How to land a newspaper feature in 3 easy steps
Getting featured in a newspaper is easier than you think.
And trust me - it can help your career a lot, just like it did for mine.
Last week, I made the front page of a paper with a readership of 300,000 daily.
Today, I reveal how I made it happen - and how you can too in 3 steps.
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Why getting featured helps your brand
Before how I made it happen... why does this matter?
There were 2 key factors to me trying to make this happen... while 3rd was a nice addition.
1) Exposure
Hugo exposure doesn't pay!
Yeah... we've all heard it, haven't we?
But the truth is - sometimes it doesn't need to.
It's not always about the money - sometimes the authority you build is the bigger win.
When I reached out to a journalist (yes, I reached out) I knew I'd not make a bank.
But that was not the goal.
My goal was to position myself more as an authority figure in my area.
The article ended up being on the Northern Lights as a whole, and my name was in the title.
In the article, there was a professional, or scientist, of some sorts interviewed about the Lights.
This makes me seem like an authority figure in front of 300k people in my hometown when it comes to the Northern Lights.
300k!
It's different than getting random 300k views on IG (although amazing).
Being featured in a newspaper will help you build a name for yourself.
And that's what I wanted to do more for myself.
2) Money
Yeah, I did also make a bit.
But honestly, I was surprised.
I didn't expect to get paid a dime... and I'd be fine without any money, as the added authority was my main goal.
I knew this COULD lead to more money in the future.
From my previous feature in this magazine in 2022, I did get a huge client...
I hope you take this away from this Letter:
Exposure doesn't pay but it can lead to more money and opportunities.
You can leverage the fact you were in a known Newspaper for a looong time.
I've got some of my features on the "About" page on my website, boosting my authority when someone is considering working with me.
There are papers that will pay to interview you or feature your work in their article.
If your goal is to not make money, it's fine to give photos to be used for free, as you can gain a lot too.
(Although, I'd not give photos for free forever.)
I can't remember was I paid for my previous features... but for this one, I did.
I got 25€ per photo.
Yeah, I'm rich now. Lol. (Sarcasm)
It's not a lot... but I was happy to get an extra 100€ out of the blue.
Again, money was not a goal here - the added authority was.
Gaining authority can happen via Newspapers... but of course through social media too.
I have 170k+ followers across all social media, and that brings me authority.
But there are communities who don't value that as much.
Like my hometown, this Newspaper is a huge deal.
My relatives are insanely excited about me being there (more than me honestly. Lol.)
When you're building a name for yourself, it's important to use all the possible ways to gain authority.
Especially, if it doesn't take too much effort.
(Like this feature was a few hours of work.)
The 3 steps I've done to get featured
1) Have a good idea
1st, you need a good idea that is newsworthy.
By this I mean, there needs to be a point to a newspaper, or a magazine, making an article about you.
They're a business. They want more readers and clicks.
So... that's why you need to present something that is worth reading.
Example:
It's a normal day. You happen to take a photo of a normal rock.
Is that newsworthy?
Well, what if now you took a photo of something rare, like red Northern Lights?
Is that newsworthy?
See, you must think about what will make the newspaper more money.
If you have an interesting idea, they're happy to write about you.
When I got my Northern Light photo with the red colours... I knew that was rare. I hadn't seen anything like that in my hometown before.
So, I supposed that a journalist was writing about that, because that's interesting.
I reached out with the photograph related to the event, and I got in contact fast - in a matter of 23 minutes to be exact.
2) Reach out
Yes, you should reach out.
Understand journalists, the writers for newspapers and magazines are creatives too.
We creatives all have creative blocks at some point.
(If you want to learn to minimize them as a photographer... read this article here.)
The journalist wants to get ideas on what to write about.
Think about it, wouldn't you want to get an idea of what to post every day on social media?
That is why nearly every paper out there has an email you can reach out to with article ideas.
I sought out 3, sent them emails - and got 1 feature.
(You should always reach out to more than 1 - it increases your chances a lot.)
The journalist I worked with was happy I reached out, of course. This made his life easier.
Now he didn't need to look for photos to use - and he had someone he could interview and ask questions for the article.
Eventually, papers can reach out to you.
This is what happened to me the 1st time in 2022.
But reaching out is the most effective way to do this.
You'll be faster noticed by people when you reach out to them.
Don't wait around to be noticed. Be proactive.
3) Be swift
I got the photograph that was featured at night (obviously).
I got to bed late and set an alarm.
I had thrown all my previous plans out of the window for the next day.
Now my to-do list looked like this:
1) Select the photo to edit
2) Edit the photo
3) Find emails to reach out to
4) Reach out to them
5) Post the photograph on social media
Once I had awakened, I started the selection process immediately.
This was difficult from the thousands of photos I took that night... but luckily, I had a pretty solid idea of what was my best picture from that night.
Once selected, it was time to edit it.
Thankfully, I developed Lightroom presets earlier this year to speed up my workflow.
Now I was able to get my edits lightning fast compared to what it used to take.
(Get my presets and editing masterclass here.)
I selected the preset, and did other edits... and it was done.
Often I let my images sit for a few weeks until I post them.
Why?
Because after I take a second look at an edited photo, I often hate it.
But this time, I didn't have weeks to wait if I wanted this in a newspaper.
I had to do it NOW.
So I edited, took a break, and repeated that process.
Once I was feeling it was good enough, I put the photo into a Google Drive folder, crafted my outreach emails, and sent them.
Then it was time to wait...
And as I told you, the 1 journalist spotted it pretty quickly.
And here comes another important part:
The subject line is the key.
Like with these Newsletters - if nobody clicks on the email, it doesn't matter what you have inside.
Now, you don't want to clickbait.
But it still has to have a good subject line!
I had different ones. I realized for the other 2 the subject lines were bad... but well, it was too late when I realized that.
But for this feature I got, I wrote:
"Rare red northern lights in Kuopio"
It was clear what my email was about - and it was relevant to the journalist.
So, he opened it and found the stuff inside it useful.
Honestly, I was scared I'd hate the photograph later on.
I still am not very confident it's good. I think it's good enough... but I don't see it as amazing.
But, it was a rare event. Many of you liked the photo - and so did the locals around here.
I started work at 9:39 AM.
I sent the photo at 12:47 PM - and the journalist responded at 1:10 PM.
I answered questions... and the article was published at 4:11 PM.
Getting a photo this fast was a big challenge for me.
Especially mentally, as I was so scared I'd get into a newspaper with a photo I'd not like, lol.
But, I ended up liking it. So there's a happy ending. :D
Recap
Have an idea worth writing about.
Reach out to journalists, so they're aware they could write about you.
Be swift with things that are time-sensitive.
The new opportunity
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I hope you enjoyed this Letter, my friend.
If you’ve not subscribed yet, you can do so here.
Till next Letters,
Hugo
P.S. If you want to learn what are the most paying niches as a photographer... read this.
