QOT in Indian Express: How to Get Your Blog Featured in Newspapers

In September 2007 the Sunday Indian Express featured Quick Online Tips in its “Blog Buster” column, a round-up of top-ranking Indian blogs. Here is the story of that feature, with the newspaper scans, and what it taught us about how to get your blog featured in newspapers and other media today.

Quick answer: The Sunday Indian Express listed QuickOnlineTips in its News for Use section as one of India’s top blogs. Coverage like this comes from publishing genuinely useful content consistently, so journalists find you when they research a topic. You can improve your chances by making your site easy to cite, keeping a clear About page and pitching relevant stories to reporters.

Our Indian Express newspaper feature

The Indian Express (external site) ran a “Blog Buster” section in its Sunday edition giving the low down on top-ranking Indian blogs. It was a great joy to see our blog featured and recommended in a major Indian newspaper. Readers could also see the page exactly as it appeared in print in the Indian Express e-paper, where we were on page 9.

The Blog Buster column, titled “Game for advice”, ran down the right side of the page. Here is the enlarged text as it appeared in print:

A lesson about long domain names

Our long domain name didn’t fit in the narrow newspaper column, so it was split with a hyphen. Hyphens are valid in web addresses, so I worried readers might type quickon-linetips.com and land on a domain that didn’t exist. The tip still stands: a shorter domain name is easier to print, say and remember.

The column also called our layout a “messy 3 column look”. Fair enough. We had just switched from a 2 to 3 column theme to fit the growing content, and it was clearly time to declutter the sidebars.

How to get your blog featured in newspapers

The Blog Buster column picked top-ranking Indian blogs, and being useful and visible in search is what put us on that list. We were featured again later, such as Business Standard and the BBC (read about the BBC effect on our traffic). Here is what helps:

• Publish useful, original content. Journalists research online. Clear how-to guides, original data and first-hand experience are what they quote.
• Make it easy to cite you. Use a clear site name, simple author bylines and a short, memorable domain.
• Keep a proper About page. Explain who runs the site, what it covers and how to contact you. Reporters check this before quoting a source.
• Pitch timely stories. If you have a genuine angle on a news topic, send a short, polite email to the reporter who covers that beat, with a link to your evidence.
• Be quick to respond. Journalists work to deadlines. A fast, helpful reply makes them come back to you.

What to do when you get featured

1. Save a copy or screenshot of the coverage, as we did here.
2. Thank the publication and the reporter.
3. Mention the feature on your About page or a press page.
4. Check your analytics for the traffic spike and see which pages new visitors read.

Thank you, readers

I take this opportunity to thank QOT readers, without whose dedicated support this blog would not be where it is today. Thank you readers, and thank you Indian Express! You can read more about us on our About page.

FAQ

When was QuickOnlineTips featured in the Indian Express?

The Sunday Indian Express featured QuickOnlineTips in its Blog Buster column in September 2007, on page 9.

How do newspapers find blogs to feature?

Mostly through search and recommendations. Reporters look for blogs that rank well and explain a topic clearly, then check the About page before quoting them.

Should I pitch my blog to journalists?

Yes, if you have a relevant, timely story. Keep the email short, explain why it matters to their readers and link to your best evidence.

Does a newspaper feature help SEO?

It can bring a burst of visitors and, if the online article links to you, a strong backlink. The lasting value is the credibility it adds to your site.