In our digital world of divided attention, you have to make your case in the blink of an eye, or risk being ignored. 

Research says that your first impression of somebody is made within the first seven seconds. The same thing goes for when you are pitching content to a journalist. And let’s not forget that you’re also competing with the other messages screaming in their inbox. 

So how do you make your pitch standout to a reporter, but also provide them with the necessary content they need? Oh, and it also has to be succinct? That can be tricky.

Taking it back to Public Relations (PR) 101, a reminder that your email pitch is what you write in the body of your email when you’re sending an abstract of an article you’d like published. Keep in mind that your abstract is a first glimpse of the topic you’re proposing and is at the heart of your pitch. Make sure it’s clear, concise and compelling. You’ll paste your abstract into the body...

How negative press affects your brand

In today’s social media-heavy world, brand reputation is one the most valuable assets a business owns. One negative article about your brand from a major media publication or a negative interaction on social platforms can trigger a public relations crisis. This ruins your credibility and leaves your business in shambles. Even if it isn’t your fault, negative publicity leaves a lasting impact. 

No company enjoys dealing with a PR crisis, but the good news is that negative news can be overcome. There are countless examples of brands and individuals that have recovered from a scandal and are now viewed in a positive light. PR disasters are one of the worst things to happen to brands, but they can be overcome.

So how do you deal with negative PR? In this post, we’ll go into the details of how to manage bad coverage and how to turn it into an opportunity to control the narrative.

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How many times have you sat at your desk ready to write about something you know a TON about, but still don't know where to begin or what to write?

As a subject matter expert writing contributed content, it’s not always easy to come up with a fresh spin on what you are close to and know so well. And who wants to waste their time typing, retyping, and backspacing, over and over? 

Remember, the whole point of writing contributed content is to share valuable information that establishes your authority and credibility, offers solutions to people’s problems and pain points, and supports an overall positive association with whatever you’re promoting. Easier said than done, right?

As you aim to meet these objectives, you may need some prompts to get the juices flowing. As you consider the questions and ideas below to help get things moving, be sure to keep your computer, a favorite note-taking app like Evernote, or even a pen and paper handy to jot down your ideas...

When I was starting out in PR more than a decade ago, I shared a pitch email that I drafted for a reporter with my boss for her feedback. She took one glance, looked at me, and gave me the simplest, yet best advice of my career: “You need to go on a DIET! A word diet! Cut it down. Cut it short. Get to the point. Reporters will not read long pitches.”

As a newbie in PR, I was slightly taken aback and thought “but wouldn’t ALL of the information upfront be appreciated by reporters?” As I put this in practice during the years, I realized I could succinctly pitch reporters AND also provide them exactly what they needed.

While it’s not an exact science and to each pitch its own, there are several factors to consider when pitching reporters. Here, I share some of my top tips that can increase the likelihood of your pitch being read.

1. Edit and re-edit your pitch emails before you send them. Make sure you catch all grammatical errors and have the...

According to a recent survey*, 64% of clients are reducing their PR budget and 77% of agencies are reducing their retainers. Because of this, thousands of PR/communications professionals have been furloughed and/or let go in the last three months. If you are one of these, know that you are not alone. 

You may be approached by clients independent of your agency or former brand, asking you to work for them as a PR consultant. You may jump at the opportunity or feel hesitation at the thought of starting on your own—maybe both. Whatever your level of enthusiasm, there are likely lots of emotions and thoughts circulating in your mind about moving to a freelance or consultant model for your work. 

I’m here to tell you, it’s not as overwhelming as you think. You’ve been laid off or furloughed, and you’re scared. I know, I was there too (read more about the times my own work was scarce here). I had many of the same apprehensions, feelings, and...

To successfully place your content or pitch, you sometimes have to put on your best Sherlock Holmes hat to sleuth out not whodunit but who’s likely to do it—and how to best contact them.

The “it” in question is to publish your contributed content. But finding contact information for reporters can sometimes be ultra tricky. 

Before we go through ways to uncover their contact info, let’s back it up a bit to the steps that got us here. You likely created a list of media outlets that speaks to your desired target audience. GREAT. Now that you have a fully vetted list of publications that accept contributed content, as well as contact names (reporters/editors) at each one, you need one more piece of crucial information: their email. Yes, there is software you can purchase that has this information, but I’m telling you, it’s simple (and free) to uncover on your own. Also, your research will be the most current, while sometimes databases lag...

Any freelancer knows that when you decide to venture on your own in any capacity—part-time or full-time—you must be a jack of all trades. Clients will have different goals, needs, and proficiency levels when it comes to different PR tactics and the biggest enigma for them is often social media.

Why is social media so elusive anyway? Social media is one of those mediums and practices that is literally changing every single moment. It’s fleeting in that a tweet, a post, or a comment can be seen and then forgotten, but can also be heard around the world if it’s particularly popular or goes “viral”. What resonates one day or one moment, might not the next. And, it moves and changes SO FAST. 

Overall, social media is really about engagement and brand awareness. With the right strategy, that can translate into excellent value for your business. Despite how complicated it may seem, there are some best practices that always ring true for social media...

As a PR professional and founder of RemotePRJobs.com, I am keenly aware of just how COVID-19 has truly disrupted the entire PR and Communications industry. In conversations with agency owners, seasoned PR pros, and more junior folks who are just breaking in, the sentiment is the same in that layoffs and furloughs have been unbridled and existing strategies have been put to the wayside. However, the good news is that PR Pros have not only rebounded, but they’ve found ways to evolve, adapt, and flourish once again. 

Here are some of the tried and true strategies I’ve seen recently that are working, and things to consider in your own practice: 

1. Adding legitimate value during a crazy news cycle. Obviously. This is not exactly shocking, but I don’t mean try to spin or stretch the angle to fit what’s happening in the news cycle. Whatever you're pitching must add meaningful value to not only the media, but the audience they’re writing for....

Oftentimes, companies have public relations roles reporting into the CMO. Why? Perhaps the hire is junior so it doesn’t make sense to report to the CEO, or maybe the company doesn’t understand the key differences between PR and Marketing so assumes it falls within the same business unit. The reasons for reporting into a CMO can vary, but the truth is that both the company and PR professional are best set up for success when there is a direct line of communication to the CEO, whether that is by structure or access. 

As a seasoned veteran of the PR industry, I've worked with PR professionals that have either reported into the CEO or CMO. From this experience, I can tell you precisely what works really well and what doesn’t. 

That said, wherever your PR function sits within your business structure, it’s imperative that they have, at a minimum, a dotted line and access to the top and here’s why: 

• PR is not Marketing and has different...

We previously wrote about two of the five lessons Black Friday can teach PR Pros in this blog post. Tips included listening and adapting to your audience’s needs, as well as why it’s important to start promoting early and often. 

Here, we round up the last three tips PR Pros can glean from the most hyped shopping day of the year:

3. How to zoom out, see the big picture, and find empathy

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s more important than ever for a brand and its leadership to exercise empathy in their words and sentiments. During a year that has shattered so many families, it’s more important than ever to give retail employees time home. Many stores have decided to move their in-store Black Friday deals to purely or mostly online. By recognizing the magnitude of the situation at-hand and sacrificing potential sales all in the name of employee care and support, brands are exercising their empathy muscle and winning the hearts—and...