To start off, let me make it very clear that the PR business is 100% service driven and if you need to get something done, you have to do it yourself. Now that that’s out of the way, PR can be very effective and pay off for all the effort that you put in if done right and thoughtfully – more so than paid ads etc.
At the end of the day, our job is to get publicity for our clients, visibility for the launch, announcement, product, hire that they want people to know about. So we work with our contacts and the media outlets made up of bloggers, writers, journalists, columnists, mommy bloggers (whatever they call themselves these days) to get a story published. They are the gatekeepers to an established audience that we need to get in font of. So how do we do it?

 

  1. Develop the story – Get all the information: Your client has something that they want to announce. PR professionals will work with them and ask all the right questions to get the info we need to create a compelling and interesting story.
  2. Pick the right time – Timing matters: Just because something is ready, doesn’t means that it is the right time. Try to see trends in the market place, conferences taking place or even the day of the week. You need to reach out to the press well in advance, so that you can time the announcement properly.
  3. Writing the story – This is the bread and butter of your announcement: The head needs to clearly state what it is about because that is what most people will see, so it needs to catch their eye; the sub header will back it up. As I say to my clients, always focus on the benefits benefits benefits to the consumer.
  4. Pitching the story – Never sell something that you don’t believe in: In this day and age you need to be honest and transparent, if something smells fishy there are a lot of other people pitching your targets and they will move right along. Also, please do research to make sure that your targets would actually be interested in the story, see what they have covered in the past and what their interests are.
  5. Getting coverage – If it was easy, everyone would do it: You will be measured by the coverage that you get your client in the end, so work hard to get it. Make sure you have some type of measure/analytics in place to track views, traffic and if you can sales (they love this!).
  6. Keep your client happy – You’re in the business of making other people famous: If you secured press for your client, they will be well aware of it and be very grateful (until next time). If you didn’t then you need to show them that you tried your best, executed the plan you put together for them and go from there.
It’s a process that everyone must follow and one that you need to master in order to be successful. While it is easier said than done to do, you sometimes just need to hold your clients hand along the process as you build your relation with them. In business, everyone has thei

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