Some people agree with me that it's great to get stories placed in media outlets, and like the idea of that helping to generate more income for their business, but don't believe they need media training.

They think that they should be able to call a reporter and say "My mixed martial arts school is the best, come write a story about it."

Frankly, I'm not surprised. Why do I say that? It's not much different than the guys who watch the UFC and say, "hey, I can do that. Those guys are just rolling around like they're doing it with each other. I would just knock those guys out."

Anyone who thinks that he or she can't learn skills from media training is just like those karate goofs who thought they could knock out Royce Gracie but never learned ground fighting. Or the wrestlers who never learned submissions. Or the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu guys who never learned takedowns. You get my point.

For most people, the skills you may have picked up in high school or college – unless you majored in something like communications -- simply aren't enough to successfully generate positive media coverage.

Going about generating publicity without at least a little media training is simply ignoring the easy-to-use, high-percentage techniques. It's like trying to win the lottery or find a four-leaf clover, or win a fight using the crane technique from the Karate Kid. It's so rare that it will work that you are much better of with a higher percentage technique.

You have the highest percentage chance of getting your story into the newspaper if you do a few things right.

Here is one way to go about it.

First, take a look at a local paper, and identify which section would be most appropriate for your school.

Yes, the front page would be nice, but it's not necessarily a realistic goal. Try a section that features local news about the community.

Keep in mind that it is best to start small. You don't start a relatively inexperienced martial arts student off with the toughest guys in the class. And you don't challenge Fedor for your first MMA fight. Start with a local weekly or small daily. Once you have placed a story there, you have an even better chance of getting one placed in a bigger paper. For example, the Yamasaki Academy was featured in a small local paper before being featured on the front page of the community section in the Washington Post.

It's similar to dating; if an attractive person sees you already dating someone, you have a better chance than if you look like you've never been on a date.

I'll be back in a few days to fill you in on the next step to take to get some free publicity. If you have any thoughts or questions thus far, feel free to drop me an email at mmamedia (at) gmail (dot) com.

Take care,
Jeremy