Trade publications are perhaps one of the most important PR tools for home and building professionals. Because they reach a very focused target audience, many of our media efforts involve working with trade publications relevant to our industry. But just because they’re trade doesn’t mean it’s necessarily easier to secure coverage as compared to consumer publications. Here are a few tips we follow that can help you secure coverage in trade publications:
- Do your homework
Even if it’s a trade publication in your industry, you need to do your research. You don’t want to pitch a commercial product to a publication that focuses on residential. Just because it’s a magazine about building products doesn’t mean yours necessarily fits. Pitching irrelevant information may cause your future pitches to go ignored.
- Editorial calendars are your best friend
Most publications publish a detailed editorial calendar of their story topics for the entire year. Review a publication’s editorial calendar and tailor your pitch to exactly what they’re looking for. If you have a new green product, that publication may be covering green products somewhere down the line. Perfect fit = coverage.
- Is your news really newsworthy?
Industry trends, innovative new products and new technology are all newsworthy information. Pitching a product as a desperate attempt to gain some form of coverage won’t make the cut. If it’s not news, no one cares.
- Don’t send a mass pitch to hundreds of trades
Media love exclusives, so offer them the chance to be the first outlet to cover your story. Trade publications don’t want the same news everyone else in their industry already covered.
- Journalists need your pitch!
Don’t forget this is a two-way street. If framed properly, you’ll get that trade media coverage you’ve been hoping for.
