Category: Public Relations

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Making Bricks Without Straw – Writing a Press Release When There Is No Story

You are probably familiar with the story from Exodus about Pharaoh punishing the Jews by forcing them to make bricks without straw, a difficult if not impossible task. Sometimes I feel I get the same instructions from my clients. The phone rings or you get e-mail from a client with very exciting news that they can’t wait to turn into a news announcement. And when you dig down to gather the facts, you find there is no real news and no legitimate news hook. Of course, your client is not a media expert; it’s your job to educate your client about the ins and outs of reporting and what the press consider newsworthy. But sometimes it’s just hard to tell your client that their news release subject stinks.

That’s when the real creativity kicks in. Sometimes you have to find a way to uncover or even create the news hook, even when there doesn’t seem to be one. I find these kinds of “non-news” release the absolute hardest to write, but I also understand their value. These days you often want to use a press release to tell a story designed to reach an audience other than the press. You may want to reach prospects, or customers, or employees, or the board of directors, or simply put something out on the wire to attract web traffic and pump up your keyword or SEO strategy (remember that press releases almost always rank higher with search engines). And even though this may seem to be a bastardization of the press release format, a news release is often the best format to instill some urgency and legitimacy into a story that really doesn’t have much news value.

So how do you approach this problem (other than with fire tongs)? Well, you use the same steps as you would with any news announcement, but with a few nuances:

  1. Reverse engineer the story – The best place to start is with the desired outcome. Think about how you would want the final story to read? What’s the big idea you want readers to take away with them? What’s your headline? Once you grasp the main theme it will be easy to build a story around it.
  2. Suspend your news judgment – Remember that this kind of announcement is for general readership and not necessary for the press. That means you can bend the rules a little, especially in the use of adjectives, superlatives, and elements you might not include in most news announcements. Your objective here is to imbue enthusiasm as much as to impart information.
  3. Research helps – You often can shore up a poor press release topic with facts, facts, and more facts. Do some digging and find research and numbers that will legitimize your release. If someone has statistics, the topic must be important.
  4. Practice good journalistic style – Just because you may think the release has little or no news value doesn’t mean you should be sloppy. Use good journalistic techniques. Open with a lead and use the inverted pyramid to build your story. Follow AP style. It all helps to lend credence to the tale you have to tell.
  5. Review, revise, and optimize – The best writing is about rewriting, and when you have a tough assignment writing a non-news release, it’s even more important to review your work for style and tone, as well as errors. Also optimize your press release for SEO, Twitter, Facebook, and other uses. This kind of press release is usually written to help build awareness, and that means building in key search terms and phrase to promote SEO.
  6. Distribute appropriately – Don’t undermine your own credibility by trying to sell a bad news story to the media. Instead, use alternate distribution strategies to promote online presence and support Web search. Use the paid wire services and post it to the free news sites that will accept it. But don’t make the mistake of trying to pass it off as legitimate news.

The rules of public relations are changing with the Internet, and how we use the tools of the trade has to evolve as well. The press release is still an incredibly valuable tool when it comes to getting hard news to journalists looking for information they can print or post. It also can be a useful tool to build a market presence. The most important thing to remember is who is your target audience and what format and information will best meet their information needs.

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Before You Ask for Service, Show Me The Green

Erin go bragh! It’s Saint Patrick’s Day, which means we are all wearing green and dishing out the blarney. And one of the ongoing bits of blarney that continues to amuse me is the prospective clients who offer promises of untold riches and recognition, but no money. I sometimes think of these prospects as being like Popeye’s pal Wimpy, “I will gladly pay you Tuesday, for a promotion program today.” Today is a day to remember that it’s all about the green.

I use service providers all the time, and I respect what they do, and the fees that they charge. Whether they are doctors, lawyers, accountants, or Indian chiefs, you discuss their fees in advance and come to an understanding – you pay for their services. Even if you ultimately feel their service was inferior, if they fulfilled their contract, they need to be paid.

Which is why it constantly perplexes me when people approach me and offer a piece of the gate or to share in the profits. I’ve had two such offers in two weeks. Clearly, the power of public relations and online marketing is proven, otherwise these types of companies wouldn’t seek out marketing communications assistance, no matter what the price. Naturally, you don’t want to overcharge for your services, but you also can’t work for free.

So stop offering us a piece of your dream or promises of riches to come (assuming you get your funding, or the sales team meets their quota, or the market doesn’t tank, or there isn’t some form of fire, flood, or pestilence). Be prepared to pay a fair rate for quality work. If you are concerned about quality or performance, then check the references. In today’s online world you can learn almost anything about a prospective contractor. Use your resources, and trust your instincts. That’ s what I do before taking on a new client – I check them out to make sure they are worth representing. (Oh, yes, this game is played both ways.)

