Press Mention with No Link

[RickyShockley]

Hey guys, I have a client who got a nice little mention recently in her local news online, but the news site (like many I notice) does not link any content in their articles. Anyone have a creative idea for leveraging this type of mention?

She is an attorney and the article mentioned her as the defense attorney on the case.

Any ideas would be much appreciated!

[danatanseo]

Great question Ricky. I deal with this all the time. It really depends on the publication. The first thing I would do is browse around a bunch of their other articles and see if you can find an example of where they linked to a source or a source's company website. Get in contact with the writer/editor and find out if they have a policy against linking or if perhaps it was just an oversight. The print world still doesn't necessarily think "on line," so sometimes they just need to be reminded that a link can be really helpful to their readers who want to find out more about the people, places and things mentioned in the article.

Almost every time I've ever gone back to a publication and asked for a link in context, they've been more than happy to comply. I did have one hold out, that flat out said "no." The person saying no was not a writer, or an editor, but the VP of sales. I chalked it up to her just not wanting to be bothered with it, so I got on LinkedIn, found out who the online editor was, sent them a connection request (they also turned out to be the SEO). I asked them to include a link in that very same article, and Voila! We got the link.

My advice is just to be very gracious and appreciative in your tone. The fact that you have a positive mention at all is awesome. I usually say something like " We have been big fans of your publication for years [only say that if it's true!] and it was so nice of you to mention us in this recent article. We thought it might be helpful to your readers if you included a hyperlink from our name to our site, Would you be kind enough to add that? We'd love to reference your write up in our blog."....or any variation. The more genuine you are, the better off you'll be. If you can, pick up the phone and call them. They have a way harder time saying no via phone.

Hope that helps!

Dana