The how-to-do-it e-newsletter for PR and marketing

Number 8, August 2009

August is the silliest month

Heard the story about the dog that ate Elvis Presley’s teddy bear? No? How about the tale of the holidaymakers who left their suitcases on the drive while they waited for the taxi to take them to the airport? Trouble was, the bin men happened to come down the street just at that moment. You’ve guessed it. £1,600 worth of clothes, apparently.

Or how about the farmer who’s discovered that his cows moo with a Somerset accent? How we love those silly season stories. And August is the silliest month of them all.

Which is why we kick off this issue with 10 silly season stories that score for PR. After all, if we’re going to be entertained with tales which make us smile, you might as well see whether there’s any way your clients can gain a look-in.

More seriously, Richard Cree, editor of Director, one of the country’s leading business magazines, tells us what he’s looking for from PR people. Richard believes that the most important word in “public relations” is the second one. You’ll find out why below.

New appointment press releases pour out of PR offices every day. But there are ways in which you could get more coverage with them. We take a look in Press Release clinic, the last item in this column.

And in the right-hand column, go to Worth Knowing where PR new business expert Jo Lynn explains why one agency started to win more business when it handed the responsibility for co-ordinating the effort to a PA. And there’s nothing silly about that.

Peter Bartram
Editor

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Ten silly season stories that score for PR

Peter Bartram explores the ways PR pros can help fill up those wide open column inches during the most popular holiday months

Yes, it’s the silly season – time to dust off those stories about crop circles, holidays from hell, and the Loch Ness monster. Or, perhaps, not. August, when hard news about politics and the economy is usually in short supply (although perhaps not so much this year), is a time when PR people can score with the right ideas. Here are 10 suggestions to get your creative juices flowing.

1. Great day out. Many newspapers and magazines have already run features about places to go. But watch for another batch of these articles just before August Bank holiday (on the 31st). Tip: too late for monthlies, but not to catch weeklies and dailies - and websites.

2. Time to pack. Sun glasses, swimsuit, beach towels, haemorrhoid cream… eh? Yes, it’s surprising what press releases recommend should go in the holiday luggage. With thousands still waiting for their break, there’s still time to rush out a late release. Tip: time-to-pack stories work best when they have a credible topical edge – such as antiseptic hand gel to ward off swine flu.

3. Clothes peg. If fashion PR is your bag, it’s not difficult to hang stories on what people will be wearing in the summer. Too late now for the big fashion mags summer spreads, but look out for topical ideas such as “what to wear at…” (insert the forthcoming summer event of your choice). Tip: consider a picture driven piece and make sure the picture is something worth publishing.

4. English country garden. There are gardening stories for all seasons. But it’s summer when the part-time gardens get most use. “Kids reveal their perfect garden for the summer holidays” was one effective release this year. Tip: Focus on what people might want to do in their garden as much as what they grow.

5. Silly money. Popular silly season financial stories focus around holiday cash. How to get the best deal, use travellers’ cheques wisely, avoid foreign exchange rip-offs are all good stand-bys if you can find an original twist. Tip: personal finance and travel pages love stories about real people’s financial experiences.

6. Seasonal hazards. Summer is full of special hazards from wasp stings to sunburn. Stories on how to avoid the more common often find a home. Two unusual examples: (1) beware! droughts cause house subsidence and (2) watch out amateur builders! – that concrete you’re laying could injure you. Tip: provide statistics about the number of people affected by the problem to add weight to your story.

7. Travellers’ tales. PR people often overlook the fact that hundreds of newspapers and magazines – even local rags and some trade and tech mags - run diary columns and they’re always looking for light anecdotes about people to fill them. If you’ve got clients (or colleagues) who’ve got a traveller’s tale to tell, it could make column inches. Tip: contact the diary writer direct rather than trying to issue your story through a press release.

8. Save the planet. How can people enjoy the summer and save the planet? Give it some thought and you may find you’ve got a story to tell. Perhaps it’s about eco-holidays or eco-picnics or eco-anything. Tip: focus on the facts and throttle back on the green rhetoric to make your stand story stand up (and out).

9. Brought to book. Many newspapers and magazines feature a summer books supplement – but most have already been published this year. Even so, there could still be mileage in books about places people might want to visit or people (think sport, entertainers) associated with summer. Tip: don’t overlook the mileage for book coverage in local and regional newspapers and magazines.

10. Working holiday. Can’t give up? With laptops. mobiles and Blackberries, workaholics take it all with them. There are plenty of stories about the latest technologies that enable harassed managers to keep in touch with the office. Tip: business magazines plus trade and tech titles may be more interested in case studies of executives who pull off big deals on holiday rather than technical backgrounders on the kit they use.

