Two absolute essentials to have on your website, if you want to attract the media and spark the interest of potential guest hosts: Rich content and a ‘Media’ page or section.
Your Media Page:
Your Media page should have lots of white space and be visually pleasing. Above all, it needs to be well-organized and make it easy for journalists to select just the item they need with one click.
Your media page essentials are:
- A short bio
- A long bio
- A recent, professional headshot
In addition to this:
- Downloadable images
- Links to press releases and other archived material
- Video thumbnails
- Sound clips
- Quotes
- “Badges” denoting your appearances on major news networks or in authority magazines
- Awards
Your short bio should hit the most important facts about you that a media journalist will want to know. Your long bio should give your “why” and can be as personal as you like.
TIP: Try presenting your short bio as a video. This also lets media people see for themselves how comfortable you are with speaking on camera.
Rich Content:
Think “interactive”, when you think ‘rich content’. Another way to put it would be “not just text or static photos”. Take it one step further for the media, and think “something they can grab and use”.
Rich content for your visitors can include your sign-up incentive or a quiz, poll or survey they can take. Rich content for media representatives and journalists usually includes short video clips and audio clips, and perhaps an image gallery.
You can embed videos, displaying them as clickable thumbnails in a gallery: Or you can simply provide links. Be aware, however, that if a journalist has to leave your site to find something, he or she is less likely to do so.
