Tag Archive for: Relationships

6 questions: Simon Sharwood, Editor, My Business

/in , /by

Next up in our series finding out how journalists like to work, any issues they have with PRs, how they like stories to be pitched to them, etc, is Simon Sharwood, Editor of My Business magazine – the monthly magazine for ambitious business owners.

1)      What is your deadline day?

My Business goes to print on the third Thursday of the month, so I am generally flat out in the week before that date.

We also publish daily online.

I also edit another magazine, Government Technology Review.  It goes to print in the last week of even-numbered months.

2)      How do you prefer to be contacted (i.e. email, phone, fax, post)?

Phone. I keep being told about the importance of conversation to build relationships – and then people send me an email. I like to be called because it’s more effective than email and a lot more personal too.

3)      Is there a particular time of day you prefer to be contacted?

Just call. I’ll either answer or you’ll go to voicemail 😉 But I am a good caller-back, nearly always same day.

4)      Do you like to meet companies and bosses for coffee/ lunch? If yes, do you have any favourite venues?

Yes. I’m honestly happy to meet over a plate of vegemite sandwiches, because I value information more than I value hospitality. If you’ve got a good story to tell, I’m far happier to hear it at a bus-stop than I am waiting for a meal to arrive at a posh restaurant. Please don’t think I’m churlish about hospitality: I just prefer rapid exchange of ideas no matter what environment it takes place in. And I don’t have the time for long lunches or stunts that involve hovercraft rides.

I prefer to do things in and around North Sydney, where our office is located. Travel time is a killer. The Local Café is as good as any. And To’s Malaysian [3/181 Miller Street, North Sydney NSW 2060, (02) 9955 2088] makes the best Har Mee soup this side of KL.

5)      What are your three pet peeves about PRs?

One: PRs who pitch without ever having read publications I work on and therefore make nonsensical, time-wasting, pitches.

Two: Emails that aren’t personalized, or that are forwarded. Even Spam manages to name me, so emails that start “Hi” or “Dear Journalist” are less professional than Spam!

Three: Being invited to events later than other media. This often happens when PRs cannot get a decent turn-up at an event, so they turn to their B-list in the hope of getting enough people in the room to impress the client. Journos know when this happens: we’re pretty well networked people.

6)      What would the perfect story pitch be for you? And what’s the best PR pitch you have ever had?

A perfect pitch would tell a story that I’ve never heard before, one that is full of surprises and interesting people who generously share experiences that my readers will find interesting and so educational they cannot imagine why no-one has ever told them about this before.

I’m yet to get the best pitch ever.

Share this post: Add to FaceBookAdd to StumbleUponAdd to Twitter

How to pitch to journalists

/in , /by

Public relations certainly isn’t all about media relations, but it is a major element. Knowing how to pitch stories and how to build relationships with journalists is a crucial part of our success.

One thing to think about is whether to pitch by phone or email. This can come down to personal preference, the nature of the story, how well you know the journalist you’re pitching to, the time of day. It’s not a broad brush approach, so think about this for every pitch you make. Journalists are more and more favouring email over phone calls, which can disrupt their day much more. Also, in this modern age of social media consider using services such as Twitter to pitch. There’s certainly skill in pitching a story in 140 characters and it’s direct and much more immediate.

Here are some other key things to bear in mind.

1)      Know your story: this may sound obvious, but can you sum your story up in two or three sentences or a few bullet points?

2)      Make it relevant: why should a particular journalist care about what you have to say? Even if you’re working from a news release that has been approved by the client you can vary the pitch and pick out different elements according to who you’re talking to. And don’t forget about the ‘extras’, e.g. interviews, exclusive additional content, photos, etc. Be targeted

3)      Do your research: use media databases such as MEDIAtlas (paid-for) and  MediaSync (free) to find contact details and the right contacts, but also try to look at a publication or website, listen to a radio station or watch a particular television show – know who covers what, what’s been covered on your topic recently and whether a particular journalist always wants exclusives

4)      Respect deadlines: if you’re calling a journalist always check whether it’s a good time to talk, you don’t want to launch straight into a pitch if they’re on a deadline; it won’t be appreciated