Learn to write articles like a journalist. To get more insights on how to write contributed articles editors will want to publish, come to the Writing for Publication Masterclass in London on Wednesday 12th August. Full details and online booking at www.writingforpublication.co.uk

Five minutes with... Richard Cree

Richard Cree is the editor of Director, the leading monthly magazine for business decision-makers published for members of the Institute of Directors

1. What I want from PR people is…
concise, clear and relevant story ideas and quick follow-up when I express interest. If I want to arrange interviews, etc, which will inevitably be at the last minute (and, yes, I’m sure that is frustrating), it’s annoying when you find out that the person you’ve been pitched and want to speak to isn’t available.

2. The best way to get my attention is…
by getting to know what I want in a story and making it clear that is what you are offering. Offering me a genuinely interesting exclusive story also works, especially if it’s a high-profile interviewee that rival titles won’t have.

3. But please don’t…
create horribly forced and tenuous hooks to a currently hot news story or make up new words (especially by combining two existing words). Both are ways to get my attention, but not for the right reasons. And if there is a good story in there, it will get lost. Also at the moment there is a natural tendency to turn all business stories into recession stories. Try and resist it. The phrase “in the current economic climate” has become an office joke.

4. When pitching a story to me…
above all, make sure you understand my readership and can demonstrate how the story idea is relevant to my readers. Also, if we’ve just published a piece on a particular topic, we’re unlikely to do it again straightway. Also, understand that advance deadlines on a monthly mean we need things early. If it won’t fit with the magazine timings we also update our website with fresh content every day.

5. If you’re sending a press release, I want…
them short, sharp, to the point and in plain English. By all means use technical jargon if it’s needed, but make the title and opening paragraph meaningful to a non-expert.

6. The most successful PR people…
understand that the most important of the two words in public relations is the second. It’s all about the relationship. Every editor has PRs they will usually take calls from or call back if they are busy. That is either because they come up with genuinely good stories or because they are old friends. If you aren’t the latter, make sure the former counts. Good PRs don’t do more than plant the seeds of a good idea…or at least allow the journalist to convince themselves it was their idea all along. For a better idea of the sort of stories we like on Director, visit www.director.co.uk

Press release clinic: a pressing appointment

Peter Bartram with five lessons for those who have to write a new appointment press release

One of the most common categories of press release that pings into editors’ mailboxes is the new appointment story. PR pros are right to issue plenty of them because plenty get used, especially in the trade and tech press and in local newspapers.

But many PR people may be missing a trick in the way they handle them. For starters, most newspapers and magazines that publish new appointments normally run only a paragraph on each. There are exceptions, but they’re usually reserved for truly important appointments.

So most appointment releases are too long. The last three that crossed my desk ran to 459 words, 336 words and a whopping 1,043 words – and the last also had a string of “notes to editors”. And all about somebody who’s not that important.

Lesson one, then: keep appointment releases short. Say 200 words. Unless they involve the Queen, the Pope or Barack Obama. Even then, think about appropriate length.

Lesson two: tailor the release to the kind of publication you’re targeting. “Fred Nerd is new chairman of United Sludge” may run well with Sludge Monthly. But if you’re focusing on local media something like “Chorlton-cum-Hardy man to head Britain’s biggest sludge company” is more likely to wake up the tired news editor of the Chorlton Bugle.

Lesson three: if the individual and the organisation is not that important (and, let’s be honest:, 90 per cent of the people in appointments releases aren’t) try and find an interesting angle. “Sex-change acrobat to head sludge company.”

Lesson four: don’t mingle appointment news with another story. The problem with the 1.043-word release was that it drifted from the appointment into news of a joint venture with another company. That should have been another release.

Lesson five: Avoid the “pleased to announce” formula in the opening par. This is a press release not a prize giving. And (please, please) throttle back on those sycophantic quotes.

Learn more about press release writing. The half-day Perfect Press Release Masterclass takes place in London on Thursday 1st October. For more information or to sign up for a place online, go to www.prmasterclass.co.uk

