Great images boost your chance of publication

For this post I picked the brains of Catherine Yaffe, an experienced magazine editor, PR professional and journalist. Cat is currently the Editor of the South Yorkshire business magazine Topic UK. For full disclosure, Cat is also my other half!

Cat, you have quite a few years’ experience on both sides, from your PR experience and also as a magazine editor. What is it that makes you want to publish something?

It depends. Editors and journalists are busy people so always try to make their life easier. If high resolution images are available, then there is more chance that that story will get published. Make sure the file size isn’t massive, use a tool such as Dropbox to share images.

If it’s a person centric story, then allow room for the magazine header at the top of the image. The more natural the image, the better.

If it’s food, then it needs to look attractive, which might sound obvious but the reader should feel like they can pick it up and eat it!

If it’s a product, then make sure the lighting is right. Also, don’t forget that the image could be resized or made to fit within a certain word count and page layout. There’s nothing worse than losing clarity of what you’re selling simply because it’s too dark or looks wishy washy.

When sending a press release, send the image as an attachment – not within the body of the release. It’s best practice for businesses to have a bank of images such as head shots for the company directors or CEO. Also, having a couple of team shots on standby is a good idea. News moves so fast that having the images ready will mean the editor or journalist can get these online or into print quickly.

It’s also best practice to credit the photographer if the images have been outsourced.

What shouldn’t people send?

Stock images! Take a look through whatever publication you’re submitting to. Look at the images they are already using. They will have a certain house style which is different for each publication and that doesn’t matter whether it’s online or in print. Try to make the images relevant to the story or press release. I was recently sent a release promoting a wedding fair and the image was of the CEO stood next to a mechanical bull! Needless to say it didn’t get used.

Any final words of wisdom?

Just to reiterate that your copy and images should be ready to use and need little or, even better no adjusting when received.

For further information to see how your press releases or publication images can be enhanced contact Mark on 0113 882 3100.