If you need professional help to market your company or products, then prepare to pay the going rate. You wouldn’t ask a doctor to discount his fees, especially if he is getting ready to conduct surgery. So why trust your marcomm campaign to a hack for hire? Find the right resource and pay the fee. That’s the best way to assure you get quality attention and service.

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Freelance is Another Word for Nothin’ Left to Lose

I saw a blog post last week from Marc Hausman, The Strategic Guy, about getting hip to sales. As a serial flack-for-hire who returns to consulting every few years, I understand the appeal of being your own boss and putting your own blood, sweat and tears into your job. As Marc points out, and as I hear consistently from the career coaches I interact with at NETSHARE, one of my clients who specializes in executive career management, the future of employment is in the work, not in the job. Companies are increasingly renting talent as consultants rather than hiring it, not only because of the cost savings but because it makes the best and the brightest available to deal with their immediate problems.

And with the economic downturn, I have seen a flood seasoned professionals turn to consulting as a means to pay the bills. When the going gets tough and full-time jobs become scarce, creative executives rent their skills, at ths same time cultivating the connections they are looking for to land their next full-time gig. In the short-term, this means a glut on the consulting market, so rates adjust and work becomes harder to find.

For those of us in PR and marketing who love our work, selling ourselves is an ongoing challenge. If you have a small consulting practice (read, party of one), then you are primarily focused on client service and getting the job done, which means business development too often takes a back seat. You need to make time to build your own marketing program.

Build your marketing network. Use LinkedIn. Talk to your clients. (I get some of my best leads from existing clients.) Work the trade shows. Get yourself out there. Practice your own social media strategy, even though it’s hard to find the time to market your own services when you are working so hard for your clients.

And in these times, Marc offers some sage advice about going about building your own business. You not only have to sell what you know, but you have to find buyers willing to pay for your services.  PR professionals, like freelance writers (since there are as many or more unemployed journalists as unemployed marketing professionals), tend to take the low bids in a tough market to get work coming in the door. It doesn’t take long until accepting those low bids starts to yield negative returns. It gets harder to make a livable wage because you are competing with the lowest common denominator.

When bidding for contract work you need to not only find someone with the cash to pay the freight, but you need to stand firm on your rates. Sure, running your own business gives you the freedom to accept and turn down the work you want, and to set the rates and terms you want. However, discounting your services to land a contract that may offer bigger bucks later never works. Once you come in as the low bidder, you will never be able to sell your services for a premium, even when you know you are worth it.

Don’t fall into the trap that many consultants indulge in – underselling yourself. There never is a payoff later, and those discounted or worse, free contracts seldom bring in new business. Loss leader contracts are just that, a loss, so stand your ground and stand behind your rates. And if you are using your network appropriately, you’ll know if your rates are out of line with the market.

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What are Your PRedictions for 2010? Everything Old Is New Again

crystal_ballIt’s the time of year when all good pundits dust off their crystal balls to predict what the coming year will bring. I have been looking on the Web to see what the PR gurus are offering as PR predictions, and there seems to be some consistency:

  • More consolidation of PR agencies as big agencies gobble up smaller ones;
  • Growth will return, although with a cautious optimism as the year starts out slowly for some; and most interesting
  • The current boom in social media will morph into something more substantial and more sustainable.

Some PR pundits are predicting a social media gold rush as new social media players flood the market seeing attention, which could mean a boom for PR as well. Here’s Lou Hoffman’s prediction as cited in Media Bistro:

“Virtually every Ph.D. student who can say ‘algorithm’ and chew gum at the same time devotes their thesis to building a social media monitoring tool. Each is convinced he or she has cracked the code on the best way to capture every word, visual and action that transpires in this alternative universe called social media. These 500+ companies scamper to find a PR agency, creating a dotcom-like boom for the PR industry.” —Lou Hoffman, CEO, The Hoffman Agency

I believe that we will see the luster of social media start to dim as companies start looking to get more from social media branding. As David Mullen points out in his blog, Communications Catalyst, PR professionals will start to learn that the blog/Facebook/Twitter holy trinity is what he calls a “three-trick pony” for social media. PR professionals will have to go beyond the social media basics and dig deeper into their clients’ business and their brand to drive awareness and create value.

I agree with Mullen that if PR agencies don’t crack the code on social media soon, the emerging new media ad agencies are going to dominate here. I have already seen a number of agencies successfully step into the social media arena and offer very effective programs as an extension of pay-per-click and web marketing programs.

