NEWS ALERT TIP: YOU SNOOZE, YOU LOSE

As many of you will be aware, the news moves fast — real fast in the case of big stories. And here’s the thing: the faster you can respond to it, the more media exposure you will get.

This week, when big stories have broken, the Newspagers who have landed the most coverage are the ones who have responded within 15-20 minutes of receiving the alert.

By way of background, when a big story breaks we send out our News Alert to the media while the alert is still live. This ensures you have the best chance of getting into breaking stories and live feeds as journalists are writing them up.

If your response is in the News Alert when the journalist first opens it, there’s a good chance you’ll make the cut. If you leave it beyond what we call the ‘golden half hour’, your chances of making it into articles drop off a cliff as the journalist will have moved onto the next story. 

Translate: it’s better to get in the game with a few quick lines, submit your response and then add some more detail.

And something else to remember: a lot of big news breaks overnight or at 7am, so the early bird….

Lastly, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of next week at midday, we’re doing live Q&As with our new recruit, Douglas Patient, who has just joined us from The Sun, where he was an editor.

Doug will be giving you insights of his own and we’ll also be adding a brief 5-10 minute section on how to write powerful News Alert responses and cut through the noise. These tips are invaluable and will show you how to tap into the mind of the modern journalist.

We’ll then pass the mic over to you to ask any questions and pitch any story ideas you may have. You’ll learn a lot. To book your slot, click >> here <<. In the meantime, have a super weekend.