Public Relations Tips: July 2006

The best way to contact them is to send a fax to the assignment editor with their name on it so it’ll get set on their desk, because that’s literally what they do. So as they rush in and rush out, they grab whatever’s on their desk and take it with them out on their stories.

Calling them is a really good thing to do, but there are some do’s and don’ts about calling.

Never call during a newscast or at least one hour prior to the show because it’s really chaotic. If you call during that time, you are put in the “clueless” category.

The best time to call is in the morning, before the reporter’s morning meeting. They’ve got to go in to that meeting and have something dazzling to pitch to their crew. Catching them live is great.

If you can’t catch them live, never leave more than one message. If they have people like you who keep leaving story ideas, they’re going to get annoyed. You lose your credibility and they don’t want anything to do with you.

How to Get on Local TV News Tomorrow contains more helpful hints to getting great publicity on TV.

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When writing a news release, keep in mind these common mistakes:

-Don’t forget to answer the questions who, what, where, when, why and how in the first two paragraphs.

-Don’t use anonymous quotes. Attribute the quote to someone and mention their title, and why they are a credible source.

-Don’t use the following hackneyed words and phrases from your news releases: breakthrough, cutting-edge, unique, only-one-of-its-kind and state-of-the-art.

For more mistakes to avoid look at 52 Tips for Kick-Butt News Releases.

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Poor-quality electronic photos, whether on your company website or in your online Media Kit generally turn off visitors, especially the media. You can post images to the web the 72dpi format that most web-based image files are set at. However, because of the compression formats for web-based images, they are not ideal files for print media.

If you want to make print-ready images available at your site, you should link to a high-resolution version of the image that will only download to the visitor’s system once they've clicked the link. Journalists appreciate this forethought on your part and will come to you more often if they know you’ve got great pictures that are already formatted for them.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, yes, but only if they are the right kinds of words. To find out what else goes into an online Media Kit, check out How to Create an Online Media Room and Keep the Media Coming Back

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So you’ve sent in your news release and you want to follow up. How can you do this without being an annoyance?

Never follow up with a phone call to ask, “Did you get my news release?” or “Do you know when it will be printed?” or “Can you send me a copy once it’s printed?”

The media receive dozens of these annoying calls each day and don’t have time to check. Keep calling and asking these dumb questions and you will soon be branded as a pest.

If you absolutely must follow up, a better approach is to call the person to whom you sent the release, and ask if there’s any other information they need.

For more information check out 52 Tips for Kick-Butt News Releases.

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What is the number one thing you can do to be a talk show host’s dream date? Be compelling. If you are not compelling, you are boring, and you’ll never be invited back.

To be compelling, you have to create chemistry with the audience. You need to know what they want, not what you want.

There has to be something that is compelling to the eye. Otherwise, you are a guest who is just a “talking head.” That’s the last thing that you want.

You’ve got to do something that people will remember, and they’ll go, “Hey, did you see that guy?” When it’s valid to the audience, it becomes valid in a producer’s eyes.

For more tips on TV interviews, check out How To Be A TV Show Host’s Dream Date.

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The headline is the most important part of the news release and should immediately convey why the news is important.

The headline you write most likely will not be printed. However, the headline flags the editor to the importance of the news release.

If the news release is about something controversial, like a town meeting to discuss the local library refusing to filter pornography on the Internet, be sure the headline reflects the controversy. Example: “Town meeting will ask why library isn’t filtering porn”is much better than “Town to discuss library’s Internet policy.”

More great tips on news release headlines can be found at 52 Tips for Kick-Butt News Releases.

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1. Use themes. You see them all the time. Tax time is a theme. Heat waves are a theme. Christmas shopping is a theme. School starting, getting ready for school, outdoor safety are all themes.

Piggyback off themes, because that’s what people are talking about. And that’s what makes reporter’s bosses happy—if you’re talking about what people are talking.

2. Use food. Print people are journalists, but people in TV newsrooms are TV stars and you’re dealing with people who have big egos. They’re big players. They’re gregarious. They’re loud. They love everything big. And food is big to them.

There are different ways to use food. Many PR people use it publicize events. Just remember, the bigger the better.

Don’t forget to thank people at the TV station. As soon as you send a thank-you gift to them, next time they find out about another event from you, they think, “Hmm, if I go to this one, I might get sent something from these people because they sent me something last time.”

For more essential tips to getting on TV, look at How to Get on Local TV News Tomorrow.

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Whatever you do, don’t call and tell reporters you want publicity for your start-up company.

Instead, explain how your company helps people solve a particular problem. How does your product or service fill a need?

