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A popular feature of Press Loft is the ability for journalists to send out Journalist Requests (also known as call outs) to all clients subscribed to this service. These requests are not addressed directly to any one of our clients in particular, but to the whole Press Loft database. Responding with all of the correct info, in the correct manner will set you apart from the rest.
Journalists request a broad variety of things, including:
- Products for a shopping or gift guide page
- Items for a ‘get the look’ / trend related page
- Expert testimonial from a brand to compliment a story they are writing
- Prizes for a competition giveaway to run in the magazine or on social media
- Products to loan for a photo shoot to feature in the magazine
- News on newly launched products
Two ways to respond to a Journalist Request:
1- Reply via email
You will find the journalist’s email address in the alert.
Tip – If you have an image library on Press Loft, you could copy/paste your product page links so they can head directly to check it out and download in high res immediately. It is also a nice idea to insert a screenshot for each product where possible, that way, it makes the email a little more visual.
2- Reply directly through Press Loft
If you have an image library on Press Loft, simply send them images through your library. This will email them all of the product info they need along with the image thumbnail, the high res image and your contact info. It will also save the data in your Download Report for your reference.
Login to your Press Loft account and select “ View Journalist Requests” on your dashboard, choose the request you wish to reply to and press “Send your images”.
You will be automatically redirected to your image library where you can select the relevant images to share with the journalist. Simply hover the thumbnail with your curser and drag it down to your Drag-and-Drop bar at the bottom of the page.
Once you have completed your selection, simply fill up the relevant information for the journalist request.
Note: The Email Subject and Message are what will be sent to the journalist like an email message so use this appropriately. The Issue Date and Publication fields are for your reference only.
A few tips for maximising your results:
Check deadline dates:
Check the deadline (or deadlines) set by the journalist, they usually give you a few days to highlight your products. Sometimes however, journalists are under very tight deadlines, so the earlier you respond to a request (within 24 hours), the better chance your products have to be considered.
Keep it relevant:
It’s really important to only reply to those briefs that are relevant to your product. A journalist’s pet hate is receiving replies in the manner of “I don’t have anything suitable, but are you interested in this chair?”.
Don’t risk the chance of ruining the first impression with a journalist and having your email blocked by them. You want to come across as a business who is helpful and going to provide beneficial product ideas going forwards.
Do the heavy lifting for them:
Don’t just reply with your website address asking them to browse. Put yourself ahead of the rest and suggest specific products from your collection that you think will suit the brief.
Be concise:
Keep the product info clear and concise. We recommend ensuring you’ve sent them at least the product names and retail price when suggesting particular products.
Build a relationship:
Use this opportunity to begin to build a relationship with this journalist. Start your email out as you would a friend – chatty, friendly and engaging. Everyone likes to help the nice guy!
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We hope you find these tips useful! Remember too if you wish to filter the types of Journalist Requests you receive, you can do this when logging in and heading to Journalist Request Settings anytime.
Have extra questions? Please don’t hesitate to contact us by emailing: info@pressloft.com
Are you interested in subscribing to receive Journalist Requests? Sign up here
Are you a journalist or blogger looking to submit a call out? Enter it here