Once again, PR is going to have to demonstrate its real value to stay in the game in 2010. If you have been reading this blog, then you know that traditional media outlets like newspapers are either going under or struggling to survive, which means our role as media professionals has to evolve with the times. Mullen predicts that the lines between advertising and PR will start blurring. They are already are. In tough times, you have to be able to demonstrate that your communications program will add to your clients’ bottom line. Smart ad agencies and marketing agencies are creating programs that do just that, and they are using tactics like social media to do it. With the value of media relations increasingly in question, I see a turf war brewing between PR and other marketing and advertising agencies for client programs.

So it looks like old fashioned values are going to be new again. It’s up to smart PR people to take a hard look at their clients’ programs to identify where they can provide that deeper value that has a positive impact on sales. And they have to be able to show that value by measuring the results. We all will need to improve our game and remind ourselves the rules haven’t really changed with the  New Year.

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The Changing Face of Newsprint: Goodbye Daily Fish Wrap, Hello DailyFishWrap.com

fishy_arizona_republicIs anyone else worried about the future of the newspaper industry? I have been a newspaper reader for most of my life, and even I have found that I am getting almost all of my news online these days. And with the advent of handheld, wireless computers like the iPhone, more and more of us are going to abandon the daily printed product in favor of online information.

If you look at the numbers, the decline and fall of the printed newspaper seems inevitable. According to Reflections of a Newsosaur, a blog site started by Alan D. Mutter, a Silicon Valley CEO, college professor, new media pundit, and former journalist, newspapers are dropping like the proverbial flies. In his latest post, Mutter notes that 142 newspapers ceased publication in 2009, compared to 37 in 2008. Not only does that reflect the loss of 90,000 jobs, but it also means that some communities no longer have access to a local news resource. In other, larger markets, it means that where there were conflicting voices debating in print and offering alternative viewpoints, now there is one newspaper reporting events and shaping public opinion. (Does anyone else remember when the New York Times was actually a local paper and there were a dozen dailies competing for newsstand space in New York City?)

Of course, hope springs eternal in the publishing business. As Mutter points out, the power of the newspaper monopoly and the magic of the bankruptcy court have kept a number of newspapers afloat. I have heard some second-hand stories from those laid off from the San Francisco Chronicle that while the Hearst Corporation does its best to create a profitable newspaper/Web hybrid, it may only be a matter of time before union demands kill the dream.

But as Mutter and the numbers indicate, the optimism of newspaper publishers seems unquashable. As Mutter notes in his previous post:

“A positively effervescent survey of more than 500 newspaper publishers yesterday predicted that advertising sales would drop only 0.2% in 2010 after plunging 28.4% in the first nine months of this year.”

Of course, this is magical thinking on the part of newspaper publishers. Print advertising revenue is drying up as more brands move online. And why not? Isn’t it more efficient to drive a banner ad/pay-per-click marketing strategy with social media support? Shoppers are increasingly going online first, and so is the advertising.

So what are newspapers going to do to survive? I have been watching the experiment that the San Francisco Chronicle, my home town newspaper, has been conducting for more than a decade. SFGate was one of the first online newspaper sites (it recently celebrated its 15th anniversary), and as the Chronicle’s print circulation has slowly been eroding, SFGate has been picking up online momentum. The SFGate site had 124.6 million page hits in September of this year. At the same, the number of regular contributors from the printed newspaper writing for the online site is dwindling. A number or regular columnists and reporters have moved on, and SFGate is bringing in more newswire content, freelance contributors and community leaders to provide content; sources that are cheap or free. And there is still no guarantee Hearst Newspapers will find a way to make SFGate profitable.

Still, I am confident that a new form of successful newspaper will emerge from the current chaos. You may remember the birth of USA Today? At the time, the concept of launching a national news daily seemed revolutionary. That’s nothing compared to the revolution we are witnessing today. And as with most revolutions, those who are flexible and can adapt to changing times will thrive, including professional journalists and public relations professionals.

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Understand the Press Release Payoff

press_releasesI have to admit, I have had a good couple of days this week. I have been working with a client looking to break into government computing, and one of their sales executives was presenting at the Government 2.5 conferences this week. In our weekly client call Monday morning, I piped up in my best Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland voice, “Hey boys and girls, let’s put out a press release!”

