The Social Media Takeaway - Louise McDonnell

Pitching to Journalists: Strategies That Get Your Story Published

• Season 1 • Episode 58

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In this episode of The Social Media Takeaway, I’m joined by Bobby Power, publisher of Go Wild Magazine, who shares how to leverage both print and digital media to boost your brand visibility.

From his journey in traditional newspaper sales to building a thriving regional magazine business, Bobby reveals why print is far from dead, and how combining it with digital can supercharge your marketing strategy.

Here’s what you’ll learn:
 ✅ The biggest mistakes businesses make with print ads, and how to fix them
 ✅ How to craft press releases that actually get published
 ✅ Why print still matters in a digital-first world
 ✅ How to blend print with social media for broader reach
 ✅ The right way to pitch your business story to journalists

If you're ready to increase brand awareness, get featured in the media, and attract new opportunities, this episode is a must-listen. 🎧

SHOW CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome and Intro
00:25 Guest Introduction: Bobby Power
00:46 Bobby's Journey into Publishing
02:23 The Value of Print Media in a Digital World
03:29 Common Mistakes in Print Advertising
06:25 Crafting a Newsworthy Press Release
10:17 Leveraging Social Media for Press Coverage
11:59 Tips and Contact Information
14:06 Final Takeaways

Connect with Bobby:
LinkedIn 


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Louise McDonnell:

Welcome to the Social Media Takeaway. I'm your host, she McDonald, and this is the show for business people that want to know how to use social media more effectively to drive sales and leads for their business. If you enjoy the show, please make sure you subscribe, and if you know any friends or business colleagues who may benefit from this episode, please make sure that you share it with them. So today I am delighted to be joined by Bobby Parr. Bobby is the publisher of the 10 Go Wild Magazine titles. He is the former sales manager of the Limerick Leader newspaper here in Ireland, and he is the former regional manager with Hopkins Communications. You're very welcome to the show, Bobby.

Bobby Power:

Thank you very much.

Louise McDonnell:

So do you wanna give us just maybe a brief overview of your journey and how you came to be involved in the whole world of publishing?

Bobby Power:

Well, funnily enough, I got into publishing, well, obviously I learned a lot from the Olympic leader when we had five newspaper titles a week, and that was full on action. Dealing with editorial, dealing with sales, every aspect of publishing. I suppose that was the grounding for. What was to come. Then I was working with Hopkins Communications, who are an ad agency for a year, and then at that point, I think that was 2014 and fought Ireland, announced the creation of the Wild Atlantic Way, and I decided to create a magazine for the wildland Gray, and every probably at the time said to me. You're going to put your job and do this. Although I believed fully in it, I figured that I couldn't travel the wild land waste normally with selling, especially in newspaper, meeting people downtown, it, it's a very easy access to compliance. I started to work remotely from home when it wasn't a fashion. Now it's more of a fashion, but back then it was me in a, a bedroom that I converted into an office and eventually we got enough to create one magazine. Which I think was April, 2015. That was the first Wild Atlantic Way magazine. Uh, and it, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of that title last April.

Louise McDonnell:

Excellent. And for anyone tuning in who doesn't know, it's a wild Atlantic way. It's a drive from the top of Donegal in the northwest of Ireland, all the way down the Western seaboard, and it finishes in cork. In court. Very good. So it is wild and it is beautiful and it is on the Atlantic. I'm all about digital and social media. Can you tell us why getting featured in the print media is still valuable in today's digital world?

Bobby Power:

There's a mix of both, Louise, in my opinion, right? And there always has be, I use digital, I have our social channels. I reckon that when I produced the first magazine, even though we probably couldn't afford to go to the level of quality that we did, decided that was the the best route to go. When people got the magazine in their hands, they can't believe how well this feels. And then Covid came along and the Covid wiped out. Whole business model out, out. So I had to go on sales. And digital has not impacted our business. Digital allows me to reach more customers. It allows me to showcase stuff on our social channels that I wouldn't normally get the opportunity to do. But I suppose the successes go wild has been the switch off from digital.

Louise McDonnell:

Okay. So let's switch it on its head. So for anyone tuning in. I suppose the question I'm asking is, can you tell them the benefit of being print featured in the print media as opposed to digital, that it's an uninterrupted, so let's say somebody who's listening in here and they've decided, I don't think I'm gonna try and get myself featured in a publication, whether it be a newspaper or whether that be a magazine. First of all, what are the most common mistakes people make when they're trying. To get pitch themselves to get featured in a magazine or in a newspaper.

Bobby Power:

But one of the leading mistakes is, especially in design, right? I suppose with social media, you get to probably have multiple ads in one campaign. You can get multiple messages out with print. It is a refined to the space that you're booking, right? So if you've got a full page, you can probably send out four or five marketing messages, but you and a lot of people get misguided. I've often seen ads coming into me when I was in the newspaper. I send it back to the client who gave you the ad, my designer did. But that's not really a good ad for what you're trying to do. And I suppose clients need to be advised by somebody who's at the other side. Whether it's a magazine in favor or a social media person, this is not going to reach your audience.

