Any JOURNALISTS, EDITORS, PR people out there? Can I pick your brains please?

[burek]

Hi
Wondering if anyone of the relevant background can give me some pointers...

We've just launched our company and are doing our marketing so was wondering if you could advise on how to contact the right people in the UK press. Our company takes people to remote and normally inaccessible areas of the central Bosnian mountains. Very briefly, on the tours you get the most stunning views, all typical food and drink prepared by our own chef, lots of culture and history, and camping in real wilderness. It's family friendly and it's a real 'get away from it all' trip.

Our next step is to try and get a story in a UK broadsheet, since we think the trip and the destination is unique and different from aything else on offer. Would I be right in thinking that the simplest way to do this is to try and directly contact Features Editors and try and 'sell our story' so to speak?
We may also have some potentially good human angles (but this might just be a matter of opinion!). Stuff like: 2 Brits + son sell up and leave it all behind to set up a self-sufficient smallholding in Bosnia; struggling against Bosnian bureaucracy to set up a company; bilingual household (welsh and english) learning to speak Bosnian; doing our bit to bring tourists back to post-war Bosnia; the other side of the company coaches local professionals in Business English to prepare them for international trade (a service which has never been available in this region before); DH came here for the first time during the war so has seen massive social, cultural and political changes take place in the last decade. There are more but you get the gist! Do you think that it is worth mentioning any of the human angles? Be honest with me, because I'm only trying to think of ways of attracting their attention from the off. If it's all 'been done before' then I'll keep the private stuff to ourselves!

We've already tried contacting some of the specialist magazines but the response has been poor, so I want to get the approach right before going for the broadsheets. I'm sure they get thousands of emails every day!

If anyone can give us some tips, I'd be very grateful .

[overwhelmed]
I haven't even finished reading all the answers since I was last online and am already thrilled with your great and very clear helpful advice - THANK YOU

Back to reading...

I was a travel journalist before the children came along. In my experience, if you are looking for a big write up in a national you will have to organise a press trip - either a dedicated one with journalists from several publications (not directly competing ones) or by 'embedding' one journalist on a trip you are already organising. Nobody's going to give a lot of space to it unless they have actually experienced first hand what you are offering.
If you are just looking for small pieces then write the press release well, ensure it has a hook, and that all the relevant info is there. You would be amazed how many people send out rubbish press releases without all the necessary facts on them. They go straight in the bin - no journalist is ever going to take the trouble to ring someone up to clarify missing info from a press release. Also, follow-up phone calls from PRs asking 'did you get my press release' are a pain in the butt and should be avoided at all costs if you don't want the journalist to hate you.
If you plan to follow up an email make sure it was addressed to a named individual and that there is a genuine reason for the call - ie by asking that person what information they can best make use of and actually listening to the answer! Sounds simply but I have dealt with many idiot PRs in my time who don't get the simple stuff.
You've got some great advice from the others too - I would add one thing, despite what I said about PRs earlier, it really is worth paying someone with some PR/marketing experience to help you plan your press strategy and write your releases. It is a skill in itself and if you don't get it right you will have wasted a lot of effort.

lyrabelacqua - thank you v much for the offer. Will set myself up to CAT this evening after work and get in touch. If it helps in the meantime, feel free to contact me on [email protected]

rosaluxembourg - great advice, thank you. It's the insider tips like yours which will - hopefully - help us get it right first time!
I feel like we can only have one chance at making a big splash at the launch of a business, so am pleased that I thought of getting advice from mumsnetters!

judy7 - I've tried emailing you today but I am getting the message returned as undeliverable. Is any part of it missing, do you think? As per previous message, if you want to contact me instead feel free: [email protected]

I'm a journalist and do travel stuff, and Miss Golightly is spot-on. I would also add - always worth asking around your social circle if anyone knows any journalists, and emailing them with the details of what would be their free holiday. Personally, if I wasn't all booked up already, I'd be on this one like a shot. Sounds amazing. If you want, I can forward details to my travel editor: email [email protected] and good luck! cxxx

oh, yes please, LordVenger - that would be great! thank you
can I just check though that is your email address or your editor's? I'm guessing it's yours but thought I'd better double-check first!

Oh, and also thank you very much for the positive comments. Very encouraging. We think it's a fantastic country to visit but by now we are a little biased!
As you can tell from my profile pics, I love waking up and seeing beautiful mounains out of every window

sorry - it's [email protected]. I'll email you tomorrow anyway!

We run an international PR and Advertising Agency (offices in London, New York, Chcago, Seattle and Melbourne) - the royal we, meaning my DH nowadays - no travel clients just b2b mostly.

We try to do something memorable, to encourage besiged features editors mention our client/product. We bribe our way to coverage - have sent out everything from iced buns to usb sticks (with our logo on of course)

Is there a traditional bosnian delight that is fairly inexpensive that you could send out with your release (by post, well packaged obviously)a bar of choc or some sweets perhaps.

that's a great idea. although make sure you package it so that it won't spill on their desks if they open it upside down...

fab idea alycat... I'm thinking maybe the locally made version of turkish delight (but without powdery sugar spillage, aitch! )
there's also lots of small, fairly inexpesnsive, and distinctive looking local crafts such as this that would travel better...

my mind's on overdrive here... you people are great for ideas!

burek, i emailed you that number to save you having to set up the CAT thing.

Lyra - I think my DH used to work for the same organisation as you - on the city desk.

lyra - thank you very very much! I think we overlapped - I replied to your email at about the same time you wrote your message .

rosa, i didn't say I worked for PA.
Dont really want to say where i work in case i ever need to have a rant about work (editor's wife mights be a MNer).

Sorry Lyra. Making assumptions. DH hated PA as it happens and ended up going freelance after getting fed up of the endless 14-hour days and weekend shifts. Best move he ever made.

No probs, Rosa. I do know lots of PA and ex-PA reporters though so I might know your DH.
My DP is ex-PA too (he's now writing for a national).

Could I be a bit a bit cheeky since there are so many journo's on here...
I've had a bit of an odd career - trained as a doctor and worked as a hospital psychiatrist for long enough. Then started in TV and am now a producer/director. But - dead long hours etc mean can't do it all year round so I thought about features writing to fill in the gaps.
Just how difficult is it to get into?
Any tips would be very gratefully received. thanks...

what kinds of films do you produce? can you get any stories out of them? is that the plan?

I've worked accross factual programmes, all sorts of subjects. I wasn't thinking about linking these to articles but just using research / journalist skills to write stories for print publications...not sure how to get started though - how to / where to pitch stuff.

oh i would link away, that's your edge in all likelihood, because you can give the real story about the characters in the docco, having spent time with them. plus it will impress all the craven fools who edit mags in this country because you have A Proper Job, one that they'd probably like themselves. then once you're in you can pitch what you want.
just give them a ring, see what the first one says. if you make any huge clangers just move on to the next one and don't phone back until they've forgotten you. (twenty-four hours in some cases... )

sounds good - is it best to ring or would an email be as good? How much detail do they want ? Thanks..

don't know much about the journalistic angle but my dh is Macedonian if you need any help with language/bureaucracy etc....Good luck sounds fascinating!

well, it depends. dh likes to introduce himself with an email and follow with a call, i do the opposite. i also never, ever leave voicemails, i'd rather catch the person in person, iykwim? am aitch btw.

thank you ruty, very kind offer!

we've been here a year now and yes, the bureaucracy has been a total nightmare but I think the authorities have now recognised that we are:
a) boringly normal people
b) not spies
so we have been left alone!

hope we won't need the hepl but THANK YOU