5)      Get to the point: even if a journalist says it is a good time to talk, make sure you get to the point (this links back to knowing your story) – they haven’t got all day; some journalists will receive many calls and hundreds of emails a day

6)      Be professional: be friendly but don’t be over-pally if it’s the first time you’ve spoken to someone. With the first contact you have no credibility and no history, so it will take time to establish this

7)      Don’t spam: similarly, consider whether a story really is relevant to someone, if you’ve made a media list using something like MEDIAtlas make sure there aren’t duplicates in the list so you don’t call or email someone more than once

8)      Be available: if you’re pitching a story make sure you’re around and ready to deal with any requests or follow ups from journalists otherwise you could miss out

9)      Follow up with caution: if you’ve sent an email pitch, don’t just follow it with a call saying “did you get my email?”, consider whether you can offer anything else – what justifies your follow up call? Perhaps in your email you can say “I’ll call in a day or two to get your feedback, unless I hear from you beforehand” – at least then you’ve given a warning!

10)   Know when to give up: sometimes a story is perfect for someone, and you know it, so you keep trying, but sometimes you will be flogging a dead horse of a story so you need to know when to call it quits. If your  story isn’t flying, think about why and what you can do to change this in the future, it’s our job as PRs to advise our clients of the best course of action after all

If you’re planning a long and illustrious career in the PR industry it’s vital to understand how the media works and how to work with the media. Think long-term relationships and making friends. If you do a journalist a favour, turn around stories quickly and efficiently, pitch the right things to the right people, you’ll make a good name for yourself and journalists will, in turn, listen to you.

What do you think? Are you a PR with a journalist pitch story to tell? Are you a journalist with strong opinions about how PRs pitch stories to you (this is most of you, surely?!)? Do you have anything to add to this? We’d love to hear from anyone with advice or anecdotes.

Share this post: Add to FaceBookAdd to StumbleUponAdd to Twitter

6 questions: Fiona Donnelly, Queensland taste Editor, The Courier-Mail

/in /by

Over the coming months we will be approaching a few top Brisbane and Queensland journalists, as well as a few specialists, to find out how they like to work, any issues they have with PRs, how they like stories to be pitched to them, etc. First up is Fiona Donnelly, Queensland taste Editor from The Courier-Mail. (And yes, we know it’s technically 8 questions.)

1)      What is your deadline day?

I file every Wednesday for the following Tuesday. If you’re sending releases for taste, the general rule is the longer the lead-time given, the better the chance that I’ll be able to use something. Feel free to send a follow-up email closer to the date, if you haven’t heard anything back.

2)      How do you prefer to be contacted (i.e. email, phone, fax, post)?

Email is always best – unless it’s urgent.

3)      Is there a particular time of day you prefer to be contacted?

If you’re emailing – email anytime! If you’re phoning, please don’t call me on Monday (it’s production day for taste).

4)      Do you like to meet companies and bosses for coffee/ lunch? If yes, do you have any favourite venues?

Happy to meet anyone, anywhere – as long as there’s a scoop in the offing.

5)      What are your three pet peeves about PRs?

Generally I don’t like being called by PRs to check if there’s any interest in an email/event – if you’ve sent the email, the odds are I’ll have received it and if there’s interest I’ll certainly phone or email for more information.

6)      What would the perfect story pitch be for you? And what’s the best PR pitch you have ever had?

Haven’t had any stand-out pitches from PRs – the pitch really isn’t the important aspect for me. If your information is timely – i.e. if it’s provided to me before the marketing emails and press releases are sent out generally; and if it’s of interest to The Courier-Mail taste reader, then it’s a good pitch!

Share this post: Add to FaceBookAdd to StumbleUponAdd to Twitter

How not to do social media

/2 Comments/in , /by

‘Social media’ is still the marketing buzz phrase, but lots of companies still don’t know how to work with it and make it work for them. Here are a few things NOT to do.

1)      Sell, sell, sell: social media is all about building relationships, getting referrals, having conversations with people on your wavelength. Use it as a PR tool, not for direct sales. It won’t work otherwise. If you don’t put out good content, there’s no value, so no one will be interested in what you have to say.