Louise McDonnell:

Not having the right message in your ad.

Bobby Power:

Yeah.

Louise McDonnell:

Trying to put too many words to too many messages in the one ad so people can't figure out what it's about.

Bobby Power:

Yeah.

Louise McDonnell:

So be different. Don't be the same as everybody else. And think about what action you want the person to take when they read the ad.

Bobby Power:

Yeah, I'm sure your ad to somebody who you know and trust, because they will say, oh, I see a mistake in that. Because nobody wants some criticism on the ad they created, but you have to look at it. The person who's looking at it is your client. They are the person you want to buy your product. Exactly. They can take their opinion and if they say, I think black should be white, or white should be gray. Then that's probably, they're probably right.

Louise McDonnell:

I would also add to that also be careful who you ask.'cause sometimes your friends and your family are so biased towards you that they can't see the wood from the trees. If you can find someone and that matches the profile of who you're trying to reach, that's gonna be honest with you. I think that's really good advice,

Bobby Power:

honestly, is the key, is probably the reason that I've managed to stay Ingo while for the period that I have in that. I'm very honest with people and I give them my opinion and I might send back an ad and say, look, guys, take that back to your designer. It's not gonna have the effect, I like my ads to look really good, but I will scrutinize 'em. Is that gonna work or is it just another glossy ad That looks lovely. And

Louise McDonnell:

you know what? I was just thinking, I, I don't think I'd give any different advice if I was telling somebody how to put an ad together for an online ad. So it's all the same principles of threat, isn't it? And, and you, you're so right in what you say in that, don't blame the ad for not working. If the ad was confusing and badly designed and had no call to action and didn't have anything, it's gonna differentiate you in it's, so sometimes it's not the a's fault, sometimes it's not the publication's fault, it's the actual ad itself. And then what about if somebody, like, obviously I know with advertising you pay used to get your ad in and your. There and you make sure that you use the space as best as you can with public relations. You pray, so you're submitting a press release and you're hoping that your story is good enough that it's gonna get featured in the magazine or the newspaper. So what do editors and journalists look for in a good story?

Bobby Power:

Difficult one to say, and especially when I was in the Olympic leader, there's a vast amount of press releases come in every day and they can, they can, they couldn't print all of them, so. I think they looked for the most newsworthy press release. The opening of a new hotel or a new restaurant didn't really make it unless it was local, unless it was getting jobs. There had to be something that said, we're creating jobs, we're doing something. There's an action. Right? But just saying there's a new shoe shop open. If the new shoe shop is advertising, then you can do a little piece when you're advertising and get it some more editorial. But press releases sometimes get banged off by PR companies 'cause that's what they're paid to do. And they don't often have a, a relationship to follow up with who they're talking, who, who they're sending it to. They need that relationship for that press release to go forward.

Louise McDonnell:

And I suppose like for somebody sitting down, I know it needs to be newsworthy, but it needs to be a good story just because you started a business as you said, or just because you've launched a new product. If it's anyway commercial, they're not gonna print that. But if you have an angle on it, you know that the, the readers are gonna be particularly interested or intrigued. Then you've got a bit of a story. So how does somebody go about pitching that story?

Bobby Power:

You've gotta keep it local, especially in newspapers, right? First of all, in newspapers, you have to keep it local and you, it has to resonate locally. The story has to resonate, and sometimes you're better off to write it in the third person, but you also have to keep it personal. Louise has just started her business. She's looking for everyone to give her a hand to get up the next room of the ladder. So sometimes you have to go and say, I'm doing this. I've stepped out on the edge and I need support. Then people will actually support you. I've just become the CEO of my own company.

Louise McDonnell:

Yeah, exactly. Are there any specific times of the year where it's easier or harder to get press coverage?

Bobby Power:

It's much harder at Christmas because there's just so much press coverage out there. Christmas. Everybody's doing pr Christmas because everybody wants that market share. Right. So I suppose if you're being creative in pr, uh, I think, Louise, you were very creative when you launched the Facebook marketing book, right? That's different. There's something different to that, but you made all of that very personal to you. Whereas some people need to look at what other people are doing successfully, but I think the people like yourself who did a good job on the initial promotion, if other people look at them, I'm gonna say, okay, what can I take from what they did and add my little piece to it, and then I have something.

Louise McDonnell:

Very true. I always make up my business to create content on social media because very few people are creating content at that time, and it just means that if people are still like bored and checking their social media, your post has a really good opportunity of staying in in the newsfeed for a long periods of time. I remember it was a Christmas period, I was looking at posts and I was like, these post are three weeks old. Obviously, they've no new content to show us. I think the time year, if you're smart about when you pitch different things, I. There's gonna be quieter times of the year where maybe the journalists are looking for stories.

