible and in a language they understand.
It works
So if you’re a nobody, bad press can make you a somebody and if you’re a somebody it can make you a nobody?
Informative Jonah was interesting, I be listening again.
Thanks Guys
To be honest if I had known the audio would be 35 minutes I would probably have passed … but I happened to have some quiet free time and was able to really take it all in. FASCINATING! I need to sleep on it to absorb it all but yes, when explained by Mr Berger et al, it has a kind of twisted logic! For some reason it is making me smile.
Got to go … got a few minor celebs to dangle over the balcony!
Oh! and shared you ofcourse!
First time I see you on vid, like you’re style! (love the charming freeze frame) Really enthousiastic about this tutorial, thnx big time!!
grtz
KJ
Excellent work, Derek. I loved the drafting technique as well as the interview. The best take away for me was the idea that you shouldn’t hold back on a promotion or piece because it might alienate some of your audience. You have to stay true to your own voice, writing for the true fans and enjoying any publicity you get from the others.
Thank you for investing your time and effort into this project. It is sincerely appreciated.
I absolutely love your info, your energy and the way in which you share great info. I’m sharing you!
Derek,
love this. my wife is a freelance writer and I shared this with her and she said absolutely it’s an awesome idea…she would love it if someone approached her with a great story idea that added value. she would feel obligated to slant the story their way. great stuff.
Good stuff. I enjoyed the interview with Berger although it was pretty funny how you kept steering it back to the positive aspects of bad press as he kept repeating his disclaimer to not actively seek it out.
The audio is great!! Keep em’ coming and I’ll keep sharing- and Thank YOu
I appreciate your insights here, Derek. As a writer seeking to build a following more than competing outright with an identifiable opponent, how would you see these principles applying?
Great article. Thanks!
Awesome crash course on PR Derek!
As a former local news producer, I’d add that in addition to keeping an eye on competitors in the news, stay on top of the news in general – especially current events related to your industry.
Journalists are always looking for a good source/contact. They will love getting soundbites and quotes from someone outside of the typical press release that EVERYONE else has.
They even appreciate hearing pitches for different angles on big stories. Just be careful not to make it seem like you’re only trying to get exposure for your business. Reporters know that’s what you want – but making it obvious leaves a bad taste in their mouths – so to speak.
I specifically remember the instance you referenced in the audio with Godaddy CEO and the elephant hunting circumstance.. Very relevant to your interview because it stirred up quite the conversation and publicity.
Animal rights activists were up in arms and outraged by the killing. PETA labeled him as “Scummiest CEO of the Year,” and launched a massive boycott and backlash that spawned major media coverage.
Gun and hunting activists saw it as a good thing (for the indigenous people) because the elephants were eating/destroying crops and they used the meat from the hunt to feed the hunger-struck villagers for a long time.
Regardless of which side the public was on, this topic triggered interested and emotional inquires and drove people to get involved, research, and explore further. Very interesting.
Derek, as a former ABC radio news anchor, I can testify that the drafting strategy would totally work, and I’m a little annoyed for not thinking of it myself. 🙂
Great stuff, as always.
Wow, you got me hooked. And you are giving all this out for FREE. oh boy, good KARMA is rushing through your door for sure. Thank you, just RT THIS and liked ur fb page too. You ROCK!
Thanks Derek!
Just now downloaded the mp3… I intend to go to sleep tonight pumping the audio from my iPhone to my brain all night long. Then I’ll wake up a brand new Jeenyus! YAY! (that “is” how it works… doesn’t it Derek?) LOL! 😛
Thanks Dude!!
Gary Anderson II
aka- @GanderCo
Hi Derek
Congrats on what is the first of no doubt a hugely popular series, jammed-packed full of awesome, actionable information.
Want a testimonial..? I’ll give you one hands-down.
Keep rockin’.
C
Loved this! Especially the drafting technique & how you related it to racing. The visual was super helpful. I’ve heard of this before, but not in the way you presented it. It’s great advice & something I think everyone can take advantage of.
