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The majority of PR professionals will tell you: public relations can be difficult to explain to the c-suite, or other business executives. It’s often nuanced, layered with soft skills, and doesn’t always have the most linear measurement to track progress. The frustrating part is that it does have the capacity to create massive business impact. 

So oftentimes, PR professionals are tasked with not only having to first sell executives on the value of PR, but then follow that up with tangible results. Not surprising, it’s also difficult to build rapport with the C-Suite themselves as a new hire. They are busy people and too commonly, executive management's primary point of contact with the PR team is during crisis management. Consider the ways that you could build a more consistent relationship with management, whether that be regular meetings or monthly reports. You’ll need to prove your PR approach is worth the C-Suite’s investment both financially...

Like any job, snagging a good content writing gig requires dedication, practice, and wherewithal. There are seemingly endless content writing opportunities available online, but it is tricky to know where to start. Keep reading to learn how to stand out as an applicant and what it takes to prepare for the job. 

Writing Style

Many employers are seeking writers with strong stylistic voices. Companies are looking for applicants who can not only maintain brand tone, but elevate and enhance it. Content writers are expected to succinctly present their given material, no matter how dense it may be when it arrives on their desk (or to their inbox!). Translating complicated material in a strong yet simple manner is a major goal of the job. 

It is crucial to fit your writing style to the task at hand. Quality writing is clear, concise, and captivating. Focus on the message you are trying to convey and how you might have your interest piqued if you were the customer. We work with...

Working from home has a lot of benefits, like maintaining a flexible schedule or relaxed dress code. But when work teams have only met through a Zoom meeting or email chain, it can be difficult to build a tight-knit, collaborative, and supportive dynamic. When a company builds a strong, trustworthy team, productivity can skyrocket.  

Here are a few ways you can cultivate those relationships, near or far. 

Check-Ins

Encourage your coworkers to get to know each other past the bare minimum required for work. Check in with each other! Sharing a high and low of your day, what keurig coffee cup you’re sipping, or vacation plans for the weekend instill a sense of community and camaraderie. We work best with those we know– not strangers! 

This can be done in a few different ways. One idea is to set up a “good news” channel on whatever messaging platform your company uses. This can serve as a space for employees to share personal, family, or work...

So you’re thinking about a career in PR? Good choice! PR is such a vast field with many niches that you’ll be sure to find a good fit for your skills and interests. However, it can also be a bit daunting to know just what you’re signing up for. It is important to understand the world of PR before eagerly pressing send on those applications. Here are 5 things you’ll want to know if you are thinking of pursuing a career in PR:

1. Know why you want to work in this field. PR is a competitive industry, meaning you have to be steadfast in your pursuits. No employer expects you to be perfect, but showcase your tenacity in the field. Research companies before you apply for their open positions to prove that while you may not know it all, you’re ready to learn. Figuring out if you align with their company mission, weekly schedule, and other specifics are good ways to find the right fit for your passions and skills. 
2. Know that you probably won’t be...

It’s hard to go anywhere without hearing about the Great Resignation and the impact it has had on dozens of industries. It’s not just the grocery stories and Starbucks taking the hit—professionals from all walks of life are leaving their jobs in droves in search of a better work-life balance. 

In 2020 and 2021, employees got a taste of the simpler life and the benefits it brought, including working from home, avoiding long commutes, and calling into meetings in their shorts and pajama pants. For some, it became a necessity—they had children at home and there was no other form of childcare. Now that the world is getting “back to normal,” many of these employees found that this life suited them much better than the course they had previously pursued. 

Emerging Trends

As remote public relations professionals, we already know about all the perks that working from home brings. Now that more individuals are choosing to work as solo PR...

Congratulations, you’ve landed your public relations client a briefing with an important reporter or industry analyst! The hard part is over, or is it? Not quite. Now you need to make sure your client is adequately prepared for the interview. You can do a prep call, but what really helps executives or other spokespeople get ready for these important meetings is a briefing document, aka a briefing sheet. If several briefings are taking place in a condensed timeframe, such as for a trade show, these sheets might be upsized to a formal briefing book. 

While public relations is a creative field, a briefing document requires quite a bit of preparation as it incorporates all the nuts and bolts to make an interview run smoothly. A calendar invite will take care of simple things like time and date, but more in-depth info is needed  on what the reporter or analyst is interested in. Spokespeople are always on the go and might be reading your briefing document on a plane, train...

Pitching top publications is rarely easy – you not only need good relationships with reporters, you need a good story to tell. The same is true with landing new clients – the story you tell about your company, its strategy and its successes are critically important. The bottom line: Even PR pros who have been at both of these tasks for a long time sometimes need a little help from their friends.

We asked four PR professionals – Patricia Baronowski-Schneider, president and CEO of Pristine Advisers; Joyce Lofstrom, owner and principal at Joyce Lofstrom & Associates; Shirley Johnson, founder and owner of Stage 1 Public Relations, and Ronai Rivera, owner at Anomaly the Agency – for their advice for new public relations professionals, and who they turn to for a new perspective when they need it.  

Remote PR Jobs: If you were starting out in PR today, what are the 2-3 things you wish you knew?  

Lofstrom: I wish I had design skills to use for...

“I want to be quoted as an expert in [insert outlet here].” 

As remote PR professionals, we certainly hear that a lot. While it’s easy to retort, “well, ARE YOU an expert?” it’s important to remember that anyone that wants to be quoted does think they indeed are an expert and have valuable things to say to the audience(s) of their target publications. Oftentimes, however, they want to be quoted simply for the sake of talking about their company and selling more stuff. And that’s the wrong way to approach the problem.

Reporters and editors aren’t fools. They know a simple mention or a quote from a popular blog or publication can help companies get a lot of attention from customers and other media. That’s why they’re discerning about what types of articles they write and the sources they choose. They need to make sure that the topic is of interest to their audience because that means more page views, and of course, more...

The past 18 months have been challenging for businesses, but none more so than small and midsize businesses (SMBs). They’ve had to scramble and pivot to stay relevant in a COVID world. Despite the challenges, many have not only survived, but thrived, and are ready to grow. For some, that means launching a PR strategy to help bolster their brand and differentiate themselves from their competitors.

We asked four PR professionals that work with SMBs— Patricia Baronowski-Schneider, president and CEO of Pristine Advisers; Ronai Rivera, owner at Anomaly the Agency; Colin Bennett, founder and owner of C.L. Bennett PR, and Luiza Leal, marketing specialist and professional writer—for tips and strategies for approaching these companies as they prepare to move forward post-COVID.

Listening is Key

Remote PR Jobs: What is the best piece of advice you can give a new PR professional when they are targeting the SMB space?

 Baronowski-Schneider: I believe the best piece of...

Gift guides are known as the holy grail of product PR. Get placed in the right ones, and your product is sure to find success. Many high circulation outlets have long lead times for printing, so they have already closed their gift guides for the 2021 holiday season (and so has Oprah, who has already announced her Favorite Things for the 2021 holidays). There are, however, hundreds of online gift guides for national publications, popular blogs and social media that can provide tremendous exposure for your products. It’s just a matter of locating them, determining who to pitch, and of course, what to pitch. 

One thing to keep in mind is that gift guides are highly competitive. When you are pitching for “regular” opportunities, each pitch likely tells a different story. When it comes to gift guides, every company is pitching for the same or similar products. The more you can differentiate your product and tell a story about it, the more likely you are to be...