A memo from Patch editor-in-chief Brian Farnham outlines a plan to increase traffic by increasing article production.
Patch currently requires every site to post a minimum of four times per day, but many are not. Hence, the memo.
Patch covers California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
It loves news about new businesses, community events, local government, crime, items for the events calendar, columns from local residents and government officials, news tips, and the all-important and often overlooked photos and videos.
This is the perfect time to pitch Patch for another reason. AOL Inc, which owns Patch, is launching 33 sites in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina, key states that play an early role in the U.S. presidential election.
How to Pitch Patch
- Build a relationship with Patch writers and editors. Spend time at the Patch site for your community, and identify who is responsible for your local news. The editor’s name and email address is under the logo at the top of the page.
- Email the editor and ask questions. I’ve found Patch writers to be incredibly helpful and friendly.
- Many Patch writers are former journalists. And all journalists love to report news first. Keep Patch in mind when hear a newsy item about something in your community.
- Add Patch to your media database. Every time you write a press release, ask if the content is something that Patch would like.
- Is your business doing something new? It’s much easier to get business stories onto Patch than it is to get your story told in your local business journal, which usually requires multiple sources.
- Don’t forget about stand-alone photos with captions, and video. (See How to Use Photos & Graphics in a Publicity Campaign)
One of the other reasons Patch is such a super tool in a publicity campaign is because people can sign up for the Patch newsletter in their community, and receive email alerts. I’ll often stop what I’m doing when I see the Port Washington/Saukville (Wisconsin) newsletter arrive in my Inbox.
What kind of publicity have you gotten from Patch? Do you have any pitching tips to add to my list?
I LOVE patch.com! They post all my events and on many occasions have sent a reporter to cover them! A great source for publicity.
Patch is giving the community weeklies, and even some of the dailies, some decent competition, not only for readership, but for advertising revenue. See Jamak Golshani’s comment below.
Thank you so much for the info re: Patch.com I wish they were in Oregon, but no matter, I still appreciate you giving the heads up about their existence so I can follow along and be ready when they decide to expand a more south.
MCatherine
Why don’t you contact them and ask them to cover your state? If they get enough requests, they just might way yes.
Jamak, please let us know if the advertising brought results.
I just worked with a client last week who is doing advertising with patch for a very decent price. They came in and did a free video shoot for them. I thought that was pretty good. Thanks for the tips Joan.
Thanks for this useful update about Patch. In the Chicago area, we must have at least three dozen Patch suburban sites, so building relationships like you suggested is more of a challenge. I’ve found that if you post information and/or photos that note the relationship of the person pictured to the town, it’s a no-brainer. Sometimes, I’ll be alerted that they are “promoting” a story or photo to the home page, which is always cool.