Talk about the problems you are facing as a small business person. Don’t be shy about talking to the media about problems. Every business has problems. And if you're willing to talk about them, and to suggest how you have found the solution to a particular problem, reporters are going to want to hear from you.

Another thing you can do with a start-up company is talk about how you are using technology in your business. That's a great way to do it because with technology, there's so much new stuff coming down the pike every day. Explain trends in the marketplace that led to you starting the business.

Find more information on publicity for your start-up company at Secrets of Perfect Pitching to Reporters.

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There’s a trend that has swept the online world, which is only now becoming visible to most businesses. It’s called blogging.

A blog (short for weblog) is essentially a program that allows the user to log into a form, type in an entry, press submit, and to have what they typed immediately posted to a website for all to see.

In business terms, it’s a stripped down content management system, allowing quick and easy posting of content to the web.

And blogs are incredibly popular:

• It is estimated that there were 4.12 million weblogs, of which 1.4 million are “active” (meaning that they are frequently updated) as of September 2003 and that this number will more than double to 10 million blogs by the end of 2004.

• Google shows 35.8 million web pages that contain the term “blog”, plus 12.6 million that contain the term “weblog” and 2.7 million that contain the term “blogging”. That’s a lot of pages!

• While kids and young adults use most of the existing blogs, an increasing number of businesses are coming to understand the advantages of using blogs to communicate with their consumers.

So how on earth can a technology that has essentially been created and primarily used for personal use be advantageous for business? Find out more in Blogging For Business.

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It’s always better to send a pitch letter than a standardized press release. However, that’s not always going to be possible because sometimes there are just too many media outlets that you want to contact. The best pitch letters are customized to the particular media outlet that you’re trying to get into.

Your pitch letter should be long enough to give the recipient enough information that they understand what your publicity angle is. You don’t have to tell the whole story. If they want to know more, then you will tell them how to contact you.

In your letter, state right up front that you have a clear understanding of the types of stories that they’re looking for. You’ll impress the heck out of an editor or a reporter, simply because so many people pitch ideas that have absolutely nothing to do with what their publication covers.

Check out Secrets for Getting Through to the Media Online.

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-Email pitches must be very, very short. Absolutely no more than one screen of copy. Reporters should not have to scroll to get to the meat of the story idea you’re pitching, they may not have that kind of time.
-Use bullet points and boldface certain words or phrases that you really want to jump out.
-Use a sexy subject line, something that really catches the reporter’s attention. Whatever you do, don’t put in the subject line “news release” or “something for you,” or something that doesn't give them any idea what your pitch is about. The more specific you can be in the subject line the better.
-Absolutely no attachments. Don’t send anything to reporters as attachments unless they specifically ask that you do so.
-Don’t ever flag your pitch as high priority when it’s not.
-Use an email signature that includes your name, company name, address, telephone number, and fax. Also include the word “expert” in your signature, assuming you are an expert.

To learn other helpful tips for email pitching to reporters, check out Secrets of Perfect Pitching to Reporters.

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It happens all the time. The most intelligent and colorful person blanks out when the camera starts to role because they suddenly realize every word is going to be scrutinized, and people are looking just at them. Suddenly they realize they aren’t making any sense, but they can’t stop themselves. It’s a common phenomenon, and it happens to almost anyone who isn’t an expert. How do you keep this from happening to you?

First, block all distractions. You have to focus. When you’re in a studio, there’s a lot going on that is extremely distracting. Just take a moment, with a deep breath, and focus yourself on the interview.

Second, before you sit in your chair, persuade yourself first, so that you can share your enthusiasm for what it is you’re going to talk about. Many people are not terribly confident in what they’re saying because they have this inner voice, this inner critic, that’s saying, “Yeah, but.” Therefore, they don’t want to overstate, so they compensate in the other direction and say something that’s pretty meaningless, that doesn’t have the umpf that it should.

And third, practice with a tape recorder before you ever get to the interview. You should sound mechanical or rehearsed, but just listen to yourself before you go out there so you will already have heard what you sound like.

Get more at How To Be A TV Show Host’s Dream Date.

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When preparing for a news release, it is best to do some homework first:

Identify media outlets that need the information you are sending. If you are not familiar with the publication or broadcast outlet, call and ask if they would be interested in what you are writing about.

It’s better to send your news releases to fewer quality contacts who are really interested than to paper the landscape with news releases that end up in the wastebasket.

Find out the name of the person to whom you should send the news release. This saves time later if you must follow up with a phone call.

Find out more at 52 Tips for Kick-Butt News Releases.

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The best way to reach reporters is to let them know you’re on their side. Simply stated, when you help people, they help you.

