5 Ways To Position Yourself As An Expert Media Will Want To Interview

By Sian Yewdall, Founder & Editor-in-Chief Woman Rising

It’s a crucial part of any brand’s marketing mix, but for small business owners or start-ups with minimal budget, PR is largely overlooked because it’s deemed either too difficult, expensive or only kept for the big players.

As Richard Branson says, “a good publicity story is more powerful than a front page ad”

So how do you build your profile as an expert when you’re only starting out and don’t have the funds to hire someone to talk the talk for you?

DIY.

As a former PR professional and now the Editor-In-Chief of Woman Rising magazine, I have experience both pitching clients and receiving a pitch from those wanting to position themselves as an authority in their field.

Want to know a secret? It’s really not hard, expensive or kept for the big guns, if you know a few tricks of the trade.

Here are five ways to position yourself as an expert media will want to interview:

1. Basic Beginnings
It should go without saying, but cultivating a blog to share your expertise, product benefits and perspectives on various industry trends should be the first place to start building any personal brand and authority in a space. Just like checking out someone on social media, media are going to hit up google for information on you, so your blog and website should be up to scratch otherwise they aren’t likely to call you for a comment.

2. Write A Book
If you’ve slammed the first point, then the second isn’t that far off. You’ve done most of the work coming up with ideas and sharing your views via the blog. Writing a book is an excellent opportunity to dive deeper in to your field and showcase your personality, opinion and professional stance on topics that matter. Above all else, media love talking to an Author because being published provides credibility, authority and an element of respect not available from a website.

3. Name Drop
Ever heard of Oprah’s Organisation Guru Peter Walsh? Testimonials and endorsements from a significant brand, celebrity or well-known personality is like gold dust. In reality media are very time poor so if you can tell them people you’ve worked with, who can recommend you (outside your Mum and Sister) or which media you’ve worked with before, then they will look upon you more favourably and potentially return to you time and time again, thus building your profile.

4. Share Your Accolades
Not one for self promotion? Let your awards speak on your behalf. Just sprinkle a list of your wins and nominations in subtle places such as your website, email signature and social media spaces and let their weight carry you.

5. Remember It’s Not About You 
If above all else, remember this point – your media coverage is not about you! While the knock on effect is wonderful for your business, don’t approach any Editors with a ‘what’s in it for me’ attitude or you will most likely hear crickets. Instead, pitch a story idea or content that is new, unique and helps cultivate real change – aka benefit their readers. At the end of the day, a solid pitch that outlines how you can provide content their audience will love, boost page views and spike engagement will get you a foot in the door most days of the week. From there, ‘Expert’ is in easy reach.

www.womanrisingnetwork.com