The Boston Marathon is one of my favorite events of the year and will be taking place this coming Monday. As someone who has ran the Marathon, I can appreciate putting a lot of effort into something over a long period of time – with the “finish line” miles away. The same holds true for business press outreach. This week alone, we secured a great hit in the Wall Street Journal for one of our clients and have coverage coming out in USA Today. What makes these opportunities special (in addition to being in two top national media outlets) is that they came to fruition as a result of a lot of diligence, hard work — and patience over time.

Securing a briefing with a business publication doesn’t automatically equal secured coverage. Relationships with reporters and editors need to be nurtured. Not only do you have to present them with a viable trend/story and then support it with compelling reference points (numbers, customers, analysts, etc.), you need to build a strong rapport with that reporter – during the briefing and beyond. Further, you need to recognize that things come up (a lot) and a reporter may need to push off a planned article. It doesn’t mean it won’t run – it is just not going to run when planned. When this happens, the important thing is to keep in touch with the reporter (without stalking them), letting them know you are a resource for them, while keeping your client top of mind. When done the right way, the article will eventually run and the benefits will follow. So….when it comes to business press coverage…keep your eyes on the prize…and you will win the race!