You want to do everything you can to make their life easy. Offer story ideas, first thing in the morning because reporters are going into morning meetings saying things like, “Geeze, what am I going to go in with? I have no story ideas.”

What would it be like for them, if they came in, listened to their voice mail message, and they heard Joe Blow saying, “Hey, Mary. I saw in the newspaper today this incredible story and I’m an industry expert on this. I would love to talk to you about that.”

A lot of times, that’s exactly how stories get on the air. It gets thrown out there, and 12 people go, “Hmm. I never really thought about that. Maybe we should do that. Why don’t you call that person?”

Learn more at How to Get on Local TV News Tomorrow.

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Let’s say that you’ve been on TV and you’ve had a great experience. The interview went great, the host was just wonderful. What do you do afterward?

Write a note to their boss, and copy it to the host. Don’t necessarily write the note to the producer, but write it to the person who’s the general manager of the station, because you are glorifying them and validating them.

Producers and people off the air spend their time seeing the hosts of the show getting all of the attention. It’s completely wrong and backwards, but that’s the way it is.

If you go to their boss, who’s the general manager of the station or whomever is in charge and say, “I had the greatest experience with this person,” and lay out what they did, they will thank you from the bottom of their hearts and they will invite you back.

For more great tips, try How To Be A TV Show Host’s Dream Date.

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A great tip for pitching is to offer reporters other sources and contact information like names of other people who they can call or email and use as sources for the story you are pitching.

Why? Reporters are under increasing pressure to produce multi-source stories. An editor does not want to publish a story that gives background or commentary from one source. They want sources who can speak on both sides of a particular issue, and who can bring to the story a wide variety of expertise and different viewpoints.

When you provide multiple sources, you’ve suddenly made the reporter’s job easier and positioned yourself as a golden source.

Any time you can help the media do their jobs better, or do their jobs easier, they’re going to view you as a valuable source, and they’re going to come back to you again and again.

Remember to give out sources that are friends or colleagues – not people who are in a position to take away from your story and add to their own marketing ability.

Find out more helpful information at Secrets of Perfect Pitching to Reporters.

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1. Using a delivery service or a newswire. Four services that are very reputable are the following: PR Newswire, Business Wire, E-Releases, and PressReleaseNetwork.com. They have up-to-date lists of media and they get your stuff out when they say they’re going to get it out. Delivery services and newswires, however, are going to cost several hundred dollars per press release.
2. Buying a database of media email addresses. Now this is very tempting to many people because it seems like you make one purchase and can then use it any number of times. The trouble is, whatever form you buy a database, it’s almost always at least somewhat out of date.
3. Creating your own media list. It can be email addresses which you can compile by visiting the websites of various media outlets. This method of finding media email addresses is very tedious, but it’s very successful and it’s totally free.
4. Going to the library and looking at Bacon’s Magazine and Newspaper Directory. It’s extremely expensive if you wanted to buy it. It comes in two volumes, but many libraries have it.

Find out more at Secrets for Getting Through to the Media Online.

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Is it better to pitch an editor because they’re higher on the totem pole?
No. The best rule of thumb is if you’re going to be pitching somebody, pitch as low as you possibly can.
Find out who the beat reporter is who writes about the topic that you want to pitch. Call or email them, and give them your pitch.
Reporters are under tremendous pressure to come up with story ideas every day, either for the 6 o’clock TV news, or for their daily newspaper, or for their magazine. Reporters love to be able to go to editors with a great story idea as opposed to being told by an editor that they have to cover something.
If you’re ever uncertain as to who you should contact, just call the media outlet. You can ask for the newsroom. Then ask whoever answers the phone who the best person is to pitch to.

For more tips refer to Secrets of Perfect Pitching to Reporters.

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Competition is fierce among guests who want to get onto TV talk shows. How do you determine what those topics you should be talking about, before you start pitching ideas to a particular show?

Subscribe to USA Today. Every producer reads this like a bible, everyday. It sits there on all the tables, and they all look at it and refer to it.

If you pick that up and see, for example, in the news today there is a story about donuts being so popular in America, if you have anything to do with health care or with the food industry, you have an “in.”

You just find some way to tie into what is topical. It can be a stretch, but it can work. That’s your best bet, rather than something coming out of the blue. Producers like to tie it in to what’s out there in the news already.

Find out more helpful information at How To Be A TV Show Host’s Dream Date.

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There are two key reasons to send a news release.

First, you can announce routine information such as a promotion or a special event.

Second, you can attract the media’s attention and give them enough information about a story—results of a new study or a new product your company is introducing—so that they call you for an interview. That means you are under no obligation to include all the facts of a story in your release. If the media are interested, they will call. Your job is to catch their attention.

