There are several ways in which event organisers and project owners can increase the level of coverage they’re likely to receive from Sphere News, as well as from other press sources.
(1) Don’t assume the press knows about your project.
Many press sources accept submissions and pitches – including us here at Sphere News. Different press sources will have different policies on what they cover and how to submit pitches.
For Sphere News, whilst we follow a lot of events and projects on socials, it’s always safest to contact us directly to make sure we don’t miss anything, even if we already follow you. Inviting us to your public and/or private Discords is also useful to help us stay up to date with news over the longer term.
(2) Have a unique selling point – and make it known!
What makes your event or project different to others? If your project is “another generic minigame tournament”, “just some cliché adventure map”, etc. then there simply isn’t much for the press to talk about. Innovation, creativity, and a strong visual identity are all useful ways to maximise your chances of coverage.
(3) Be professional.
Even if you don’t have top-level production value, a professional attitude can take you a long way. That doesn’t mean you have to be super serious and business-like the entire time – this is Minecraft after all! That said, the way you communicate with viewers and players does get noticed, and certain things will be frowned upon, including:
- putting out announcements that clearly haven’t been checked over before posting (shows sloppiness and lack of care)
- having conversations in announcement channels (therefore burying important information)
- failing to moderate bad behaviour in community Discords (may show poor alignment of values)
- incessantly pinging people or roles (shows lack of care towards other people)
- being rude or aggressive (unless it’s very very obvious it’s a joke between friends)
- using assets from other projects without permission (lower quality is better than stolen)
Of course, increasing your visible production value is a big help as well! Well-put-together websites, trailers, Discords and other visual promotional materials can make coverage a lot more appealing to press sources.
(4) Make your project info clear and easy to find.
Having your project info in your social media bio or as a pinned post is ideal. Give details about the gameplay, theming, dates and times, how/if people can apply or get involved, etc. as relevant to your project’s type. Think of it as your elevator pitch – just putting “a Minecraft event” or “a Minecraft mod” tells the reader nothing about why they should choose your project over one which gives that information a lot more freely.
Journalists often have very limited time to get content published. If they can’t work out what your project is all about at a quick glance, or if they have to spend a lot of time researching just to get basic information or to find your contact information, then a lot of the time they will have to move on and find their content elsewhere.
Of course, it’s not just journalists that this info is valuable to – it’s also good marketing practice to appeal to prospective players and viewers!
Having at least one easy contact method, such as a business email or open DMs on X / Discord, is also a good idea, as this allows journalists to request permission to use your content in their coverage, or request interviews.
(5) Have a press kit.
A press kit is a collection of resources (commonly in a Google Drive folder or equivalent) that are available for use by press to allow them to cover an event or announcement. They typically include logos (with different variants if possible, such as transparent / non-transparent versions, square / horizontal / vertical versions, or versions with / without text) and a few screenshots (e.g. of set designs or gameplay in action) as a minimum. More extensive ones may also include GIFs, video assets, icons, posters, written information, fonts, hex codes, and more. Press kits are a valuable tool for both players and press, as they are useful for making video thumbnails, starting soon screens, stream overlays, news articles, social media posts, and a wide range of other marketing and press material.
By putting materials or resources in a press kit, you are essentially granting permission for other sources to republish that content without them needing to ask for further consents. Therefore, a press kit should only contain material you have created yourself, or have the rights to share in that way. For example, you shouldn’t include video content that contains licensed music, or anything made by people who haven’t consented to their work being included (such as fanart, creator profile pictures, clips from player streams, etc.).
Ideally, your press kit should be in a public place – for example linked on a landing page (such as a Linktree), or in a website footer. Essentially, the easier your press kit is to access, and the better content it contains, the easier it is for people to promote your event or announcement – especially at short notice if there’s not enough time to contact an organiser directly.
Examples of press kits include these ones by Noxcrew, WraithStation, and Minearchy.
(6) Let the press know your news before it’s publicly announced.
This gives them more time to prepare content, so that it can be released closer to or even alongside the public announcement. Reputable press sources will be happy to stick to an embargo (a time and date before which content is not allowed to be published) if you give them one.
Not all press coverage is time-sensitive, but a lot is, and there may be deadlines you’re not aware of. If the press doesn’t receive information until it’s already public, this can drastically reduce the time frame the article is relevant for, as it could already be “old news” by the time they can publish it. This may make it no longer worth the press source’s time to cover it at all.
(7) Exclusivity is a big bonus.
Exclusive news can be a very positive factor when press sources are considering pitches. The opportunity to announce something first gives a window during which the press source receives extra viewers (fans of the project who want to be the first to hear the news) and also gives extra promotion to the announcement itself (as it can be used to intrigue viewers that are visiting the press source for other reasons).
At Sphere News, we’ll typically assume you want to announce your news first or at the same time as we post about it, but if you’re happy for us to post it before you, or even instead of you, this can be a positive factor when we’re considering pitches.
About The Author
