What are the best practices for negotiating with media to raise awareness of your cause?

2 Build relationships

Negotiating with media is not a one-time transaction, but a long-term process of building trust and rapport. You need to establish yourself as a credible, reliable, and valuable source of information and insight. Reach out to journalists, editors, producers, and influencers who cover topics related to your cause. Follow them on social media, comment on their posts, share their stories, and send them feedback. Offer them exclusive access, interviews, or insights that can help them with their work. Appreciate their efforts and acknowledge their challenges.

4 Prepare professionally

Once you secure a media opportunity, you need to prepare professionally. You need to know your key messages, facts, and stories that you want to convey. You need to anticipate and address potential questions, objections, or criticisms that may arise. You need to practice your delivery, tone, and body language. You need to dress appropriately and arrive on time. You need to be respectful, courteous, and confident during the interaction.

5 Evaluate and improve

After the media interaction, you need to evaluate and improve your performance. You need to monitor and measure the impact and reach of the media coverage. You need to collect and analyze feedback from your audience, supporters, and stakeholders. You need to identify what worked well and what can be improved. You need to thank the media outlet for their cooperation and support. You need to follow up with them on any pending issues or opportunities. You need to learn from your experience and apply your lessons to future negotiations.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?