Toolbox Tuesday - Friends with a Columnist

20. Become Friends with a Columnist

If you look in your local newspaper you’ll see that there are weekly columns which focus on various aspects of your community. While all local papers are slightly different, chances are you will find one on the arts, sport and education, and the authors are likely to be ordinary people who are involved in these sectors.

Make friends with the columnist who discusses issues relating to your organisation. Feed them information about what your organisation is doing, and what events you may have coming up. They are always hungry for issues to discuss, so you will be doing them a favour by keeping them in the loop.

Toolbox Tuesday - Introduce Yourself

4. Introduce Yourself to your Local News Editor

Newspapers receive literally thousands of press releases every week, and sometimes the difference between getting published or not is simply ‘relationship’. Get in contact with the editor of your local newspaper and invite them to have a coffee and learn more about your organisation. Be aware that editors are incredibly busy people, so be prepared to meet them at a time that suits them – not you!