press releases

May 1, 2009
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 And that was only the start of Anderson’s tirade against public relations professionals who keep sloppy, out-of-date lists of press contacts.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…)
How to Keep Your Public Relations Strategy “On Message”

A politician gets asked about abortion and the answer somehow comes back to education. They’re asked about tax reform and the answer relates to education. Foreign policy is inexplicably linked to, you guessed it, education. What’s going on here? The politicians are using messaging points, the essential and core elements of an argument or pitch. It’s the message that you want to get across, regardless of the subject. It’s like getting a piece of press on “your terms.” Too often, success in public relations is measured by how much publicity you get. But if the publicity isn’t “on message,” what good is it? (Read more…)
April 29, 2009
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…)
April 24, 2009
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…)
April 22, 2009
Mickie Plants Trees, Does Push Ups - What’s Wrong With This Picture?

I have to admit, I’m not very green. I resent recycling. I don’t drive a hybrid. But I love trees. And I like Planet Earth — both the series and the orbiting sphere on which I reside. When I started eReleases, I liked the idea of taking paper out of the equation (physically mailing and faxing press releases was still being done in earnest 11 years ago). For me, it was about being efficient. (Read more…)
April 21, 2009
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…)
April 15, 2009
Public Relations vs. Journalism: Clashing Agendas

It’s perhaps one of the longest running questions in public relations: How do you deal with a journalist who has an agenda? Some journalists do have agendas; columnists are paid to comment on the news and provide opinion, not just report the news. Even in traditional reporting, sometimes a personal agenda seeps into a story. Just as every public relations consultant has their own style, background, level of intelligence, gifts, resources, etc., so does every journalist. (Read more…)
February 2, 2009
A Few Reminders for the Public Relations Industry

The Post-it notes were piling up on my desk with plenty of reminders for those who work in public relations. PR newbies should, of course, take these suggestions to heart. And while these tips may seem obvious to public relations vets, that’s precisely why it’s so crucial they’re not forgotten. (Read more…)
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…)
January 16, 2009
Make Sure Your Press Release Contains “Just the Facts”

A press release is not an advertisement. A press release is a subtle piece of advertorial: a combination of advertising and editorial content. The point of advertising is to bring a product, service, or cause to the attention of a consumer, voter, volunteer, or contributor. It involves matching the right content with the right audience. A press release is in one sense an advertisement, but in this case your audience is the media. You’re selling them an idea for a story instead of a product or service, though, and it’s crucial you understand what journalists don’t want to hear. (Read more…)