Bobby Power:

As you said, Louise, it's about people looking and thinking. Sometimes they might rush to do a press release as they rush to do a social media. You're better off to sit back and maybe write it late in the evening and leave it and read it first thing in the morning, and then you might tweak it a bit and then it's gonna be more impactful for people.

Louise McDonnell:

Actually, that's a really good tip. And actually to add to that, like you could go to chat GBT and you could say, this is who I'm pitching to. This is what I want to achieve. This is my story. And don't write it yourself. Put it into chat t and say, please critique it.

Bobby Power:

Critique it. That's the key. It's about giving the best version of what you want to say.

Louise McDonnell:

Um, if written English. Isn't your strong point will then get the AI tools into, to amplify your message but not to replace it. I think that's really important as well. Is there social media help then get noticed by traditional print media? Have you ever seen that happen where like social media has nearly driven a story in the print?

Bobby Power:

Yeah. A lot of journalists pick up on social media stories that are current, especially because I suppose there's so many people writing social media. If you think about it in a newsroom, you probably have just say there was probably 20 journalists, but there's 300 people writing a story on social media. So they've heard something and they're video and they're doing something. That becomes a story, whether it's a car chase or a guard chase or whatever. It's a story and the journalists are gonna go, Hey, that's a story. I can grab that. Otherwise, they just have to continue to be creative. So they need inspiration just as much as other people do.

Louise McDonnell:

Yeah, exactly. And actually even to add to the prompts to follow on every single one of those prompts, like the International Epilepsy Day is gonna have a hashtag associated with it. So my tip to you is even if you've done something major for that particular day, put it out in your social media, even a day or two before the day. Because any of the journalists that are doing research. Obviously pitch it to the journalist, send it to the journalists, but then also use the hashtag, because you'll find there will be people out there searching for content relevant for that day in the days running up to it. And actually Facebook and Instagram and TikTok and LinkedIn would generally be where we work with, but Twitter is really good because that's where journalists tend to hang out. So if you have done something and you're hoping to get some press coverage with it, hang out on Twitter or XI should call it. Follow the journalists, engage with them, and then maybe tag them in your article, link it back to your website. All of those things are really gonna help you get featured in the press. If you have one. One bit of golden tip for somebody looking to get featured in, in newspaper. So somebody's listening right now who, whose brain is on fire coming up with ideas, thinking, this is it. I'm going to do something. What's the best tip you could give them?

Bobby Power:

Ask to meet the editor.

Louise McDonnell:

What if it's a massive publication and they're just not gonna meet with you

Bobby Power:

there? There'll be somebody there.

Louise McDonnell:

Ring it back,

Bobby Power:

ring and ask. There's nothing wrong with ringing and asking. Just have the confidence to ring and ask. I ring people and I could make, as I said, 40 calls a day, but I'm ringing people to say, hello. You're just saying hello. You shouldn't be nervous about it. You ringing to know, I have a story. This is the content of my story. Would your newspaper be interested in this story? If they say no, then you are wrong, so be it. Move on. If somebody has a pretty good story that they believe will benefit the newspaper, then I'm sure that the journalists will talk to them.

Louise McDonnell:

And go back to what I said with advertising, you pay and with pr you pray in that you're just hoping that somebody thinks the story is good enough that you pitch it correctly. If people wanna find out more about the magazines and where, where will they find you, Bobby?

Bobby Power:

Okay, so the magazines around Sale and Don's Tesco, Eastons. Super value is central under me and in Northern Ireland they aren't selling 220 Mogo stores. So we have a different magazine out every month from March to October, and at the end of October, I am talked out.

Louise McDonnell:

And what about people that aren't in Ireland? Where can they find them?

Bobby Power:

They can find them on press feeder.com. They can find 'em on belinda.com and love and media.com. Okay.

Louise McDonnell:

And do you have a website yourself?

Bobby Power:

Yeah, go wild magazine.com. I can also read them free there. The current issues I think are for 20, 24 issues are actually free to read.

Louise McDonnell:

Free to read. Excellent. And what do you hang? Do you use social media? Where would they find you if they wanted to connect with social

Bobby Power:

on Facebook? Instagram. LinkedIn. I love doing Facebook and Instagram. It, it connects with people and sometimes I control and offer and I can gauge the feedback or do a different ad that, or a piece of story and then see the, does that resonate in the sales?

Louise McDonnell:

And that's okay if, Bobby, it was such a pleasure to have you on the show. Thanks very much for sharing all your wonderful advice. For anybody who is interested in checking out, you're gonna find more about Bobby at Go to Go wild magazine.com. Thanks so much.

Bobby Power:

Thank you, Louise. I appreciate that.

Louise McDonnell:

That's it everyone. That's another episode of the Social Media Takeaway. If you have some feedback, make sure that you tag us on social media. You'll find me under sell on social m or on LinkedIn. You'll find me under Louise McDonald. I'd love to hear your feedback on what you thought about the show. Make sure you hit that subscribe button so that you don't miss out on any future episodes, and if you know anyone who may be interested, be sure to share the show with them too. Thanks everyone.