15. When to return a reporter’s call or email

As you start doing media interviews, reporters and journalists will reach out to you.

It might be a breaking news story, and they need a quick quote or reaction. It might be a situation where they need an expert to break down some news topic into information the public can understand. And they get your email or phone number or call your office hoping you can do an interview for the story.

Usually, they don’t need you immediately. In fact, in the email or on the voicemail, they will usually say something like, “My deadline is in two days, Thursday, so if we could talk before then, I would really appreciate it.”

So, when should you arrange to talk to that reporter or journalist? Right after you get the request? Right before the deadline?

There is not always an absolute right answer. Here is my simple rule of thumb. Do it as soon as you can, but not so fast that you aren’t prepared.

Do it when you have had time to do your research. Look up the latest facts and statistics about that topic. If the reporter sent you questions, look through them and make sure you have coherent answers to each one.

Also, give yourself enough time to schedule it when you can do it somewhere quiet, when you won’t be interrupted. Yes, you want to get back to the reporter quickly, but you don’t want a lot of noise from people coming into your office asking questions. You don’t want anything that could distract you from giving a great interview.

Like I said, the reporter will probably tell you his or her deadline. But that does not mean you should wait until close to the deadline. Here is the risk you run by waiting until the deadline.

In that day or two before the deadline, the journalist is getting facts and quotes from other experts. By doing the interview as soon as possible, you get to give quotes first and will likely appear earlier in the story and in more of the story than if you wait until the end. If you wait, you might only have a quote at the end, or you might not be in the article at all. Plus, by doing it as soon as you can, you can influence the subject and tone of the article more than if he or she has already learned from others and made up his or her mind on the direction of the piece.

If you want to learn more…if you want more customers, more clients, more patients, you want to make more money, you want to be recognized as THE expert in your industry, or you even want people you don’t even know to come up to you at the gym or in the grocery store, thanking you for helping them, I can help you become a Media PRO.

Go to MediaProsCoaching.com and sign up for a FREE 30-minute media strategy session with me. We will see where you are and what you’re trying to achieve in your business, and then plan some strategies for you to get more media interviews and appearances to achieve all those goals and far more.

While you’re there, pick up my FREE eBook – The Media PROS Interview Checklist, offering you a handy reference full of tips to shine in your next media interview or appearance so they keep asking you back, over and over.