What Does a Blogger Really Want?

May 15, 2012 Linzy Roussel Cotaya 3 Comments

There are many articles out there on how PR professionals should seek, contact and engage with bloggers. We are focused on building a relationship with bloggers and converting them into brand ambassadors for our client. We hope that they will write amazing posts about our clients and it will spread through the blogger world like wildfire.

But as PR pros have we stopped to think about what the bloggers want from us?

I am a mom blogger, crawfishtales.com, and I have had the opportunity to be on both sides of the pitch. This has given me insight that I have used to mold the way that I, as a PR pro, engage bloggers. I constantly remind myself that bloggers are receiving multiple pitches just like a reporter and that I need to make my pitch stand out from the others. The best pitches are the ones that are thorough and have thought through the pitch from the bloggers prospective. Continue reading →

Nathan "PRCog" Burgess

PRBC Special – Book Excerpt, Freebies and Discounts

May 14, 2012 Nathan Burgess ("PRCog") 10 Comments

Four Approaches to Marketing — Click to enlarge

We’re very excited to present to you today a combination of fantastically informative features and the opportunity for you NYC-area folks to get the chance to win free tickets to see marketing superstars Gini Dietrich and Geoff Livingston at their G2 Marketing in the Round training, on June 20th, 2012 from 4:00p to 7:30p, which is based on their new volume Marketing in the Round.

Following the training, the two marketers will be joined by Michael Schecher, digital marketing director for Honora Pearls, to conduct a panel discussing best practices in integrated multichannel marketing programs to be moderated, by yours truly – Nathan Burgess.

Even if you don’t win the free tickets, we’ve got a discount code for $20 off the ticket price for when you decide you’d like to attend.

And so, without further adieu, a brief into to the concepts presented in Marketing in the Round and at the end of the page a download link for the excerpt and discount code for the event. Continue reading →

Nathan "PRCog" Burgess

Faulty Friday

May 11, 2012 Nathan Burgess ("PRCog") 4 Comments

Every now and then we get perfect, on target pitches and press releases. Most of the time, they’re ok, and then very occasionally we get the real stinkers. The ones that <sarcasm> fit perfectly into our designated coverage and readership.</sarcasm>

Yesterday must have been a very special day as we received not one, but two completely mistargeted pitches.

Mercifully I’ve removed the names of the offending senders, but otherwise, below please find, for your reading pleasure, pitches perfectly suited to you, our readers (I assume I didn’t have to use the sarcasm tags this time around). Continue reading →

John Trader

3 Ways Pessimism is an Asset in PR

May 10, 2012 John Trader 4 Comments

Does pessimism have a place in PR? — Half empty or half full?

An article recently published over at the MIT Sloan Management Review blog caught my attention. Essentially, the article asserted that in a world where optimism reigns, a little pessimism is a good thing.

In our culture, pessimism is generally perceived as a state of mind where one anticipates negative outcomes. We often classify individuals as either optimistic or pessimistic based on the age old question, “Is the glass half empty or half full?” We tend to classify those who answer “half empty” as stewards of a pessimistic outlook, always focusing on the negative and what’s likely to go wrong.

Despite the stigma that pessimism has, can it be interpreted as an undervalued asset and a valuable tool in PR? Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

Stop Worrying and Start Innovating

May 9, 2012 Keith Trivitt 1 Comment

For the most part, I find the PR industry’s trade publications — PRWeek, PRNewser, PRNews, etc. — to be good standard-bearers for effectively covering the ins-and-outs of this diverse and growing industry. Sure, they tend to focus too much on AOR announcements — the old-time stock ticker-tape reports of PR — but they do the job.

So I try to do my best not to critique. Look, reporters and editors have a tough job at those publications. They are reporting on the very people — PR pros — who know how to promote a cause or a person better than anyone. So I imagine there is quite a lot of pushback and calls for fluffier fluff pieces than at your standard trade reporter’s job. Continue reading →

Clay Zeigler

Lead Writing and The ‘Hey, Mike’ Rule

May 7, 2012 Clay Zeigler 3 Comments

The hardest part of any writing assignment is the first part. That first sentence is where most writers struggle, whether it’s a news release or a news story, a memo to a client or a note to the boss. It’s the first thing out of your mouth; and it has to be good. It’s also where people will lose interest if you fail to grab their attention. So, what do you do? Continue reading →

Holly Grande

No Comment: PR Pros Need to Be Transparent

May 4, 2012 Holly Grande 10 Comments

PR professionals comment on blog posts for a number of reasons. We might seek to correct information, share additional resources or simply thank the author for the original post. We may recommend that our clients’ spokespeople participate in the blogging community to build their reputation and credibility, leverage SEO opportunities or help manage customer relationships. However, a poorly planned and irresponsible comment from a PR pro can lead to an unpredictable and often damaging response from the blogging community. Continue reading →

Rachel Hyun Kim

The Critical Connection between Blogging and PR

May 3, 2012 Rachel Hyun Kim 5 Comments

Blogging is no longer just an online pastime, simply for teens and adolescents. It has evolved into a major medium for individuals to express themselves on a variety of topics and opinions. The anonymity of the Internet gives each individual a powerful voice and the ability to speak to a fairly large audience.

Given this power, PR agents would do well to tread lightly around the toes of bloggers. However, there’s no reason why public relations professionals cannot use blogging for their own benefit. There are a variety of ways in which PR managers and representatives can utilize blogging. The following are different ways in which PR agents can take advantage of blogging: Continue reading →

Stacey Acevero

Yes Virginia, Journalists Do Really Want Your Press Release

April 30, 2012 Stacey Acevero 8 Comments

In 1897 an eight-year-old girl namedVirginiawrote to theNew York CitySun newspaper with the question, “Is there a Santa Claus?” The resulting editorial promising that such an idea of goodness and possibility did really exist became the most reprinted editorial in the history of the English language.

Flash forward over a hundred years — many small business marketers and PR Pros look at their press release distribution and wonder in Virginiaesque fashion, “Do journalists really want my press release?” The answer is happily a resounding “yes.” Continue reading →

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