Our latest Subscription Site Insider Case Study reveals how a unique PR tactic gets more media mentions:”The great recession has given us some of our best years ever,” says Gary Dunn, owner of The Caretaker Gazette which provides ads from property owners to subscribers who are looking to live rent-free.Dunn and his subscribers have appeared in numerous articles and TV pieces about the recession and how rent-free living or caretaking has become so appealing.When a writer from The New York Times called, Dunn did something that any subscription site owner can do to work with the media – he offered up his subscribers as sources. He sent an email blast to his audience with the types of people the reporter was looking to talk to and bingo a mention of his publication and profiles of his subscribers were printed in The New York Times.As is often the case, one major media mention can lead to another. After The New York Times article appeared, The Today Show called to do a story. When the piece aired, Dunn’s website servers crashed because they couldn’t handle the traffic.Now, Dunn reads HARO (Help A Reporter Out – a free service to connect journalists and leads) emails every day and offers to connectjournalists doing recession or housing stories with his subscribers. The Caretaker Gazette usually also receives a mention.