I wanted to share one way to keep track of competitors & where they’re being mentioned on the web… so that you can get in on the goods too. If you use Google Alerts, you can enter their name or their website & have it email you once a day when they’re mentioned somewhere online. That’s a quick & easy way to keep up with them without having to track them down online.
Hope that helps readers & thanks again for making this free. Day 1 has already been so helpful!
Derek you are my new favorite person, your content is amazing. The masters class is great and you can’t beat the price.
I seem to remember the Kazak Government saying that Borat had cost the country hundreds of millions of dollars. I’ll be very interested to listen to this one.
Thanks Derek.
Derek, now I understand why you would have turned down book deals people were offering you. This is, definitely, really cool. When I write client emails or copy, I shoot on over to your site to see if there’s anything I could do to be more persuasive. You’ve delivered every time. Best of luck to you, and may you make 2012 you’re own personal (insert what Jules suggested Brett implied about the appearance of Marsellus Wallace).
Hi Derek,
My Mac/ Firefox don’t seem to recognize your video plugin -> what do I need?
Thanks,
Saku
Hey Saku.
It looks like just a regular embed code from Youtube to me. You might want to check your permissions/settings for videos?
Hope that helps.
Are all your clothes slim-fit, Derek? Heh
I’m loving the Social Triggers Insider. Can’t wait for the next one.
The video and audio were very helpful! I can’t wait for more! I’m going to impliment some of this in my store, and I’m going to pass your link along to my fellow ecrater store owners so they can benifit from it also. Thank you so much!
Very nice.
Just finished the entire audio. That was definitely interesting.
I like the example of the prostitute benefiting from negative publicity. It seems like how negative publicity can help or hurt depending on where you currently stand.
In addition to that, whether the negative publicity is direct or indirect plays a role too.
The Michael Jackson example made a lot of sense. The news about him was always negative… be he stayed fresh in everyone’s mind who enjoyed his music.
Can’t wait for the next one.
Derek, you crack me up! You used that freeze frame on purpose, didn’t you!?!
I really like your perspective on this, by the way! Good stuff as always, thank you!
Great insights Derek. I like the analogy of your “Drafting Technique”. Looking forward to the rest of the series!
Hey what’s up Adam.
You still over at the roger smith?
I moved on from RSH last spring. Doing independent consulting in online marketing for travel now. Some fun projects in the Caribbean that I’ve been on.
Looks like you are kicking ass. Liking this series already and looking forward to the rest of it! I’ve been sending it around.
Great stuff — You have the knack for explaining things in ways people can undertand.
Thank you Ryan. Glad you liked it.
Elegant Drafting Strategy.
The best kind of idea, a Kleenex idea.
One that is retroactively obvious.
Thank you…. now off to the audio portion.
Steve
Awesome. Glad you enjoyed it Steven. What did you think of the audio?
That was really insightful! Great stuff.
And the professor’s site is a goldmine of insights.
Can’t wait for the next master class
You should check out his email list too.
I will
Hey Derek,
This line of Master Classes is a great addition to your website, and I’m looking forward to seeing all the great information that you release. I’ve made a habit recently of contacting other bloggers and journalists about my articles, but your suggestion will definitely help me out.
I run an entertainment website as well, and getting non-evergreen content to go viral/get more media attention can be pretty damn tough.
It’s tough to get attention for non-evergreen content… unless you break the news anyway.
Hey D, thanks for the insight, I intend on using you technique asap! I’m glad I signed up for your emails!
You’re welcome Javi.
Thanks for sharing the knowledge Derek.
Loving the ‘press peek’ strategy… great for forward motion!
Happy New Year!
Happy new year, and glad you’re here Leona.
Hope you enjoyed it.
Hey Derek,
Great stuff! I thought the audio was fantastic, Jonah Berger was awesome……ok, you did your bit – I guess I had better send a few emails 😀
Thanks – Jay
Heck yea :-).
Glad you enjoyed it Jay.
Really want this to spread as far and wide as possible.
