Free press coverage is good for just about every business.
For local businesses, free local press coverage might be even more valuable.
Your travel business may have already gotten one or two mentions on the local TV news. Or maybe you got a mention in the local newspaper.
Sarah and I purchase eggs and beef from a local farmer. As a customer, I first read about the farm in a local niche paper here in the area where we live.
Without that story, I probably never would have heard about the farm. Now we’re happy customers. The farm gets some revenue from us and I’m sure they received even more customers as a result of that story.
Here are some secrets to getting press coverage for your travel business.
Secret #1 – Don’t Overlook the Niche Publications
The farm I heard about in our area was not through the major papers. The paper was The Country Today, which is a niche paper for folks that live in the country. It’s rural and it mostly focuses on those that have a connection to farming.
This includes people like me that have some connection to farming through family history or hobbies, but that don’t necessarily farm themselves.
For the farmer, that was a connection to a target audience – people interested in buying eggs and grass-fed beef.
Getting coverage with the big publications or channels in your area is a good goal, but you can sometimes get better results (i.e. customers) by focusing on the niche channels.
Secret #2 –Look for Previous Popular Stories
Look at the big publications and at the niche publications. If those places have website then go there and look at the stories on the site. Look to see what stories have the most social media shares and comments.
These are two indicators that a story is popular.
Why are you looking for popular stories?
The press pays the bills by publishing stories that are popular. Those get the most views and views pay the bills in the form of advertising.
You can give yourself an advantage by seeing what stories are popular and then framing your story in a similar, but unique way.
For example, if you see that stories about an upcoming fall festival are popular or that articles are fall are popular, frame your story about the fall. Talk about people that visit your travel business in the fall and why they do so.
Secret #3 – Work on Your Story for the Press Company
People look for stories. In the previous step I mentioned the importance of framing your story. The press company does some of this, but you can help them do the work.
Frame the story so they have less work to do.
For my company, Ghost Blog Writers, I’ve done a few podcast interviews to get press coverage. With each, my story was framed a little different and each time I did the work on the story to get things ready.
For one, the podcast was about startups. So I told the story of how Ghost Blog Writers started and how it got to be where it is today.
For another, it was about WordPress. I told the story about how GBW uses WordPress to operate and why it’s a good platform for our business.
For a third, it was about content production. I shared the story of how we create blog posts.
Your story can be told in a number of different ways. For a story on the history of your city you can tell the history of your travel business. For a story on a giving back to the community you can tell about how you give back to charity.
Secret #4 – Write an Email, Letter and Follow Up with a Call
Once you frame your story, email it to the publication or channel. Most will have email addresses where you can send stories to the editor. You can also mail it in.
After a week, stop in to the publication or station and see if they got your information. Or you can call.
They may have overlooked your story.
Or they might tell you why the story wouldn’t work, but if that’s the case you can usually get some insight into why they didn’t find the story intriguing.
If that happens, ask them what you can do to get a story accepted.
Go back and make changes. Then write back and say how you’ve changed the story to fit their requirements.
Many times, they’ll appreciate you doing the work and they’ll accept it.
Secret #5 – Use Each Story as a Step to Get More Coverage
It’s certainly possible to get coverage on the big TV channel or with the big area newspaper, but it can be a challenge.
But that’s okay.
You can work your way up by starting with smaller publications. As we mentioned earlier, niche publications can often be better than the big ones.
Even if you have to start out with a local blogger it’s okay. Use this to build your portfolio. Once you get one publication to cover you, you can reach out saying, “I’ve previously been covered here, here and here.”
That proof is often enough to convince the next person that you are an interesting story or interview.
It’s called Trading Up The Chain.
Conclusion
Press coverage can be a big boost for your travel business.
One story in the paper or one story on the local TV station can lead to lots of exposure and new business. But it’s not going to happen without any effort.
The steps outlined above are steps I’ve used and that others have used with success.
Follow them and I’m sure you’ll be on your way to getting press coverage for your travel business.
Image: USFWS – Pacific Region
