I love this time of year… temperatures go down and gratitude goes up. As I celebrate a milestone anniversary with my husband, I’m reminded why we chose this month to get married. It’s the season for counting our blessings, giving thanks, and taking stock of the meaningful relationships in our lives.

Just as our personal relationships enrich our private life, it’s also important to be mindful of the media relationships we foster on a daily basis. Editors receive hundreds of email pitches a day, most of which might be quickly deleted. So how do you spark a connection with the media- and maintain that connection- to ensure your emails aren’t passed over? Nurturing a work relationship isn’t really that different than say, marriage. If you look closely, you’ll see some of the same rules apply…

· Respect their Interests: You wouldn’t take your vegetarian husband out for a steak dinner, right? So don’t pitch an editor off beat! A home editor doesn’t want fashion pitches and a fashion editor couldn’t care less about a parenting pitch. Be familiar with your targeted media before you pitch. If you’re unsure that something might be of interest to them, just ask in the beginning of your pitch. That way, they’ll know you’re being mindful to them personally and not blindly pitching.

· Don’t Take Them For Granted: Just because an editor expressed interest once, by no means does that open the flood gate to pitch them anything and everything. Also, if an editor is interested and requests a sample or more information, doesn’t mean they committed to featuring you. Be sensitive to that as you follow up to gauge editorial plans.

· Compliment, Comment, Communicate: My personal 3 C’s for married life are pretty basic and also resonate when working with the media. Read their features and if you liked a particular story, send a quick email to compliment their writing, comment on their blog posts, follow them on Twitter, like them on Facebook. You get the idea… expand your communication beyond your pitches.

· Be Considerate: After an editor has expressed interest in your pitch and requested a sample, more information, or images, take time to follow up with them- and not just to find out if your client is going to be featured (you can quietly cross your fingers for a while). Instead, follow up soon to confirm they received the sample or if the additional information you provided was adequate. A quick little follow up can go a long way.

So take this month as a timely reminder to develop relationships with your media contacts. Much like marriage it takes time and effort, but the result can be pure PR bliss.

Melanie Anderson
Publicist

More than any other reason, companies are often reluctant to jump into PR because of the cost. It’s not in the budget. Can’t afford it. Yes, I get it.

But consider this – there is no better, more effective way to reach a national audience than through the editorial press. Compare PR to advertising and, well, there’s no comparison. An ad will cost you more and won’t resonate nearly as much. Think of it this way; an advertisement or commercial is YOU saying how great YOU are. With PR, you benefit by editorial media (respected journalists, editors, producers, reporters, anchors) telling others how great you are. Now, that is worth something! And what’s more, it costs you much less.

This month alone we had clients featured by premiere glossies like Weight Watchers Magazine and Real Simple Magazine. A paid ad in those publications can run from $100,000 – $300,000. We continue to get clients placed on national TV like The Today Show. That same 30 second spot would cost around $80,000. That’s not counting the production costs to actually make the commercial!

For companies that don’t choose PR or advertising and instead choose to do nothing, you’re essentially keeping your business a secret. Consumers are fussier than ever about how and where to spend their money. Leave it up to them to find you on their own and choose to buy without prompting is a risk – at best!

So, no money for PR? Think again!

Can you afford not to?

Ann Noder

A press release isn’t what it used to be. With advancements in technology and instant communication, came a more personable way of reaching the media. A more modern way to pitch is, well, a pitch. This offers a better way of presenting a story to the media and allows you to change the angle in order to hit the sweet spot of your targeted audience.

That said, press releases can still hold their own when it comes to major announcements such as a business or new product launch and some editors, reporters, and producers may request one. If you’re going to craft a press release, make sure you’re savvy to the do’s and don’ts. Here are a few pointers.

· Ask yourself why press should pay attention to your release. Then answer this by making it newsworthy with a seasonal angle, newness factor, or a timely news hook.

· Capture the media’s attention with the heading and sub-heading. Hold their attention with the body of the release.

· Get the facts in the first paragraph, and incorporate the “Five W’s” (who, what, where, why, when) within the first two sentences.

· Write as if media has no concept of the business or product/service. It is important the release explains everything as if it’s the first time they are learning about it, even if this reiterates some information you’ve already provided in an initial pitch or conversation.

· Limit the release to one page whenever possible. If two pages are necessary, try not to break up a paragraph between pages.

· A press release is the formal gown to your pitch’s sundress… while your initial pitch should always be professional, the language may be more relaxed since it’s an informal email. In a release, make sure to avoid run-on sentences, punctuation errors, and of course typos and misspellings.

Remember- the power of a press release lies not only in why you write it, but how well it’s written.

Melanie Anderson
Publicist

In the PR world, we are often asked if September is too late to gain holiday coverage. The short answer is NO. There are still plenty of opportunities to score coveted holiday coverage. Each media type works at its own pace and organizes holiday features at different points throughout the year.

Magazines work with the longest lead times. Some of the larger top-tier publications can work as far as six months out. But this is not the case for all magazines. Some magazines work with a three month lead time and autumn represents the final opportunity to secure scheduled holiday features. Print magazines are still in the game – we can target the publications that are scouting holiday stories.

Online sources are a sure bet. Not only are major websites preparing their holiday timelines, but so are the online versions of many of the big national magazines that are closed for print coverage. The circulation numbers speak for themselves. Often the online coverage from a magazine reaches more readers than the print publication itself! These publications are actively looking for holiday ideas and represent a great opportunity. What’s more, many of these publications will be looking for content right through December, so there is plenty of time to schedule.

Television works in the here and now. November and December are busy times for TV and the subject matter revolves around the holidays, travel and family gatherings. Similar to online sources, TV will look for holiday coverage throughout the holidays. We know how to position your company to turn the heads of Producers. From best holiday gift roundups to best gifts for dad, mom, kids, pets, grandparents…you name it, many doors open thanks to television’s short lead times.

Is October too late? No. Is November too late? No! Is December too late? Nope. Anytime is a good time to gain media coverage.

Kirstin Robison
Publicist

One of our specialties is representing experts and authors. Our client roster includes top-tier national specialists on everything from business issues to parenting to divorce. With our expert clients, we often schedule them on press tours to talk about their books or latest projects in various top markets.

This month we have clients traveling to Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Washington D.C, San Francisco and more for back to back interviews!

Next week, Pitch client Vanessa Van Petten is on her way to New York City for the launch of her second book “Do I Get My Allowance Before or After I’m Grounded.” She’s appearing on TODAY and also being featured by USA Today.

While in Manhattan, we’ve also scheduled Vanessa to meet face-to-face with target magazine editors in what is called a “deskside.” Vanessa travels right to their offices for a quick chat about her project so they consider her for various editorial features.

Here are a few other press tour related terms:
booker: the staff person at a TV or radio station who decides when an appearance/interview needs to be arranged or “booked”

lead time: period of time that reporters and producers need to prepare stories and information for publication or broadcast

producer: person in charge of the coordination of all details pertaining to a television or radio program

reach: geographic area of the audience and the number of readers, listeners, or viewers who can access the media in any region

talking points: bullet form topics provided ahead of time that the interviewee will address/cover

graphic: information TV stations put on the screen during a segment or interview

Wishing all our clients successful trips!

Ann Noder