10 Ways to Prepare for Public Relations Controversy

Sometimes controversy rears its ugly head in your business. Whether you wake up one morning to unexpectedly find an unflattering story in the newspaper, or the trouble has been brewing for awhile, there are ways to make sure that you mitigate any public relations damage and see your company through to the other side of the storm. (Read more…)

Pay-for-Play PR – Is the Gamble Worth It?

Pay-for-play or pay-for-performance PR is a tempting proposition. It’s akin to lottery and casino come-ons, filled with the promise of winning the big jackpot. Only the jackpot here is landing a story placement in a major media outlet. (Read more…)

Online Press Release Myth – When Public Relations Equals SEO PageRank Voodoo

A phenomenon that his hit the press release world is the myth of the online press release as a SEO (Search Engine Optimization) vehicle. Reaching the media appears to be an afterthought. The goal of the online press release … well, no one agrees what is the goal of the press release, but SEO plays a part. (Read more…)

Press Releases … the Rodney Dangerfield of the Marketing World?

I promote the importance of press releases because they are the great equalizer. A small company, or even an individual, has as much chance of getting media attention as a big, well-financed company. Sure, the big company might be able to afford its own public relations department as well as coordinate with high-priced publicists. But the cornerstone of that big company’s PR campaign will be the lowly press release. (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…)

Public Relations Tips: How to Deal with Journalists’ Egos

I recently received an interesting email from a PR Fuel reader that serves as an interesting public relations talking-point: “I recently emailed a press release to a newspaper writer and then followed up with a call. The writer said she doesn’t pick up email but was interested because of the telephone pitch. (Read more…)

Bill Gates, PR Bankruptcy, and Your Last Dollar

“If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on public relations.”
- Bill Gates, Microsoft Founder

Is your company or organization suffering from PR bankruptcy? Have you created or maintained goodwill with the media by proactively distributing at least one press release a quarter over the past few years? (Read more…)