Getting The Word Out

We can blog and bitch about the kind of media coverage the real estate market is getting these days, or we can take the bull by the horns and try to provide input of our own. 

But how?  What are the basics of what it takes?

What’s your message?

Before you call any reporter, you have to have something to say, or you’ll sort of make yourself look goofy.  So craft a message.  Let’s say that the media in your area has a lot of stuff that doesn’t reflect what’s really going on.  You want to play a part in getting the story, as you see it, out to the public.

You need more than your sage opinion.  You need to have your facts and figures, especially if you are talking about price and other trends in your market that don’t fit with the national story.  Once you’ve got news to offer, you’re off.

You’ll need a good press list. 

Make a list of the newspapers in your area.  Don’t just include the major publications – in my area that would be the Washington Post.  Include local papers, too.  You know, the freebies.  Here they would be the Current Newspapers, The Examiner, The CityPaper, The Intowner, Legal Times The Blade and The Hill Rag.  Get copies of them and look for by-lines on real estate stories. 

Put together a spread sheet with their names and the papers’ phone numbers.  Major publications may have several reporters covering real estate.  They may be either in the real estate section or sometimes the business section.  The smaller papers often use free lancers or, in some cases, they will accept things that you write.  Then add local TV and radio contacts.  It’s easier to get through to producers than the on-air star.

Then, you have to suck it up and make contacts. 

Mostly, it takes schmooze calls.  And normally the telephone does a better job of getting someone's attention than an email, either commenting on a story or a press release.  As a rule, however, press releases to reporters you don't know are a total waste of time.  And most of the reporters I know do answer their phones if they are around.  So I wait until they actually pick up and do not leave voice-mail.

But sometimes an email can work.  Once, in response to a Washington Post article,  I wrote a goofy blog post and sent an email with a link to the reporter.  It was a post called  “Scaring Old Ladies”   and I sent the link to Post reporter Sandy Fleishman.  It lead to her reading my blog and doing a major piece on a chapter in my book, Buying In Sin. 

Before you pick up the phone, you need to have a very good feel for what’s going to come out of your mouth when the reporter answers.  What do you want to accomplish with the call?  A lunch date to talk about aspects of the local market that are not showing up in their articles?   For a small publication, maybe it will be an offer to write a column.

Become known as an expert.

Getting your name in print won't necessarily lead to people you've never met picking up the phone to call you when they want to buy or sell a house.  But an impressive clipping file is a fabulous asset at a listing presentation or buyer interview.  And your old and current clients will read it and think, "Wow!  I've got a really amazing agent!"  

So a with a well-planned and executed media campaign, you accomplish a couple of things.  The media is the message, after all, and you can have an impact on the message that reaches the public.  And you get the benefits of having your name in print - and there is nothing at all wrong with shameless self-promotion!

Next, what happens when you get a call for a TV or radio interview?