How to Get Your Share of Media Attention
With nonprofit budgets often scanty for promotion, media attention is necessary. Done well, working with the media can garner great free publicity.
CNN Heroes is the jackpot of exposure for nonprofits. A new CNN hero is highlighted each Friday and that coverage is repeated over and over on the CNN news broadcasts.
Carolyn Manning, founder of The Welcome to America Project in Phoenix, Arizona, had no idea that her sister-in-law had nominated her for a 2009 CNN Heroes Award. Then CNN called and put her and her nonprofit in the national media and on the national map.
Nonprofit Press releases will vary but the standard format is usually similar to the example below.
Even though the media are more fragmented than ever, with many newspapers going out of business, but online news sites flourishing, press releases can and should be a major component of your media strategy.
Every business and nonprofit has challenges, today and in the future. Those challenges can come from a dozen different sources, but if you don't know what they are, they can't be managed. If they aren't managed, your organization will be taken by surprise again and again and put on the defensive by the media and the public. Issues identification and management should be part of your
Tips for Effective Crisis Planning for Your NonprofitDon't delay your crisis planning. Don't ruin your hard-won reputation by handling difficult situations badly.
Whether your nonprofit is in a large city or a small town, reaching your local media is essential to your public relations program. Here are tips for becoming a favorite source for your local reporters.
Even if your organization is struggling and there are so many other priorities than hiring a good pitch man or woman, there is help in Joseph Barbato's easy-to-read and practical "Attracting the Attention Your Cause Deserves/"
Your news release must include all the information needed to persuade the editor to inquire about doing a feature story. You are not writing the story for the media. Your news release needs to contain just enough information to convince the editor or producer to call and get the rest of the information.
Pitching nonprofit stories to the media takes time and planning. Understanding how to make the story appealing is the secret.