Thanks for sharing Derek … This is GREAT!
You’re welcome.
The drafting technique – thinking outside the box again!
You always make me think of things in a different way.
Being a photographer I have to deal with criticism but it doesn’t mean I don’t still struggle with it. And normally I’d worry about bad publicity – but now I think a little differently
Thanks
That’s why you read Social Triggers after all, right? 😉
OMG! LMAO right now! I had this ridiculous app for some new tv show (spyschool?) open in another window and it kept playing this groovy music and I thought it came from your site! Hilarious. Okay. Whew.
Please accept my apologies for the confusion!!!!
See? You do rock 100%. Sorry I was misguided. Your site is superb and I really enjoyed your presentation at RHHLive and keep learning from you.
Haha
This is great, Derek and Jonah! You guys should host your own radio show (jokingly/serious). The topic and dialog is outstanding. I’m building my own business and this has generated some great ideas. Thank you!
Wait til you see some of the audios I have lined up.
But yes, Jonah Berger is THE MAN.
He’s really a great academic, researcher, and I’ve never seen him teach, but I’m sure he’s a great professor too.
Hey Derek,
Met you briefly at RHHLive last year. Love your new insider series. Really enjoyed the video and perfect information for a client I am working with!
I am listening to the audio now and just wanted to suggest that I would prefer it without the background music. I might be alone in that opinion but I simply want to hear you and the guests talking! That can stand alone!!!!
Rock on with your awesome content and I’m sure your 2012 will be amazing.
What background music?
Chris,
I’ve found the same thing. Typically, if you have a clear proposition and they a clear reason why something is a good idea for someone, you’ll often get surprisingly promising responses – even from busy, wealthy, or famous people.
Connections are a myth. I have emailed pretty famous people (they spill the beans on Twitter.) I’ve gotten fantastic responses and done deals all without being “vetted.”
Just bring value and know a little bit about what you’re talking about.
What’s up Chris — its true. Connections are a myth. You can make them whenever you need ’em.
Great video, Derek!
Thanks Nikki.
Thanks Derek, for this first class. I especially like the idea of the “Drafting Technique.” I have actually found that TV advertising from a company that sells similar product, help increase my sales because it increased the public’s awareness of that type of product. People would say, “Oh yeah, I’ve see that on TV.” Then I point out how much less expensive my product is to that what was advertised on television.
Thanks!
Awesome Suzanne.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Very good audio interview with Jonah Berger. Thanks.
Glad you liked it Jared.
Derek,
You should have called this “PR For Upstarts: The Positive Power Of Negative Publicity”. That was an amazingly insightful interview.
What I really liked:
You could almost envision a matrix of use in applying the lessons here.
1. Unknown, have nothing to sell/gain? Avoid all negative publicity
2. Unknown, have something to sell/gain? Consider creatively negative publicy.
For known brands:
1. Known brand, can piggyback without major/long-term negative effects? Leverage bad publicity (thoughtfully)
2. Known brand, piggybacking with potential for major/long-term negative effects? Avoid bad publicity.
This is just a rough draft, but it reminded me of an erstwhile re-branding effort by my home country Nigeria, which doesn’t have a very good brand internationally, and I began to wonder where some creative “bad publicity” might yield positive benefits (foreign direct investments? business? – I’m still thinking about that one).
Well done.
Its awesome the way you communicated the drafting technique. Listening to how bad press can help or hurt business now =)
Glad you enjoyed it.
Let me know what you think of the mp3.
Hey Derek,
Thank you for always providing such actionable and interesting tools! And thanks Jonah for sharing!
My question is for someone who is new to this whole media thing (but think I have something very beneficial for press – who isn’t interested in sex, right!?) what have you found to be the most effective and fastest way to get these journalists or contacts actual contact information ie. email??
Another way of asking this would be – so once we know who we need to contact, what is our next step for actually getting a hold of them?
Find people who are your competitors… and see if they got press. Then contact those same journalists.
