7 Common PR Mistakes
by Ronald Schmidt, Rosswood Communications
A little bit of research and planning can go a long way toward achieving
success. I’ve seen many businesses enthusiastically launch a PR
campaign, but compromise their image dramatically by making a few amateur
mistakes. If you want your PR campaign to get off to a good start, avoid
these blunders.
1. Treating journalists the same way you treat your customers.
Journalists are interested in fresh ideas and new information they can
share with their readers. They are less interested in features and benefits
of your products, or actually purchasing your products. When putting together
your press materials, focus on what differentiates your products and services
from the competition and why they are important and relevant today. When
speaking with journalists, remember that you are selling them on an idea
for an article, not your product or company.
2. Starting at the top of the journalistic food chain.
What company wouldn’t want to have a positive profile in the Wall
Street Journal or New York Times? Needless to say, journalists at these
top publications are bombarded with pitches from every imaginable source,
and are not always eager to take phone calls, especially from sources
that don’t have a well-crafted pitch. You’ll have much better
success if you begin with trade publications in your industry and publications
in your local area. Save the top-tier business publications for later.
3. Lavishing journalists with gifts, lunches and other perks
Gifts and lunches may work with your customers, but they are unlikely
to sway most journalists. Many U.S. publications have policies that forbid
their staff from accepting gifts over a small dollar value, and American
journalists go to great lengths to avoid behavior that has any appearance
of bias. With their constant deadlines, journalists rarely have time for
leisurely lunches or tee times. A five-minute phone conversation is usually
far more effective.
4. Expecting wire services alone to generate press coverage.
Wire distribution services such as Businesswire, Marketwire and PR Newswire
are a good way to get your release out to lots of journalists and satisfy
SEC fair disclosure requirements. However, due to the volume of release
received each day, it’s unlikely that yours will generate any phone
calls or coverage, unless you work for a very large company (Microsoft,
Wal Mart, etc.) that the press closely watch. To greatly increase your
chances for coverage, email the release to a targeted list of 25 or 50
journalists and follow up with a phone call to each.
5. Calling journalists before sending written materials.
Most journalists prefer to receive story ideas in written press releases,
letters, and background documents. They can more easily dissect, categorize,
and share ideas with their editor if they are written down. The first
question you’ll likely hear if you reach a journalist over the phone
is, “Can you put that down on paper and send it to me?” Do
your homework and send the materials before you make the call.
6. Writing contributed articles before securing publication.
Contributed articles in trade publications are a great way to show potential
customers that you are an expert in your field. However, it’s a
lot of work to write up a crisp 1000+ word trend piece or how-to article,
and potentially a waste of time. Each trade publication has its own guidelines
for the style, length and technical detail of contributed articles, and
many will not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It’s easier for everyone
involved if you write a few paragraphs describing the scope of the article
and pitch it to a couple of publications. Once you’ve got the feedback
and a commitment from a publication, then you can write with confidence.
7. Putting all your eggs in the PR basket.
With PR, you make your best pitch to get journalists to write a positive
stories about your company and products. Unlike advertising and other
types of marketing, however, you can’t control the timing or amount
of exposure. For this reason, it’s wise to use PR as part of a broad
marketing campaign that includes a Web site, direct mail or email campaigns,
promotions, advertising, channel sales, trade shows, and so on.
(c) 2004 Ronald Schmidt
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ronald Schmidt, principal of Rosswood Communications, is an accomplished
writer, editor and manager with 16 years of communications experience.
For more information on available PR services, see www.rosswood-inc.com.
