Posts Tagged ‘PR’

Having a plan!

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Today we hear from our regular guest blogger, Paula Gardener of Do Your Own PR  on PR strategies. Basically, have one from the off!

 PR Strategies - 7 Reasons Why You Need One Right Now

 

1. Just Getting It Done
 
Without a strategy, PR does have an annoying habit of getting pushed to the bottom of a to-do list. After all, it’s rare that journalists actively contact you (unless you are a member of our club perhaps!). Every PR campaign has to be self-motivated and maintained. Having a PR strategy with clearly defined jobs and deadlines makes PR much more likely to happen.

2. It Amplifies The Results From Other Marketing Activites
 
Having a PR strategy will reinforce the work you do in other areas. You can tie your advertising, online and offline marketing and newsletter into the same theme as your PR campaign so that they all pull together. This also means that you can re-use material too, taking the core and using it in your marketing material, press releases, articles, tip sheets and newsletters.

3. It Helps You keep Up
 
Even if you don’t have a PR strategy you can bet your competitors do. It can be gutting to watch what was once your contemporary steam ahead in both profile and sales - I know I have been there in a previous life.

4. It Gets You Serious
 
You know you need a PR strategy long-term, so why put it off when you could be stepping up and stepping into the serious business that you really want to be?

5. You will get added benefits
 
Implementing a PR campaign will bring you so much more than just mere press coverage. You will increase in confidence, tackle a new skill and build relationships that will impact on your business over and over again.

6. And about building those relationships..
 
A press campaign is not just about sending out press releases, but about building up a relationship with the press…talking to them, perhaps even taking time out to meet them. Just like a friendship, a relationship with a journalist can’t be rushed…so why are you waiting around when you could be making a start?

7. Planning for the Future
 
I do come across businesses who say they will implement PR when they have the budget or have grown to a certain size. This is all very well and good but don’t they realise that they could be reaching those budgets or that growth now with the help of PR! Getting started on a PR campaign and then handing it over to a company or freelancer later puts you in a fabulous position. Having done PR you’ll know what you are talking about, be able to spot the deliverers from the mere promisers and be able to contribute to what should be a long-standing relationship with your PR agency.

Tags: ,
Posted in Business Development, Life as a Planner, PR | No Comments »

PR Etiquette

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Those of you who have attended our PR workshop or WPE seminar will be familiar with Paula from Do your own PR. She provides honest & sensible advice for small businesses empowering them to do their own PR. After all – no one has the passion or knowledge for a business like an owner. Paula will be providing tips and advice for us on a monthly basis and this month we are featuring a small section from her new book.

E is For

ETIQUETTE

PR Etiquette that is. Believe it or not, but there is an acceptable way to approach the press. A lot of it just boils down to old-fashioned good manners, just like any other form of communication, but it’s worth just going over the basics.

If you get a journalist on the phone, it’s polite to ask if now is a good time to speak. If it isn’t, ask when would be a good time to call back. If you just blather on with your pitch and they’ve got an editor breathing down their neck over a deadline, they’re never going to pay it the attention it deserves, so give yourself the best shot you can.

Again, just like making friends, you can’t rush these things. As owner and editor of www.chicklit.co.uk I get a lot of PR people phoning me up and my pet hate is someone that launches into gush speak, asking how I am like a long lost friend. It puts me on the wrong foot, as I’m silently thinking, “Who is the person. Have I lost my mind and forgotten them?” Actually, from their point of view, I’d be better off concentrating on what they say.

It’s polite to have actually read the publication that you’re pitching to, but it’s amazing how many people don’t. It’s even better if you can actually comment on something that came out in a recent edition to show that you’ve not only read the publication but also something that they have personally written.

If a journalist leaves you a message respond to them as soon as possible. Leaving a journalist hanging only means that they will go on to the next person on their list, and mark you off as hard to reach for the future.

It’s always better to send a journalist a hand-crafted personal message rather than a round-robin email sent to 200 contacts.

If you’ve promised a journalist something and it falls through, let them know as soon as possible so that they can find something to fill the space.

Never leave messages if you’re just cold calling a journalist. First, it allows them to ignore it. Second, once you’ve left two or more you start to sound like a stalker.

If you are responding to a media request it’s polite to keep to topic.  By all means send them stuff in future, as long as you know that what you are doing/selling is relevant to them. There’s no sense in building up a completely non-targeted media list just for the sake of it.

If a journalist covers you, say thank you. You don’t have to gush; just a straight-forward thanks can make all the difference.

Get their name right! Double check if you have to, and if you don’t know how to pronounce it, just come out with saying something like “… that’s a really unusual name, how do you pronounce it properly?”

We hope the tips are useful and if you’re hooked and want to invest in the book, it’s available here Do Your Own PR

 

 

Tags:
Posted in Business Development | 1 Comment »