Reprinted from PRTakeoff.com
By Stacey Johnes and Regina Novickis
When we started PR Takeoff, we wanted to make sure we could genuinely empower business owners with the tools they need to handle their own public relations efforts. So while we get this question a lot, the reality is, if you know how to responsibly approach the press, in the ways that we empower you to do so, you do not need to be a public relations professional.
In fact, we were recently out to lunch discussing this very topic with one of our good friends who has been a producer for Entertainment Tonight, The Insider and Rachael Ray.
He said there are a few things that are important to him when someone contacts him to pitch a story:
- If he likes you, and you work easily with him. Well, isn’t this really true of business in general? Like in ANY form of business, it’s nice to know, like and trust those with whom you work. So does it help to know them? Yes. Is it necessary to get media coverage? No.
- Responsiveness. Often reporters are under deadline, so being responsive is critical. If you can’t help them in a timely fashion to meet their deadlines, they may very well move on to someone else.
- Ability to offer good pitch ideas and understand the media outlet for which he works. Don’t expect the media to cover you if you don’t understand the types of stories they like to cover.
In a nutshell, he doesn’t really care if you’re a professional PR person or not – he cares more that you know what you are doing and can make his job easier.
And not every PR person does a great job. In fact, some of our journalist friends have secretly told us they won’t take certain PR people’s calls.
When we both started our first agency jobs, we were handed lists of reporters to follow up with – we received no training and no guidance at all. We had to learn the hard way, but you can benefit from our learning so you can pitch like a pro.
At one time, we didn’t know our media friends either; we just used the tried and true tactics (we can now teach you!) in order to get our clients’ stories placed, and then fostered friendships with them over time. You can get to know media! It’s not just for PR people.
At the end of the day, they are people, and you can engage them in a number of ways:
- Go to media events. They do “meet and greets” to get to know companies and find new stories
- Offer coffee/lunch, etc. We like to offer to take a reporter a Starbucks to say a quick hello or, when we get to know them better, we may go out for cocktails or dinner. You can build a rapport with them just like you would with other people with whom you engage in business.
- These days, you can start “getting to know” the media by following them through their social networking forums. For example, read their blogs or follow them on Twitter.
Regina Novickis and Stacey Johnes have more than 30 years of combined experience helping both emerging and global brands take off and enter the spotlight through public relations. They apply their creativity, strategies and proven know-how to help business owners and experts get their message out to the world. If you’re ready to get your company off the ground and soaring through the incredible power of public relations, get your free tips now at www.PRTakeoff.com.
