Dealing With Limited Resources

My company, for example, has exactly one person dealing with PR issues – me.

I do all the pitching, handle all of the inbound media requests, prepare all of the press releases, train all of our editors and analysts on how to speak to the media – and I actually do about 95% of the interviews myself. … Read more

Is Your Client an Idiot?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Probably.

I don’t know if the heat is getting to people or what, but lately I’ve been hearing some horror stories from PR people about their clients. In every case I’ve analyzed the PR person has been right and the client has been woefully wrong. Unfortun… Read more

A Bad Press Release Doesn’t Get Better By Sending It Over And Over Again

What Annoys Reporters Most About Press Releases

When asked the question, “What annoys you about press releases?” Yahoo! Finance’s Rick Newman said, “The ones sent to me 2, 3 4 times, as if I’ll be more likely to respond; sending irrelevant material multiple times doesn’t make it any more relevant.”

Look, … Read more

What NOT to do when a Reporter Rejects Your Pitch

Rejection isn’t something that most of us handle well. From the time we were kids and a little boy or girl we had a crush on shot us down, we’ve never gotten used to the painful sting and disappointment of rejection. And the fact is that any kind of rejection sucks. It’s not just in love. Rejection in your busine… Read more

Why You Shouldn’t Say ‘No Comment’ to the Media

The media can prove a great outlet for free press for your small business, as you have probably come to realize from reading this blog. A well written, well targeted press release can get you the publicity you require to get eyes to turn your direction and get your products moving. However, when something go… Read more

5 Reasons People Hate PR Pros

Public Relations professionals have a PR problem of their own. While they work tirelessly to shape public perception for others, they often find themselves cast as spin doctors and manipulators. The irony isn’t lost on anyone, least of all PR pros themselves.

It seems like I can hardly go a day with… Read more

3 Ways to Pitch Stories Like a Journalist

Editors are simple people. It may not seem so to the hapless PR person who has pitched, pitched and pitched some more in the vain hope of snagging an editor’s valuable attention, but editors truly do have only a few basic wants. They want an easy day, a cordial working environment and, in the end, to put out a su… Read more

Are You Unhappy With Your Public Relations Job?

These days it seems like everyone I know in the public relations game is looking for a new job. If nothing else, the sheer amount of people I know looking for a change in the public relations industry–I honestly believe that about 50 percent of the PR reps I know are looking to change employers–s… Read more

What It Takes to Be a PR Person

PR is an intense and difficult job that can be rewarding and disappointing. It can be exciting, and mind-numbingly boring. PR, more often than not, is misunderstood by people outside of the industry.

Increasingly, the lines between PR, marketing and advertising are becoming more blurred, taking the in… Read more

Dealing With Tragedy

The business world was shocked on Monday when it was announced that McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Jim Cantalupo had died of an apparent heart attack.

“It is with great sadness that I announce that Jim Cantalupo, our Chairman and CEO, died suddenly and unexpectedly of an apparent heart attack t… Read more