Thanks Derek, I understand finding WHO I need to contact, what I am wondering is HOW you get their contact information – for example is it normal to call that newspaper/show or whatever media and ask for that persons email? What is the standard accepted practice for contacting these people? Is that more clear?
Many newspapers nowadays have twitter accounts for the journalists. They also often publish their email addresses.
My 17-year-old son is starting his own business and I’m passing this along to him (as well as learning myself). I think he will learn far more from you than from me and the books I’ve encouraged him to read. We’re still old-school (but moving toward change!), but you’re on the pulse of new marketing. Thanks for keeping this free; you’re greatly appreciated.
You’re welcome Karen.
Very good stuff Mr. Halpern. Nice to see you operating from the Zig Ziglar creed of helping enough people get what they want…you know the rest.
Can’t wait for the next post!
RW
Yes… I’m not actually too familiar with much of Zig’s stuff, but I am familiar with that.
Great Stuff!
Loved the drafting technique. 🙂 And thanks for putting this combo masterclass together, Derek. As always, you rock mate!
~ Yamo
No problem.
Make sure you tell everyone about it ha ha.
Listening now!
Make sure you come here and let us know what you think.
I loved your video. I also remembered you mentioned this technique in some of the videos you participated last year.
I’d share it but I have a problem… Why should I feed my fellow bloggers in the niche with this?! I want to be ahead of them! 😉
I guess you are right guys… I suppose I have to apply the principle of synergy: if they grow as bloggers, they will contribute to my growth also.
Have a good weekend!
@Guillermo, that is exactly what I was thinking. But here is how I finished the thought….if what I did three months ago put me ahead of some competitors, then what I do today only continues the lead. 🙂 Have a great day.
@Guillermo + @Jen,
Another way to think about sharing is that it’s the opposite of hoarding, and hoarding is an action of scarcity, not abundance. By opening up our goodie bags and sharing, we actually get more in return. Not that THAT’S a reason to do it, either…generosity is a virtue in and of itself. It just feels good. And there’s nothing more important than feeling good.
Heh…
This is a great technique I’ve never considered before. Thanks for sharing it! Also love the way you handled that funny freeze frame.
You’re welcome Laura
Thanks! I appreciate the new idea. Now to think about and figure out how to implement it.
Find competitors who have press… and see if you can get similar press. 🙂
Great content. Simply reaching out to journalists is often more than most attempt to do. Cold emailing is most definitely worth a shot, especially when you have something of value to provide.
Cold emailing is okay… but emailing them cold, with a real reason, is often better.
Agreed… if there is no value or benefit received by the recipient as a result of being contacted by you, it’s probably safe to assume that you won’t be receiving any value from them 😉
Thanks Derek! I’m going to use your tips to figure out how to leverage my recent wall street journal press to dig in and help journalists at other big media sources, too. Thanks!
Awesome, and congrats on that big mention already.
Once you have one mention, its easy to get more.
I really like you Derek. Your way of presenting is mesmerizing. (I skipped ahead to comment first)
Glad you enjoyed it Nikhil!
I was about to test some methods to reach out to a new audience – this came just in time.
Your stuff is pretty shit hot….
….digging in now.
Awesome — make sure you listen to the audio too.
yes! watching it now.
Great!
Hey Derek.
I’m stoked to be able to check this out. I know you mentioned on Twitter that you were having some technical difficulties and as someone who’s released products in the past, it happens at the WORST possible times 🙂
I know this is 100% awesome though so it was worth the wait.
Yes!
When you listen to it, make sure you pop back in here and let me know what you think.
FYI, the video was great. Your enthusiasm makes it totally watchable (I usually play videos and listen-only while working). That video alone got my brain sparked and then the audio interview was instant-download.
I’ve listened to it twice already.
Definitely loving what you’re doing and can’t wait to see what’s next. Now excuse me while I go put these ideas into action!
Just in time for a client who needs PR but couldn’t afford the “enchilada”. Thanks much.
Awesome. Glad this helped. Make sure you listen to the audio too!