2)      Join too many sites: it’s better to do one or two sites really well, than too many badly. Be strategic about which one(s) you choose then make the most of them. Make sure your profiles are always completed and updated regularly.

3)      Be argumentative: it might get some attention in the short term, but think about the long term, who wants to listen to the moaning argumentative colleague in the office?

4)      Take, take, take: social media is about relationships. Those involve give and take. Give advice, ideas, tips, information, thanks, etc, and you will get back. Constantly think about what value you are adding.

5)      Don’t join any groups: social media is an online community, so that involves sharing information and expertise, so joining groups is a great way to contribute, sign post what you’re interested in, what discussions have authority to contribute to, where you can add value.

Finally, even though social media is what everyone’s talking about, good old face-to-face meetings and events are not to be sniffed at. They can be an excellent extension of social media. In fact, social media can be a great way to extend your offline network.

Share this post: Add to FaceBookAdd to StumbleUponAdd to Twitter

How to be the perfect client

/in , , /by

Let it be said that obviously all of our clients are wonderful to work with, but everyone has their ‘moments’ so we thought it would be a useful exercise to look at what clients can do to help their PR agencies so that time is being spent in the work that will get the best results possible.

Believe it or not, you play a crucial role in ensuring our success with your organisation. We will show enthusiasm and understanding for your business and listen to your daily pressures, but similarly in a perfect world there are certain criteria that go towards making the perfect client.

1)      Let’s work as a team: don’t make it be you vs. us, we want to be part of your team, like an extension of your in-house department, so let’s work together like that. We might be able to bring a different perspective to the table as well, so use it. We want to be a partner, not just another supplier. We’ll need input from you as well; if you think we can work in silo you won’t get the best from the relationship

2)      Trust us and listen to our advice: you hired us for our insights and expertise, so please listen to us. We might not always tell you what you want to hear, but we never said it was going to be easy.

3)      Share and share alike: share your information with us as much as possible as early as possible, if we don’t know the full picture we can’t sell your stories.

4)      Don’t set us up to fail: give us reasonable timeframes and reasonable budgets to allow us to do the best job possible and have realistic expectations of what can be achieved.

5)      Appreciate the value of PR: you hired us so hopefully that means you have an understanding of PR and what it can achieve.

6)      Give us time: it will take a while for us to establish relationships with you and your audiences, give us at least six months. If you’re not happy after that, then you need to have serious words with us.

7)      Work out how you will determine success: work with us to come up with some measurable goals so we’ll both know whether something’s worked and has been a success, for example just because it’s a big media title doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right one for your business, so, if you’ve told us who your audiences are, listen to us on that one.

8)      Speak up: if you don’t like what we’re doing, at any point, tell us. We’d rather hear it and try and fix it than not know and have you suffer in silence or worse still, sack us.

9)      Know what you want: the better the brief, the better the solution.

10)   Make your mind up: if you must change your mind about something make sure you understand and appreciate the implications.

11)   More work means more money: we’re a business too and much as we love you, we don’t work for free.

12)   Pay us on time: slow payers get slow workers.

13)   Give credit where it’s due: it’s nice to get a thank you.

And on the nitty gritty day-to-day stuff:

14)   Appreciate deadlines: you have deadlines, we have deadlines, journalists have even tighter deadlines and generally if we don’t hit them we’ll miss the opportunity.

15)   Be prepared: if you’ve got an interview and we’ve given you briefing notes, please read them.

16)   Know the value of a good picture: good photography is very important; it can make or break a story.

17)   Understand the bigger picture: you or your product aren’t always going to be the main event, there’s a lot of news and competing information out there.

18)   You might need to wait for coverage: we’re pitching to long lead and short lead media, stories might not appear straight away.

19)   Be available: if a story is breaking, make sure you’re available should journalists need to talk to you.

20)   Have a laugh: everything’s much better when you have a laugh with us.

Obviously no-one’s perfect, but hopefully the above points have given some food for thought. Do you agree with us?

Share this post: Add to FaceBookAdd to StumbleUponAdd to Twitter