Contents
August is the silliest month Ten silly season stories that score for PR Five minutes with... Richard Cree Press release clinic: a pressing appointment Worth Knowing
Diary dates:
Training events for PR and marketing professionals: Wednesday 12th August: Writing for Publication Masterclass, London. How to write news stories and feature articles that editors want to publish More: www.writingforpublication.co.uk Thursday 1st October: Perfect Press Release Masterclass, London. A journalist’s eye view on how to write releases that make it into print More: www.prmasterclass.co.uk Wednesday 7th October: Writing for Publication Masterclass, Manchester Business School. How to write news stories and feature articles that editors want to publish More: www.writingforpublication.co.uk Wednesday 7th October: Perfect Proposals & Presentations Masterclass. Manchester Business School. How PR and marketing consultancies can improve pitches to win more business More: www.perfectproposals.co.uk Thursday 8th October: Perfect Pitch Masterclass, Manchester Business School. How to devise article and interview pitches that journalists really want to hear More: www.perfectpitchmasterclass.co.uk Tuesday 27th October: Perfect Proposals & Presentations Masterclass. London. How PR and marketing consultancies can improve pitches to win more business More: www.perfectproposals.co.uk Wednesday 28th October: Perfect Public Relations Masterclass, London. A practical workshop for organisations that want to win more of their own media coverage More: www.howtodoyourownpr.co.uk Wednesday 2nd December: Perfect Pitch Masterclass, London. How to devise article and interview pitches that journalists really want to hear More: www.perfectpitchmasterclass.co.uk
PR Success Monthly:
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Get your own sponsored link... If you would like to have a sponsored link in a future issue of PR Success Monthly, which circulates to 7,000 PR professionals in companies and agencies, please e-mail info@newventurepublishing.co.uk for more details. 7 Tips: Recession Marketing Communicate to survive. Find out how you can market your way out of the recession! Download Prompt's FREE white paper . BNI Business Network International provides a structured business environment where all members find work for other members. Business Wire From press release distribution to SEO services to multimedia - the complete selection of PR services and tools you'll ever need. Caroline Duffy Graphic Design Looks count! Good graphic design ensures you're making the best of your marketing budget. Call now for a free consultation. Nick Sinclair Photography Delivering innovative and creative imagery to clients in PR, corporate communications and design companies for 20 years. PR for the bottom-line PR metrics must tie to company objectives. Here are 10 tips for translating PR results into demonstrable business success. Worldwide Webdesign Worldwide Webdesign is an advanced web design company, which has designed websites for many clients in the UK, and abroad.
Worth knowing:
Win more PR business “Contrary to popular opinion, many PR agencies have not had to pitch for new business very much in the past as they have been introduced to clients through word of mouth or their reputation,” says PR new business expert Jo Lynn. “Now that things are tougher and they are up against competitors they have had to think a lot more about how they pitch.” Short-lists are becoming longer and long lists could be 20 or 30 strong. So Lynn believes that agencies need to learn what she calls “the power of ‘no’”. She says: “Don’t waste time on bad business - business that wouldn’t suit your agency, or long shots. Leave space for the business you really want. Turning business down reinforces the fact that you are good enough not to need business or to beg.” Getting from the long list to the short list is the first step. The issue which really counts with clients is the PR agency’s contacts with relevant editors and journalists, according to a survey of 115 PR clients for the Perfect Proposals & Presentations Masterclass, which Jo Lynn presents. “If you have to fight for new business you must set up a new business leader – not necessarily a board director – who will drive new business and hold regular meetings so that leads don’t wither on the vine,” Lynn says. “Involve the whole company, allocating time on your time-sheets for the exercise. Even the most junior member of staff should have some involvement - it will make them understand where their salaries come from. “One PR agency told me that it changed an over-worked director for its PA to head up the new business task. Overnight it started to win business simply because, as an organised person used to chasing people into action, she made people deliver what they had promised.” When clients get the proposal, the most important factor they look for is that it “sets out clearly how the campaign will meet its objectives”. The second and third slots in the clients’ 10-point proposal wish list, identified in the survey, are that the proposal “sets out specifics about measuring campaign success” and that it “shows how the activity will be carried out within the budget”. In the present tough climate, Lynn believes the biggest new business winners will be those that are courageous – but without arrogance. “Be clear about what you think the prospect needs - even if it is a little bit painful. “ Win more business! To learn more about the Perfect Proposals & Presentations Masterclass in Manchester on October 7th and London on October 27th and to book online go to: www.perfectproposals.co.uk

Contact details

We hope you find this newsletter of interest. If you have any queries or would like to make a suggestion about future content, please contact New Venture Publishing using the contact details below.

New Venture Publishing Ltd, 29 Tivoli Road, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 5BG, UK.
Tel: +44 1273 565505. E-mail: info@newventurepublishing.co.uk

The how-to-do-it e-newsletter for PR and marketing

Number 8, August 2009

August is the silliest month

Ten silly season stories that score for PR

Five minutes with... Richard Cree

Press release clinic: a pressing appointment

Contents

Diary dates:

PR Success Monthly:

Sponsored links:

Worth knowing: