The Key to Great PR is Perseverance
By Paula Gardner of Do Your Own PR
I regularly seem to come across businesses that have pinned their hopes on one press release. They tell me how they sent it out with excitement in the pits of their stomachs and then felt the hard cold flop of disappointment when they didn't get an army of journalists on the phone the very next day. And then, disillusioned, they resign their venture into PR to the past and move on to what they consider safer tactics.
But what separates these businesses from the ones that do get go on to get great, continuous press is often one thing, perseverance.
PR is a long-term option and takes perseverance in more ways than one.
Putting the time in
Just like exercise, an occasional blast of frenetic activity will have little long-term effect. What does succeed is regular, time-tabled PR activity. Take a look at your weekly schedule and ascertain how much time you can devote to PR. A morning or afternoon a week is great. Put in your diary and make it sacrosanct. If you don't have that amount of time, what can you ditch or delegate to make the time?
Experimenting
One press release does not make a PR campaign. You need to release something to the media at least every other month. Sometimes these communications will disappear into the ether; sometimes they will be spot on. Regular postings to the press ensure that your name is in their minds (and contact books) and allows you to experiment with different ways of writing and presenting your press release.
Building Relationships
But the most important part of a PR strategy is building bonds with journalists and editors. Just like making friends or networking for business contacts, this takes tact and time. It's not a case of rushing in, but gently building trust and respect.
Allowing the campaign to reach the public
Seeing your company covered in the press is extremely flattering and satisfying, and may help bring you enquiries, clients and increased sales, but the real rewards come with continuous long-term coverage that propels your company firmly into the public eye and creates a recognised brand, your brand.
Working with my long-term clients on the PR Academy programme I have watched complete beginners go on to nab columns in national magazines, be interviewed for monthly glossies and appear on national TV. A key part of the programme is clients' accountability ? ostensibly to me, but primarily to themselves. Take this aboard with your own campaign, either charting your goals and your progress in a diary or journal as you go, or partnering up with another business and sharing the process. This helps keep up impetus and motivation when it becomes a little too easy to get distracted by the day to day distractions of running your business.
And it's a wonderful way to share and celebrate your PR successes, supporting and cheering each other on as you go.
copyright ?Paula Gardner and Do Your Own PR 2004. All rights reserved.
Paula Gardner of http://www.doyourownpr.com is a PR and marketing coach who works with people who are passionate and serious about getting their business noticed. Do Your Own Pr offers Pr training via ecourses, telephone coaching, one to one consultations and in-house staff training. You can sign up for the Do Your Own PR newsletter at http://www.doyourownpr.com
affordable house cleaning Park Ridge ..Wherever the fundamental premise of public relations is practiced.Look at... Read More
Managers ? the business, non-profit and association sort ? really... Read More
Sure, as tactics usually presented to business, non-profit and association... Read More
Reporters, by nature, are curious people.If you can get them... Read More
Are you hesitating about hiring a publicist or, if you... Read More
One study found that as many as 90% of the... Read More
We rely on all kinds of tools and advice to... Read More
I don't know about you but I get really frustrated... Read More
If a reporter approached you about an interview, would you... Read More
The Today show? The New York Times? Vanity Fair? What's... Read More
Imagine that you are a radio producer. You have to... Read More
And the best way to mind your own business is... Read More
What do your customers say about your company?Would you let... Read More
Are you working as hard as you can in your... Read More
Use journalistic styleReporters are busy. Just like you.So when you... Read More
Imagine you're the technology reporter at a daily newspaper. You... Read More
Sure, any publicity is good. But don't invest time and... Read More
Quality public relations does something positive for business, non-profit and... Read More
Media kits include a combination of information whether created for... Read More
Always ask, "Is now a good time?"Deadlines in journalism are... Read More
Well, for starters, because good public relations can alter individual... Read More
I'm what we in the business (the "business" being journalism)... Read More
You have a story to tell. Your company has developed... Read More
Because it can alter individual perception and lead to changed... Read More
It can bite you and waste your public relations budget... Read More
affordable house cleaning Mundelein ..Yes? Then do something positive about the behaviors of those... Read More
Tracking your correspondence with reporters, via phone or email, is... Read More
One study found that as many as 90% of the... Read More
The call came into my office and the voice on... Read More
"Advertising is what you pay for. Publicity is what you... Read More
For those business, non-profit and association managers committed to PR... Read More
Do editors of newspapers, magazines and online news sites really... Read More
Not a single reporter showed up at our news event.... Read More
Etymology is the study of the origins of words.As languages... Read More
Stripped down to its core, publicity is little more than... Read More
For a business, non-profit or association manager, they could be... Read More
When most people think of media relations, they think of... Read More
What you are about to read is a step by... Read More
So you've put yourself "out there" with a public relations... Read More
?makes the rules, of course.But when the gold takes the... Read More
Fiercely combative business, non-profit and association managers use every PR... Read More
In last year's animated film Shrek II, a giant gingerbread... Read More
When special events and communications tactics rule the PR roost... Read More
How much more fundamental can you get than this? As... Read More
When properly applied by business, non-profit and association managers, public... Read More
If you want to know the best way to approach... Read More
Southern grandmothers have often said, "there are only three... Read More
If, as is often the case, you are preoccupied with... Read More
Business to Business relationships come to expect a certain level... Read More
This is the ending to my previous article, How to... Read More
Public Relations |