Have you ever wondered about how to get an editorial in the newspaper for your business? Getting an editorial in your favor is quite tricky because rarely are they ever promotional. In addition, you have to convince the editorial board, made up of several journalist professionals, not just one reporter when going after a regular story. Oh and one other thing, don’t count on the editorial promoting you or your products. Instead, they’ll promote a particular position you stand for.

So why take the time to try and get one? Because editorial boards are extremely credible and most of the time the majority of a paper’s readers will side with their position. This means if they write favorably on your position, odds are you’ll come out smelling like a rose in front of the readership (unless it’s an extremely polarizing topic in which 50 percent of the readers will feel the exact opposite).

But there are rare occasions where an editorial will talk about the benefits a company brings to the table, as noted here in this editorial on a start-up company called EndoStim from Thomas Friedman of The New York Times.

On the surface one would think the editorial is a promotion for EndoStim, when in actuality Mr. Friedman is writing about jobs. As we talk about in the PR Toolkit for small business, the media’s main mission is to educate and inform as opposed to promote.

The editorial was written around the time General Motors was trying to get more taxpayer money from the U.S. Government. A significant discussion at the time was all about the benefits of saving the company – and millions of jobs – by floating billions of dollars to help keep the company alive.

Side note: GM has since started to repay this money and they’re doing a good job of turning their business around.

Enter EndoStim. Mr. Friedman was introduced to the company and learned about their management structure. He felt there were positives towards investing in a company like EndoStim compared with the taxpayer investment the U.S. would have been making with GM (again, in hindsight this may be a non-issue).

Check out this excerpt from the editorial:

So how can you get an editorial board to write about you or an issue you’re involved in?

1) Have an issue: First and foremost, take a stand on an issue that’s a hot topic. Health care reform, the war in Afghanistan, financial reform, green living, bullying in school, etc. Does your company or organization take a particular side on an issue already being talked about? Check out the mission and advice from keep arts in schools.

1A) Timing: Events happen and create a window of opportunity when they’re discussed in the news. For example, the recent volcano eruption that emptied the European airspace and the battle over immigration in Arizona. The news media will talk about these events and issues, sometimes for days and sometimes for months. When they’re at their peak of news activity is when the time is right for you to approach the editorial board.

2) Have a spokesperson: Identify the person within your company or organization that’s going to be the voice of your position. The higher the executive, the better. But it doesn’t always have to be the person all the way up at the top. Most importantly, make sure this person is well versed in the issue – on both sides.

3) Local or national? You must first identify where you want to try and get your editorial – a local daily newspaper or a national daily newspaper. If you want to get in front of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, you’ve got to make sure your issue is very locally focused. Find something that’s been plaguing the Cleveland area specifically, for example. If you want to target The New York Times, you’ve got to think on a more national or even international level.

4) Scheduling the meeting: Be patient because luck is a big part of this process. If you’re an organization that promotes natural alternatives to the treatment of arthritis, you’ll have a better chance of getting a meeting if a leading drug maker has a major crisis getting people very sick, as opposed to there being no discussion of alternative health options at all. We’re not advocating that you pray for bad things to happen, but there has to be a discussion to warrant a meeting with the editorial board. Our point here is that an event happening in the world isn’t always in your hands.

Wondering how to get an editorial in the newspaper is a valid question because it can lead to some great PR exposure for a small business. More PR tips found in the PR Toolkit, download your copy today.

John Sternal is a PR veteran of nearly 20 years and currently works with small businesses to obtain publicity through media exposure. To learn about how John can help your business get more PR send him an email: jsternal (at) understandingmarketing dot com.

Have you ever tried to get in front of your local editorial board? Tell us about it and leave a comment!