Media Relations 101
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Public Relations defined by my mentor, John J. Verstraete "Do good things. Tell people about it."
In his book, Duct Tape Marketing, John Jantsch defines Public Relations this way, "Public Relations activity for small business consists primarily of gaining positive mention of you company or your products in newspapers, magazines, news shows, newsletters, web sites and journals read by some portion of your target market."
Let's start with the simple "Do good things. Tell people about it." Before anything else, you first have to do something good. That may be helping a business in becoming more profitable, it may be opening your training facilities to nonprofits, or it may be receiving an award - but you get the point. Do good things.
Next you'll want to become familiar with the work of the writer, blogger editor you plan to contact. Who do they write for? What do they write about? Twitter, Facebook, Google Alerts and Google searches are you best friends in doing this research. Also think about "Who are they writing for?" Just like you, they have a target audience; get a feel for who that audience is.
Prepare what you are going to say in your pitch to the writer. I recommend writing it down and playing the "So what?" game with your summary before you call the writer - that's where you look at your message and ask "So what?" and then respond to yourself. (So what if you sold Sage MIP Fund Accounting to XYZ nonprofit? So, because they are more efficient, they are now poised to increase their outreach to unassisted seniors by 30 percent.)
Make it easy for the reporter or writer. "I have a story about a nonprofit helping even more seniors and I think that it would be of interest to your readers because..."
Do give the writer's email request or phone call top priority. Drop everything and respond because often writers are working under tight deadlines. You are busy, but you are also the one that will gain the most from having a good relationship with the writer.
Do refer them to someone who would serve as a better source than you. If you can answer their questions and/or provide a quote - that's great. But if you're asked something outside your area of expertise, and you know someone who is better equipped to answer, suggest that person to the writer.
Do remember that you are developing this relationship for the long term. Nurture that relationship. Continue to reach out to the writer.
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