EPTHow do you get press?
Well, I am certainly no expert, but my efforts have all been based on connections. Almost every bit of press has been generated because I met somebody some place, and we talked. There have been a few instances of organic press (where somebody finds my stuff, and then talks about it of their own volition), but that's hard to do. I mean, it's the best type of press, but relies on you needing to have excellent content (which you should anyway), having somebody that is in the press area finding your stuff, and then deciding that its better than everything else they want to write about.
Lets talk about non-organic press first. Well, so far, what's worked best for me is to talk with people, joke around a little bit, and buy them lots and lots of drinks. Clearly, this isn't the only way, and I'm not saying this is the best way, but it has yielded the most results, and the best results. The problem is, this doesn't work all the time, it only works in person. Right now I'm experimenting with different ways of contacting people about stuff: Twitter, email, TL pms, and different approaches: Joking, casual "hey, what's up? wanna help me out with this?", and more direct serious methods.
So far, when I've spoken to people about writing articles and doing interviews with us, everybody seems gung ho for it at the moment, but after the moment passes, they lose interest. Not in the, "I don't want to do that anymore" but more in the, "Yeah, but I'm busy now, I'll get to it later" and the priority just plummets to "After I've cleaned the grout in my shower tile with a toothbrush".
As you can see, things are rough. But isn't that the whole point of this blog? To chronicle the efforts and struggles of somebody trying to get more involved? If everything was easy, this whole thing would be pointless. Yes, getting press is hard, but it's happened in the past, and with persistence, and a strong product it will happen in the future. Right now, our product is good, but not perfect. There's a lot of room for improvement, but I just don't have the time and manpower to do it (Full time job, and life just getting in the way).
I'll probably do another one of these after I've had more success with this press thing, but this is the take away I've gotten so far.
When you're at live events, and meeting people in person, milk it. Don't be a dick, but make an amazing impression. Don't be shy. If you're going to get anywhere, you're going to need other people who are already in the industry to help you out a bit; however, they wont help you if you don't have your shit together.
As always, the biggest moral of the story is that the SC Community is still fairly insider driven, and you're going to flounder unless you can make it out to live events and meet people. So, if you've got a product, and need some press, make it out to a big event! Let me know you're going to be there, and I'll help you with what I can
TLDR: Have a rock solid product. Know people. Be lucky. You can make the first two happen, and alcohol helps the 3rd.
