Call Waiting

I was having a mooch through the blogosphere and visited one of my favourite sites, Bad PR. Tech PR is full of some very lovely journalists and some journalists who are a little easier to annoy and Bad PR never fails to entertain me. One particular blog stood out 'I shall say this only once' regarding leaving voicemails. I was actually horrified by the fact that The Finisher even had cause to write this post. I'm going to put myself out on a limb here and pass on my five golden rules for talking to journos, rules that I go to pains to ensure my colleagues also not only believe in, but follow and enforce in turn.

Rule #1 - No Voicemail - Ever
We may as well start here. Why on earth would you leave a voicemail for a journalist? If they don’t answer you keep trying until they do (but be sensible, don't just punch redial for four hours solidly), try a colleague or email and check if you get a bounce back. If they are on holiday, talk to someone else. The reasons for this are simple; as The Finisher points out, journalists rarely have time to return voicemails, let alone listen to them all and they are extremely unlikely to call you back to say "Why yes, thanks so much for checking, I did receive your email. What with email working as it does and your well honed press list I was a great target for that well structured release."

Rule #2 - Don't ask if they got your release
Leading on from Rule #!1 - you should not be calling simply to ask if someone got your release. You should have the correct contact details in your press list - kept up to date via good relationships with journalists at publications so the targets and email addresses are correct. In fact, I'm a big advocate of pre-selling press releases (although I know this isn't always possible). Pre-selling means you can't ask if a journalist has got your release, as you won't have sent it. You have to pitch the story for what it is - news. And it gives journalists time to get all the information/interviews they need before the story goes live, giving you a chance at better coverage.

Rule #3 - Talk to people
Funny this one - but it does need to happen. PR is all about communication and talking to your colleagues as well as your journalists will help you stay abreast of what publications are and are not interested in, who is on holiday and who is moving jobs. It always surprises me the amount of people who pitch for inclusion in features and suggest articles over email rather than in person. Journalists rarely give feedback over email so if you embark on a conversation it gives you a chance to talk through your ideas/angles and understand why it will or won't work for a journalist/publication. This is key for giving good feedback to your clients in turn, and the only way you can be a truly consultative PR.

Rule #4 - Learn how to say NO
We've all had the client who thinks their product is the most interesting thing since the iPhone and that it should be covered everywhere from the Economist to Sky News. These are the clients who need us most, and the clients the journalists need us to save them from. You should always reality check your clients. Of course they have aspirations for the big papers and broadcast coverage but is this really their target audience? Of course their product is interesting...but for whom? And why? I've worked with PR's who don't say no and it’s only setting yourself up for a fall and creating an unhappy client if you don't offer them your expertise on how to best impact the market. Journalists need stories that they can use. Things their audience is interested in and can relate to. If they say no - it is because you aren't giving them something they can use. This is what we are paid for people.

Rule #5 - Make sure the spokesperson gets it
You've done all the ground work, made the product/service interesting, tied it into current news so it’s timely, sold it into the right journalist at a relevant top publication and lined up the interview. Only one thing stands in the way of your client making it into a news article or into a feature (well aside from an editor but that one is out of our hands) - the spokesperson. It is imperative that spokespeople understand what a journalist needs to create a story that will be printed. If you lay all the ground work and the spokesperson comes on the line and talks about widgets and nuts a bolts when he should be talking about business issues then you need to get your coat. Game over. Give them briefing notes to read in advance, talk to them before the call - tell them in person what it is that needs to be communicated and ensure they are happy with that.

I don’t think any of this is rocket science. It's just about understanding what journalists and publications need to work smoothly and how to ensure this comes from clients.

I feel all self righteous now - I shall polish my halo while I sort out some features for my clients!