Intro:
Getting your game in the press is a valuable part of getting your game out there (*sigh* and can net over $10k in Kickstarter funding per article). However, getting your name out there sounds like a daunting task, but there is good news! Major news sites like Kotaku run 100 stories a day, and journalists will be out of a job if nobody had stories to report. During the Pax Dev presentation "The Hard Sell: What You Need to Know When Talking to the Press" by Ben Kuchera had several tips and strategies were given to help independent developers and small companies get into the press.
Strategies
Managing the press is something you do after you have a game. Lots of projects have a false start or fail to come together. That being said you should expect to start your marketing/press push about a year before you ship your game. (I expect this to mean you should be testing and refining your game by the time you expect to do any press work).
Marketing your games to the press is tough. You may feel lost or scared, but the worst thing you can do is run from the problem. When sending out emails to people in the press you will fail to get a response much more than you will succeed. Above all building a good game must be your priority. If your game is crap then anyone who does take a chance on your game, wont end up reviewing it.
Buiding a relationship with the press is a good way to help it get in the spotlight. Picking several of your favorite press people (both big and small) and follow them. Look them up on twitter, comment on their posts ect. Try and be a face and a name before you start asking them for press coverage. Press people are much more likely to read an email from a person they kinda know than from someone they have never heard of. That being said you should cast a wide net and talk to many people. Remember, you have no excuse to not talk to people.
Journalists are Lazy (or Busy)
Have a press kit (like this one http://dopresskit.com/ ). No seriously, have one.
Journalists need to write a story, so giving them a good game and a personal story about it's development or design will help. If you've been making a game for a while you have some stories. A good game and a personal story will get you coverage. Talk to the press about what you do better than anyone else. If you don't know what you do better, find out and talk about it.
"Practice your patter." You should be able to say your personal story and what your game's about. Be able to answer When your game is out, Where they can buy it, How much it costs, How long is it to play and any other relevant questions (if you don't know, ask other devs who made a game like yours; Devs are nice people)
You need to meet people in the middle. It requires being outgoing and talking to people (I will personally attest that people remember faces, and there is nothing wrong with introducing yourself to someone who you should know. If it looks like its going sour just thank them for their time and leave. If you are really scared you'll screw up, go to a bar and practice talking to people you don't know. It's really not that bad)
Go guerrilla! Meeting people at conventions and shows is a good way to get your game in front of the press. Use a laptop, an I-pad ect. to get it in front of their eyes. Lots of big indie games were shown to the press in hallways, clubs, ect before they got coverage.
Once you are in, you are in for life. Stories will become other stories and working with someone again is much easier than finding a new guy. You can also take your time to contribute to stories that don't directly have to do with your game.
Press No-NosDo not offer money or bribes for coverage! This violates journalistic integrity, and no journalist will cover your game for fear of being seen as bought out. This kind of thing will get you basically black-listed. It's like walking up to a girl, pulling out a wad of 20's and saying "How much?" instead of "May I buy you a drink".
Your email title shouldn't be an apology, you need to have confidence in your product. No gimmicks or shock factor stuff, it looks immature. The press is not a bunch of 18 year old bros; regardless of the sex analogy in the last paragraph. You shouldn't be showing things you have to apologize for (I'm aware I violated this with my blog). Have screen-shots and video of your game in action. That media will give the press something to work with. Don't worry too much about how you look in your videos, there are not a lot of attractive people in the business.
Keep buzz words out of you Email title. A Kickstarter is not a story, The video game your making is the story. If you wanna include a nod to your Kickstarter, just nonchalantly give them the link after your website. words like, indie, mobile, free-to-play just get stale after a while.
Conclusion
Getting your game in the news circuits is definitely a hard sell; But it's not impossible. Understanding where the press is coming from is key to getting noticed. Remember they have to write stories and get the word out about interesting stories. Make a good game and get it in front of the right people and work with the press. You can get a game noticed, but only if you do it right and get it out there. Oh and remember nobody is going to write a story on a bad game.
