I’ve always believed that the better you know a reporter, the more effectively you can pitch them. When you truly understand a reporter’s interests, his or her audience, how he or she likes to be pitched, and other important details, you’re better equipped to create a personalized pitch they’ll notice and respond to. And plus, reporters appreciate when you know who the hell they are. Read More
Crowdfunding only works if you capture your audience’s attention. Like it or not, a video is absolutely the best way to get that attention, no matter what your ultimate project will be.
I can’t tell you how many stories I hear of clueless CEOs who go out to their PR team and tell them to “make us a viral video.” Not knowing how the web really works, they think it’s as simple as coming up with the most genius idea ever, filming it, and collecting the money from the Internet truck that pulls up to your house (or something like that). Read More
There are many vital parts to a press release. Ideally, you want each and every aspect of the piece to be as amazing as possible, especially when you take into account how difficult it is for yours to get noticed by anyone. Read More
I don’t get sick a lot, but when I do, it hits me like a ton of bricks. I’m laid up for a few days hacking my brains out and trying to breathe the best I can just hoping it will pass by soon. Recently my bi-annual bout hit me and I was forced to take a week off. Well, I still worked from my bed, but it’s like I was taking sick days. Read More
Whether a press release gets printed by all the media outlets you wanted it to or completely tanks, there’s always a sense that there’s nothing else you can do with it. Its purpose has been used up and aside from plopping it up on your website’s “news” page, there’s no reason to keep it around. Read More
You spend a lot of time and money trying to get earned media. It’s a never-ending war filled with constant defeats in battle. But when you finally do receive positive media coverage, it’s a great feeling, right? What a lot of people don’t realize, however, is that your work isn’t finished. Now, you need to capitalize on your coverage to squeeze as much out of it as you can. Read More
I’m not going to lie. I have a hard time admitting when I’m wrong. But I’m not alone. Most people don’t like admitting they’re wrong. Pride is a tough thing to swallow, and we’ll go to any lengths to justify our mistakes and to pass the blame to someone else. Read More
Because most people tend to get their news online these days, most PR people have shifted their efforts from getting coverage in traditional newspapers and magazines to getting coverage on blogs and relevant websites. And while there are certainly many advantages to targeting online publications (e.g. you can reach a wider audience, drive traffic to your website, build links, target way more publications, etc.) that doesn’t mean you should neglect print media altogether. Print isn’t dead, and great opportunities still exist for spreading your message. Read More
We all know that SEO has evolved drastically over the past year or so. What once worked no longer works today, and if you don’t adapt, you run the risk of damaging your online presence. Simply put, the traditional SEO press release is dead. The days of stuffing your press releases with keywords and keyword-rich anchor text to drive up your search rankings are long gone. If you’re still doing those things, you need to stop…now. But does that mean that we should ignore SEO altogether when writing press releases? For example, should you stop including keywords in the headlines of your press releases? Read More