By: Erin Williamson
As one of the many workshops available via the Fringe Society, Elaine Liner gave a presentation on “How to Be a Media Darling.” How to conduct oneself over email and social media is really something that should be common knowledge, but sometimes we all could use a refresher course.
Elaine reminded those in attendance that professional media is three things: 1) lazy, 2) overworked, 3) hungry. Because of these qualities you must be precise, interesting, and efficient to be noticed. You must “be so good they can’t ignore you.” Publicity is something that shouldn’t be overthought. You should strive for any positive media mention, and coverage that is free and has the ability to be viewed for free. Simple right?
The workshop stressed that email is going to be your best method of communication with the media. It was also stressed to everyone that the press release is dead, so stop doing it! Remember the media is lazy, so send them your story and make it easy to copy and paste! You should also never attach a PDF file to your email. Everything you want the reviewer to have should be in the body of the email and always include photos.
A good photo can be the key to good coverage. They should be high resolution and you should have a bunch. You want your story to tell a story and jump off the page, reinforcing whatever is being said in the article. Don’t be frugal. If you want good coverage, you’re going to have to spend the extra dollar on a good photographer; iPhone isn’t going to cut it.
Elaine’s most important message is that you want to be noticed and remembered. Use social media to your advantage and spread the love. The public and other performers will remember you if you tweet positively about others and post pitches in between. Use the 7:2:1 ratio. Seven good tweets about others, 2 soft sell tweets about yourself, and one hard sell tweet about yourself. While you’re at it, use buzzwords like “exclusive,” “controversial,” and “premiere.” You’re competing with thousands of other shows at the Fringe, time to be the media’s darling.
As one of the many workshops available via the Fringe Society, Elaine Liner gave a presentation on “How to Be a Media Darling.” How to conduct oneself over email and social media is really something that should be common knowledge, but sometimes we all could use a refresher course.
Elaine reminded those in attendance that professional media is three things: 1) lazy, 2) overworked, 3) hungry. Because of these qualities you must be precise, interesting, and efficient to be noticed. You must “be so good they can’t ignore you.” Publicity is something that shouldn’t be overthought. You should strive for any positive media mention, and coverage that is free and has the ability to be viewed for free. Simple right?
The workshop stressed that email is going to be your best method of communication with the media. It was also stressed to everyone that the press release is dead, so stop doing it! Remember the media is lazy, so send them your story and make it easy to copy and paste! You should also never attach a PDF file to your email. Everything you want the reviewer to have should be in the body of the email and always include photos.
A good photo can be the key to good coverage. They should be high resolution and you should have a bunch. You want your story to tell a story and jump off the page, reinforcing whatever is being said in the article. Don’t be frugal. If you want good coverage, you’re going to have to spend the extra dollar on a good photographer; iPhone isn’t going to cut it.
Elaine’s most important message is that you want to be noticed and remembered. Use social media to your advantage and spread the love. The public and other performers will remember you if you tweet positively about others and post pitches in between. Use the 7:2:1 ratio. Seven good tweets about others, 2 soft sell tweets about yourself, and one hard sell tweet about yourself. While you’re at it, use buzzwords like “exclusive,” “controversial,” and “premiere.” You’re competing with thousands of other shows at the Fringe, time to be the media’s darling.
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