Tag Archives: tips

Marie Baker

How to Pitch a Publicist

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I know, you are probably scratching your head right now. Well, the topic of pitching a publicist isn’t as silly as you might think.

Yes, that’s right, publicists get pitched too. Whether it’s for product reviews or hiring a blogger for a myriad of services (writing, conference sponsorship, and consultant opportunities) – it happens.

Bloggers and publicists – it seems we are all just trying to find a way to get along and work together. There is a lot of information out there on how to pitch bloggers, yet there’s not much material on pitching publicists or, what I refer to as “reverse pitching.”

Every day, more and more blogs are popping up and it’s making the blogging arena pretty competitive. Since I work with a lot of bloggers, I’m continually asked from a publicist standpoint on how I like being approached, or what do I look for in working with a blogger. Let me just put it out there that every company, brand and publicist looks for different things.

That being said, here are a few pointers to keep in mind when pitching a publicist. Surprisingly, these may sound familiar. Continue reading →

Christina Khoury

Tips for Ten Minute Interviews

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Clock works' gear wheels, close up, studio shotTen minutes.  That’s all you have to influence your audience.  How do you make sure your messages are communicated efficiently?

One of the most valuable things I learned from my previous job was how to own a five and,  if Iwas lucky, ten minute interview.  I worked as a publicist for a book publicity firm and scheduled  Radio Tours.  For those of you who don’t know what that means, imagine having twenty back-to-back interviews with radio hosts all over the country for approximately six hours….starting at 7:00 a.m. EST.  Sounds exhausting and intimidating right?   Continue reading →

CTMichaels

Tricks of the Trade: Confidence

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Male fencer, portraitConfidence is one of the most important attributes that anyone getting into public relations must have. It’s what makes you stand out, makes people believe what you have to say, and honestly, gives off the vibe that you are the one to beat. Not to sound cocky, or egotistical, okay maybe a little, but I have never not gotten a job after interviewing for it. Granted I’ve only interviewed at four places in my life, but I have never not gotten the job I interviewed for. I honestly believe it’s because I can sell myself because I’m confident.

From the way you walk to the way you talk on the phone, confidence just glows off of the confident folks and it shows in a lot of my colleagues who are successful. In PR, a shy person gets left behind in the dust, always riding on the coattails of others. If you’re shy and can’t make yourself stand out then go become a librarian so you can hide behind books all day. Continue reading →

Marie Baker

Welcome to Our World

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Checklist and pencilDuring the #prbc Ragan panel, I brought up the point that the line between a blogger and marketer will continue to blur, and you will start to see more bloggers taking a stab at becoming publicists/marketers.

As this trend continues – which I have a feeling it will – everyone is going to have an opinion on the subject. Can bloggers be publicists? Should companies stick with PR firms?

I’m not saying that bloggers shouldn’t be marketers or they can’t be publicists, but I do think a select few might need some insight. So, what’s the reality you may ask? Well, being a publicist/marketer isn’t as easy as it looks. Continue reading →

TJ Dietderich

Emptying Your Inbox

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Fire extinguisher beside office tray containing burning paperOne of my favorite office tricks is organizing my e-mail so that my inbox is empty. Productivity nerds sometimes call this tactic Inbox Zero, and it’s a rule by which I live my business life. I know that PR pros can be inundated with e-mail, perhaps more than most, and I truly believe everyone can tame their inbox.

How do you even begin? Let’s go on a magical productive journey. Continue reading →

Kate Ottavio

Like, duh! Ten Tips to Totally Rock Your Internship

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Thinkstock Single Image SetYou got in the door! You landed that dream internship that will be a glowing addition to your resume. So now that you’re hired, don’t forget to try not to get fired.

Here are ten tips to keeping your internship…even excelling at it. This should be common sense, but I’m sad to report some people just don’t get it. Continue reading →

Nathan "PRCog" Burgess

35 tips in 30 minutes (text edition)

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As many of you know members of the PRBC group presented today at Ragan’s Social Media panel.  Below we share some of our thoughts on SM.  The names in parenthesis indicate who brought up the point.  Hyperlinked to their twitter account on the first use.

Diving Into Social Media

Before any company, agency, or professional decides to become involved in social media, there will no doubt be some basic questions that they want answered, or some background information that they would appreciate hearing.  The first group of points provide some helpful hints for diving into social media, whether you’re interested in using it for clients or becoming the resident thought-leader for your company. Continue reading →

Kate Ottavio

A letter from someone named Itsall Aboutme: Narcissism in social media

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Twitter CEO Evan Williams Meets With Mayor Newsom At Company's Headquarters

Dear Kate,

I’ve noticed recently that I’ve had a drastic drop in my Twitter follower count (I already checked and there was no Twitter spam cleaning). I just don’t understand why people aren’t loving me and everything I have to say. I tweet about the things I do, what I eat, what kind of decorative head ornament my Chihuahua is wearing each day. I talk about how awesome I am, tweet my new blog posts (every day) and generally radiate hotness. So, Kate, why have I lost so many followers? Continue reading →

Heather Whaling, Kellye Crane

5 Tips to Keep in Mind When Going Solo

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Portrait of a businesswoman sitting in a conference room with her hands claspedWhether you’ve been an independent PR consultant for 15 years (like Kellye) or are just starting out on your own (like Heather), being a solo PR pro can be an incredibly rewarding (and lucrative) career path.

It’s exciting to be free to choose your own course. But there can be some intimidating moments when you realize success or failure depends entirely on you. If you’re looking at PR consulting and facing some difficult decisions, here are 5 tips to help: Continue reading →

CTMichaels

‘OH S#*T’ UNSEND! UNSEND!

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Send icon and cursor on monitor, close-upWe have all been in that situation, that awkward feeling in our stomach we get after we hit the send button and realize we made a major error.  Sorry, but “Recall That Message’’ doesn’t always work, especially if you are like me and usually open e-mails instantly – or you accidentally send an e-mail to the wrong coworker.

In addition to e-mail mistakes, some e-mails probably shouldn’t be sent at all. Have you ever looked at your inbox at the end the of the week and saw all the e-mails that probably didn’t need to get sent? Not that this is a huge issue, sometimes excess messages just make it impossible to find the “message through the noise.”

So this is where CT Michaels comes in.  Here are five general questions that you should probably ask yourself BEFORE you hit the send button: Continue reading →