The PR Fuel Mailbag: Size Matters, Press Release Confusion, Finding a PR Firm, and More

The PR Fuel mailbag once again runneth over. I’ve taken some of the more interesting letters I’ve received over the past few months and answered readers’ questions about the world of public relations. Newbies and vets alike should find the following Q&A helpful in navigating the day-to-day world of PR. (Read more…)

Press Release Distribution for Maximum Media Pickup

Bernetta writes:

I’m old and new in the business. That is, I was in the business for a long time and have been away from PR for more than seven years. I believe folks are emailing press releases today rather than snail-mailing them. Is that correct? And if I don’t have the budget to use your service, what is the best way to get my press release out?

Mickie responds:

The best way to distribute a press release is to take your newsworthy announcement and put it in the hands of the five or six key media who cover your industry. That isn’t easy for most people. (Read more…)

Public Relations Basics: Keep Your List of Press Contacts Updated

A few years ago, Wired magazine editor-in-chief caused a ruckus when he announced he was banning public relations consultants from his email inbox. “I get more than 300 emails a day and my problem isn’t spam, it’s PR people,” Anderson wrote. “Lazy flacks send press releases to the Editor in Chief of Wired because they can’t be bothered to find out who on my staff, if anyone, might actually be interested in what they’re pitching.” And that was only the start of Anderson’s tirade against public relations professionals who keep sloppy, out-of-date lists of press contacts. (Read more…)

Personal Public Relations Blunders: A Cautionary Tale

Lately, I’ve been taking time to reflect. Part of this reflection has concentrated on my career, and more often than not I’m dwelling on my failures, rather than my successes. More than a few of those failures are related to public relations, and considering they say you learn more from your mistakes than from your triumphs, a look at some of my public relations blunders should provide a little insight in what not to do in the future. (Read more…)

Feature Me!

Small or large, all companies hunger for feature stories highlighting the positive elements of their businesses. Feature stories in newspapers or magazines make for great calling cards when trying to close a deal, hire employees, attract investors, and draw consumers, clients, or customers. Getting the story published, however, can be a gut-wrenching and lengthy affair. Getting the story to read how you want is even more difficult. Here are five tips for pitching a feature story and making it a public relations winner. (Read more…)

Be Careful Not to Create Your Own Public Relations Crisis

Late last week, I received “the freak-out call.”  Back when I was a journalist, one public relations rep or another would call, frantic about a client I was about to portray negatively in a column or story. As a journalist, the freak-out call was a guilty pleasure; sometimes it even provided information for a story that I might not have gotten without the freak-out. The call I received last week revealed what it was like to be on the public relations end of a potential negative news story, and a self-made crisis was narrowly averted through careful crisis management. (Read more…)

The PR Fuel Mailbag: Press Releases as Email Attachments, Expert Quotes. and Loudmouth CEOs

Q: I need to send out a press release that includes graphics. But many public relations pros say not to send out press releases as an attachment. What should I do? (Read more…)

PR Media Coverage

It’s easy for public relations firms to overestimate the impact of media coverage. Unless you land your client on the cover of Time or the front page of the New York Times, it can be disheartening to see how little impact a single piece of media coverage brings. My own history with media coverage is an example of how difficult it is to quantify the benefits of media coverage in the public relations world. (Read more…)

Turning Other People’s PR Lemons Into PR Lemonade

Very few companies get PR. Many think a press release is a high-resolution PDF created on company letterhead that looks pretty. (Read more…)

Breaking Your Press Release Addiction

When looking for free publicity, companies and individuals alike often think a press release is not only their best bet, but their only bet. But a press release, even well-crafted one, will be useless if the story it’s touting doesn’t grab the attention of journalists. One newsworthy story is worth a dozen press releases. (Read more…)