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August 25, 2011
5 Things Bloggers Can Learn From Journalists
While the face of journalism is certainly changing, bloggers would still be wise to take notes on the way traditional journalists approach their news stories. (Read more…)
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August 24, 2011
The 6 Worst Press Release Headline Mistakes You Can Make
Writing a great headline is one of the most important things you need to do to get your press release read. A great headline entices the reader and invites them to check out your story. It tells them to keep reading. (Read more…)
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August 19, 2011
How to Make Yourself Valuable to a Reporter Contact
News reporters deal with PR pros all day long, every day. Whether they’re hounding them for information, demanding they put their fabulous and epic press release in the latest edition of the newspaper, or just sending the 500th follow up email wondering why the reporter hasn’t responded yet. If you’re one of the many bothering a reporter every day, the likelihood of he or she answering you is very slim. However, if you get on their good side, they may in fact be calling YOU. (Read more…)
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March 17, 2011
How to Write a Killer Press Release in 15 Minutes
If you’ve taken my advice and employed the leaky faucet approach to PR, you’re writing a number of press releases on a consistent basis. Obviously, you don’t want to spend any more time writing your press releases than you have to. (Read more…)
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November 11, 2010
Stop Writing Press Releases. Start Writing Feature Releases.
Before everyone gets up in arms, I’m not here to say that the press release is dead. It’s not. What I am here to say is that the old way of writing press releases may no longer be the best tactic. No, I’m not just talking about SEO and optimizing your press releases. I’m talking about much more than that. (Read more…)
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October 6, 2010
How to Create News When You Don’t Have Any
In the past, I mentioned that one of the strategies used by PR magnets (those people who always seem to get media coverage for their clients) is the leaky faucet approach to PR. This involves dropping a steady series of press releases over time to eventually get media coverage. Basically, by constantly being there with a story, the PR magnet is counting on eventually having the right story reach the right person at the right time. (Read more…)
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March 31, 2010
How to Use Feature Stories as a Public Relations Tool
In journalism terms, a feature story is an “evergreen” story, meaning that its significance won’t fade over time. While the exploits of the latest celebutant have a limited shelf life, evergreen feature stories can run at any time. (Read more…)
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February 25, 2010
6 Common Mistakes PR Pros Make
Public relations is a fast paced world not for the faint of heart. Before you start email blasting press releases and spinning molehills into mountains, consult this list of the 6 most common PR mistakes: (Read more…)
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February 24, 2009
Public Relations Don’ts: Blacklisting Is Bad for Business
Blacklisting journalists who write negative stories about your company is tempting, but all it accomplishes is building conflict between your company and the media. One main goal of public relations is to build bridges, not burn them. (Read more…)
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January 20, 2009
Learning from a Century of Press Releases
On October 28, 1906, the Pennsylvania Railroad issued what is believed to be the first press release. The release was the idea of the company’s outside public relations counsel, Ivy Ledbetter Lee, and it revolutionized how companies and organizations delivered information to the public. And modern-day public relations professionals can still learn plenty from the story of that very first press release. (Read more…)