For great ideas about news releases, check out 52 Tips for Kick-Butt News Releases.

Posted by DK at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When pitching a story, it’s important to know who is in charge. TV stations have what’s called a “Queen Bee.” This is someone in the newsroom who knows everything that’s going on, who everyone runs to, who has all the power. The "Queen Bee" knows all, tells all.

So you really want to be friends with the "Queen Bee.” As you start creating relationships with your local stations, you will find out really quickly who that person is.

They usually have three different titles. They’ll either be called a managing editor, a planning editor, or the assignment editor. Be careful with the title “assignment editor,” because a lot of newsrooms might have a total of 10 assignment editors, and there’s a "Queen Bee" of those assignment editors.

To find out more information on how you can get booked on your local TV station, check out How to Get on Local TV News Tomorrow.

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Ensure your pitch won’t fall on deaf ears - try these tips when you are pitching your story to a reporter:

- Create the pitch before you pick up the telephone. In other words, sit down in front of your computer and write out the pitch. Then rehearse it until you’re able to do it convincingly within 30 seconds.
- Let the person on the other end of the phone know who you are and where you’re from. The next words out of your mouth need should be, “Is this a good time to talk?”
- Explain your idea in one or two sentences. Then follow it up with a very short explanation—one sentence, if possible—as to why readers or listeners would care.
-The next question to ask is, “Does this sound like something you'd be interested in?”
- Use the word “trend” in your pitch and reporters will immediately perk up.
- Never use the word publicity. It will kill your chances.

To learn more about what a perfect telephone pitch consists of, check out Secrets of Perfect Pitching to Reporters.

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In most cases, you’re going to have a pretty good idea of which publications the people who you sell to read. But you'd be surprised at all the publications that are out there that you may not have thought of. So here are some places to look for publications that might be a really good fit with your how-to articles:

The Bacon’s Directories
Most major libraries have the Bacon’s Directories. You can go to your particular topic and find all kinds of magazines, both business-to-business and consumer magazines, that might be interested in the particular article that you happen to write.

Writer’s Market
It updates its book every year. You can get the Writer’s Market at any major bookstore.

On the Internet
You can do an Internet search for electronic newsletters that serve your niche market.

Ask your customers
The best way to track down publications that you want to get into is to ask the people who are already buying your products and services what publications they are reading, and ask them to give you some sample copies.

For more publication resources check out How to Write How-to Articles for Newspapers, Magazines, and Trade Journals

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There are so many different ways you can use reprints. Here are 5 ways to use yours.

1. Use reprints when you’re pitching editors at larger publications. You can send them along with your pitch letters.

2. You can take reprints to trade shows and use them as giveaways.

3. Use reprints as handouts if you do speaking engagements.

4. Include reprints in handouts. Or take reprints and give them away to audience members when you conduct workshops.

5. Frame reprints and hang them on a wall. If you happen to be a store owner or you work at a company, frame those reprints and hang them in your lobby. They will give you immense credibility.

Read more at How to Write How-to Articles for Newspapers, Magazines, and Trade Journals

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So your article has been printed and you are absolutely delighted. There are some things that you need to do with follow-up that are very important to making sure you get the biggest bang for the buck.

• Send a handwritten thank-you note to the editor of the publication that just printed your article, thanking them for running it. You’d be amazed at how few people ever do this.

• Be sure that you make reprints of the article. Most publications will give you permission to reprint from their publication.

• Ask yourself who else might be interested in the article. Don’t be satisfied by getting it printed once. You’re not going to have to write another article from scratch. It’s already written.

• Climb the media ladder. Ask yourself, “Is there a bigger publication that would be interested in printing this article?”

Get more information on how to recycle articles over and over again to appear in a wide variety of other publications at How to Write How-to Articles for Newspapers, Magazines, and Trade Journals

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Before you write an article, it’s a good idea to simply query the editor of the publication that you want to get into to see if they’re even interested in your article.

Who do you query at a publication? Aim as low as you can on the totem pole with your query. Try to find out who the editor of the particular section of interest is and query that section editor.

Try to find out how that editor likes to be contacted - whether by phone, mail, fax, or email. These days, more and more people in the media prefer to communicate by email, simply because it’s so efficient.

Your query should be to the point and include the following:

• Let the editor know that you are familiar with their publication and their audience. You will impress editors immensely if you can prove to them that you have read their publication, you’re familiar with the types of articles that they publish, and that you can help their audience.

• Tell them the idea or the snappy headline for your article and why you think their readers should care.

• Ask, “Is this something that you think your readers might find interesting?”

For more helpful tips on how to impress editors and write effective articles, check out How to Write How-to Articles for Newspapers, Magazines, and Trade Journals

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