How to Keep Your Spirits Up and Boost Your Success in PR
Doing PR can be a pretty frustrating job, with endless client/boss demands, temperamental reporters and editors (and bloggers), pitching difficulties and the like. It’s a wonder any of us enjoy making a living at this at all!
Over the years, I’ve found that working in teams, brainstorming with colleagues and having the occasional bitch session with [...]
Go Ahead – Coin That New Word
In the PR game, words really matter. The well chosen or well-coined word can really change the discussion, raise awareness and influence decision-making.
Too often, we in PR fall back on old words, and as a result, we send the signal that we only have old things to say. Not good.
So go ahead and coin that [...]
To communicate in today's world, think "infosnacks"
Tweets. Text messages. Emails. Emoticons. LOL.
You name it, and we can shorten it into a tidbit of information. That’s an “infosnack.”
No longer do people want to “digest” a full newspaper article or curl up with a good book. Give me the story in 140 characters (twitter) or even less (TXTing) and let’s get it over [...]
Do You Know What Stuff Journalists Like?
“Think like a journalist.” It’s one of the most important skills a PR person can have. As a former journalist, frankly, my experience in the media gives me a big leg up. For PR pros who have never pulled a paycheck in the media, it’s a never-ending quest to get inside the head of journalists [...]
Which New Media Skills Do PR People Need to Compete?
This post is a follow-up to a great post by PR Pro Sarah Evans called, “Top 4 new skills all PR professionals must have.” You MUST read this post. Evans’ top four skills are: basic HTML coding, SEO for PR, how to use a Social Media Release, and online presence (on Facebook, Twitter, blogging, et [...]
To call or not to call? That is the follow-up question.
When you send an email pitch, do you always follow-up with a call? Or do you never follow-up? This is one of the trickiest questions in PR.
On today’s PR University audio conference with top editors of womens’ magazines, there was a definite split among the panelists regarding their receptivity to follow-up calls.
“Please don’t call me,” [...]
Don't Waste Precious Real Estate With Bloated Email Pitches
Be concise. Tell the journalist how your pitch will help them do their job, in the crucial first words of an email pitch. Customize your outgoing email address, if you have to, to make it more recognizable and user-friendly. Bottom-line: every character counts, and you have zero to waste.
That is the key-takeaway from today’s Bulldog [...]
Breaking into TV News: Black and Blue and 2 Shades of Green
If you want to generate TV coverage, don’t kid yourself — your story needs to be simple, easy-to-understand and have good visuals. TV is a powerful but simplistic medium that serves the lowest common denominators of our society. That’s not necessarily a bad thing or a putdown — there’s a place for CNN, and a [...]
The Big PR Lesson of "Thank You For Smoking"
I finally got around to seeing “Thank You For Smoking” last week — my bad. It’s an absolute must-see for anyone in the PR industry and if I was a university PR professor, I would use this film in my course and devote a couple of weeks to watching and analyzing it. It is a [...]
Why Media Interviews Are Like Listening to the Radio
Anyone who listens to the radio knows that the time is split between “content” and commercials. Even public radio now has its share of commercials.
When you are listening to content on the radio, you instinctively feel like you are getting what you want. But you only endure the commercials, waiting for the content to resume.
Sitting [...]