Why it’s Important to Have Realistic Expectations

 

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You probably won’t get an article written for every demonstration you conduct or every review product you send out, but the positive articles that are written will make your efforts worthwhile. Also, you may expect to see articles appear immediately, but its more likely that there will be a delay.

You may begin seeing articles in print as soon as a week after demonstrations for weekly publications and daily newspaper columns, but monthly magazines can take from three to four months before printing news articles. When you send products for review instead of conducting a demonstration, it can take even longer for an article to appear because the reporter may not review your product right away.

There is no way to speed up the review process. If you go over reporters’ heads, you will lose them as contacts. If you threaten to withhold advertising, you will brand yourself as an amateur. Remain calm, and call reporters every few weeks to keep them up to date on upgrades.

As a final note, remember that not getting a review is better than getting a bad one. Some people think publications only print generally positive reviews, but this is not necessarily true.

Many publications are inclined to “call ‘em as they see ‘em.” When reporters tell you they won’t write about your product, back off. They may be doing you a favor by not printing a damaging negative review. (Also, you don’t want a negative review in your competitor’s hands!)