Bad timing by senders is the single biggest reason journalists reject media pitches. One in four journalists in the Muck Rack 2021 State of Journalism survey said bad timing by PR pros consistently reduced the number of email pitches the journalists open. This article explains how better timing of your media pitches will increase your success.
Read moreIn addition to sending media releases to the news media, many organizations also have a list of bloggers on their distribution list. It is important for bloggers that you include a link to the URL of your media release, which you should have ensured has been posted in your website. If the release contains some useful news, bloggers will comment something like: “XYZ Company announced in a news release today that they plan to ...
Read more
Like most of life, media relations – or publicity or earned media as it is also called – has grown more complex in recent years. The good news is that this activity has become more scientific and focused over time. And media relations is still extremely important to public communication despite the decline of the newsroom everywhere. Since there are fewer opportunity to get media coverage now, you should ensure your media relations campaigns should have a strategic purpose.
Read moreTelevision interview of Kim Harrison in 2016, when he was CEO of Crime Stoppers Western Australia, about the seizure of weapons in a drug campaign. A media release quoting him as spokesperson was included with the interview. Recently I wrote an article on using alternative words to “excited” to express happiness in press releases: “Use better words than “excited” in your writing.” Christopher Penn obviously feels the same, as he says in his recent ...
Read moreNew York blogger and web marketing consultant, BL Ochman, said she has finally learnt the magic question to ask a reporter when pitching a story angle. In one of her blogs, Ochman said it is fine for the story angle to be featured in the media and for the reporter to be interested your potential as a future source of news. But first you need to ask the magic question: "Will you include the ...
Read moreWhen seeking a suitable story angle for an article or other text, the task can seem quite difficult. We can’t be experts or even very knowledgeable about everything, and therefore we are not sure where to start. One of the best ways to find good angles is to do your homework – dig up background information and facts that will illuminate your understanding of the topic. Do your homework Google is the logical starting ...
Read more
Traditional media relations activity has consisted of a ‘push’ approach to providing information to the media. The internet provides a ‘pull’ approach in which a journalist obtains information from your website only when they want it. Many journalists use the web as a basic research tool. They start their research on your organization by accessing your website directly. Others start their research by using a search engine such as Google. This creates a need for you to ensure you have optimized your site for the major search engines.
Whether we are an in-house communicator or a consultant, we know a speech isn't worth giving unless it reaches the right audience and directly supports your organization's or client’s mission and goals. Reaching the right audience means reaching more people than those who attend on the day. It means promoting the speech in various ways to maximize the benefits from the opportunity. Firstly, some tips for ‘selling’ a speech proposal As a communicator you ...
Read moreGood media coverage is still a key objective for most communicators. One way to maximize the odds of better coverage is to make it easier for reporters to find the information they want in your website. Most reporters these days use the web as their most important search tool. Web usability guru Jakob Nielsen conducted a series of studies on media use of the web to access corporate information. He found that most journalists ...
Read more
Readers are so overloaded with information in modern media that they ruthlessly filter out what they don’t want. Strong headlines and first paragraphs are crucial to good writing in news and social media. Find out here some great, simple techniques for writing strong headlines
Read moreCommunication is at the core of every organization. In fact, members of the recent, mainly European-based, "Communication Constitutes Organization" (CCO)
COVID-19 has driven change in the PR profession – through the shift to WFH and hybrid work. Communicators have earned
Organizational socialization or onboarding is used in both marketing and staffing processes. When done right, it can help you retain
Join 5,000+ subscribers to our free newsletter, Cutting Edge PR Connections, and get awesome communication tips and articles delivered monthly direct to your inbox. PLUS a $10 voucher to my Amazon paperback books, which normally sell for $19.95 each.
