My #1 PR Secret That Anyone Can Steal Today
After a decade of working in PR, I have learned countless methods, strategies, tips & tricks, do’s & don’ts, all geared to earn media attention for my clients. Some of these I learned at professional conferences or was taught by people working in the media. Other lessons were learned the hard way through trial and error. And all of them are taken seriously when I go to pitch a client.
But there is one PR secret that sits at the very top of the list as the most important way for any PR campaign to be a success.
Before you can ever consider anything else…
The one thing that will make or break your campaign…
My #1 PR secret is…
Help the media.
When your priority is about helping that specific journalist find what they are looking for, you are going to come up with better story ideas and get better results.
Better yet, those results are going to snowball.
If you are truly helping the people you pitch, they are more likely to accept your help, i.e. publish something about you. And the next time you email them, they are more likely to read your pitch because they know how much easier you make their job. And even when you don’t pitch them, they might even reach out to you because they know how dependable you are!
It’s all about building that mutually beneficial relationship.
When you find yourself being a little too self-promotional or sending generic pitches to random journalists, just stop. Before you pitch anything, ask yourself how you are helping them.
And the best way to know if you are being helpful or not is knowing a little about their goals.
Goal #1: Help Them Get More Views
No matter what kind of outlet it is—whether it’s a TV show, newspaper, or online blog—their goal is to get more eyes on their content.
(Of course, if it’s a radio show or podcast, it’s more ears.)
It’s not enough just to have an outlet publish something about your brand to their loyal followers. You need to give them a story idea that their followers will want to share with others.
Goal #2: Give Value to Their Audience
If the audience is engaged in the content, they are more likely to come back for more. This feeds into goal #1, but it’s a bit different because this one is about giving the viewer/reader/listener something they can use in their real life.
Think of goal #1 as that funny article you saw on Facebook (maybe only read half of) and shared with your friend. Whereas goal #2 is that article you read, bookmarked, and come back to every time you need to remember that helpful information, as well as caused you to sign up for their newsletter to get updates on similar topics.
See if you can offer something like a life hack, original information, or step by step instructions in your pitch. At the very least, you should be able to explain why it is in the reader’s interest to hear what you have to say.
Goal #3: Promote Your Brand… Just kidding! This isn’t true at all!!
The media does not care about giving you or your client publicity. The people who actually care about giving your brand publicity are sitting in the advertising department of that publication and they’re going to take your money first.
When you are after earned media, you have to set your own goals aside and look at your pitch through the lens of media.
Ask yourself:
Am I telling the audience about a cool new product or event they would love to know about?
Am I giving the audience useful tips that will help them in their life?
Am I offering the audience something special or exclusive?
If you don’t have anything of value for the audience, then your pitch is probably just about you. Go back to the drawing board, think about the media’s goal, and find a way to help them.