Okay, I know a press release on a brief pseudo sales pitch at a niche conference isn’t strictly speaking news. But it does offer a chance to create a market presence in a new niche with a new message. Let’s face it, press releases aren’t just for press any more, and they haven’t been for some time. The press release has become the quintessential marketing device for some companies looking to capture the imagination of a well-targeted market segment, and raise their Google rankings in the bargain. It’s a good tool to make a market statement in a format that gets better exposure than a lot of web content. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to write a news release about every new sales idea that comes along; even Web news still has some standards.

I thought this particular opportunity warranted a news release because it would create a number of new opportunites, including (in no particular order):

  • An opportunity to outline features and benefits as they suit a new market.
  • An opportunity to develop a new set of key words and search phrases to help drive new Web traffic in a new market context to promote SEO.
  • An opportunity to reach out once more to our core press and analyst group to remind them that the client is not letting moss grow under their feet but they are aggressively tapping a new market.
  • An opportunity to refresh the social media channel and tell Twitter and Facebook followers what we have been up to.
  • In general, an opportunity to feed the Web!

The release itself was relatively simple to write, and since it was largely internal approvals were a breeze. So within 48 hours we had it on the wire, and distributed it to a few select editors tracking related topics.

And we got a payoff! An editor responded to my e-mail indicating he was working on a similar story on a related technology in a different market: “This looks intriguing. Do you have clients with similar issues in my area of interest?” Or course we do. The interview is pending.

So press releases pay off in a number of ways, and very few of them have anything to do with actual press. With the birth of the Web, the rules have changed.  You need to understanding how and when to apply the format to promote brand and market awareness.

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There’s Bias in Analyst Reports? I am Shocked!

If you have visited this blog before, you may recall a posting in October that profiled the lawsuit filed by ZL Technologies against Gartner Group. In the original lawsuit, ZL technologies challenged the validity of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant methodology (which ultimately resulted in poor rankings for ZL’s product).

Well, this week I received an update from ZL Technologies. (They must have added me to a mailing list based on my blog post – gosh, does that make me a journalist? More likely it makes me a pawn in SL Technologies’ misguided marketing efforts, but I digress.) Apparently, ZL has amended its lawsuit, arguing that Gartner’s research is based on more opinion than fact. In earlier court testimony, Gartner alleges that its Magic Quadrant reports are opinions not based upon fact, although their marketing materials indicates that the opinion is actually based on a body of facts. This from the cover note from ZL Technologies that I received this week:

“While this case is focused on ZL’s dispute with Gartner over the erroneous statements in Gartner’s publications, the issues here also implicate Gartner’s larger business model. Gartner plainly admits that it attempts to leverage value from its largest clients, many of whom are also vendors covered in the company’s research. ZL’s legal filings describe how that business model causes Gartner to favor those large companies at the expense of identifying the best technologies, thus misleading not just the vendors who are inaccurately reviewed by Gartner, but the consumers who base their IT purchasing decisions on Gartner’s biased research.”

So, basically, the lawsuit is alleging bias based on the size (and presumably the spend) of Gartner’s clients.

Well, duh!

This is not a new challenge. One of the lessons that I have learned working in trade publishing, both as an editor and as a PR professional, is that money can’t buy me love, but it can buy me access!

If my client is a major advertiser with a publication, I know that it usually is easier to get a hearing with the editorial staff. The same is true with analysts. I have represented a number of smaller clients who don’t buy market research. I set them up with very successful analyst meetings, and more often than not the technology gets included in the next report. However, the quality of the coverage will be better if you have access.

And let’s face it, the big vendors get access because they pay for the privilege. If I am a Gartner subscriber, then I can contact the analysts when I need an opinion or when I want input on a new product. That’s what the subscription is for. And because it is a paid engagement, the analyst will learn more about your company, its strategy, and its products because that’s why you pay him. Whether it’s intentional or not, access tends to promote bias – the fact that analysts have more contact with and insight about paying clients probably means that those clients will get better treatment in reports. It’s human nature.

So does that mean if you can’t pay to play, you don’t play at all? Of course not. Analyst research continues to provide an invaluable service to the marketplace. However, the analysts’ role is changing. I recently attended a Forrester Research discussion about predictions for the market in 2010. One of the insights that came to light was that more and more technology buyers are turning to social networking to find new IT solutions. They are going to LinkedIn and their peer networks asking about the best enterprise proxy servers or how to deal with cloud computing. There was a time when the first place these buyers would go was to their friendly neighborhood research analyst to get their take on the market. Now the analysts are becoming market validators more than predictors. The social media networks are providing information on the latest trends, and the analysts are handicapping the players.

So what does all this say for the ZL Technologies lawsuit? Although the lawsuit is alleging research bias, the real issue is how much power Gartner has in making or breaking sales in a specified market. Is this lawsuit just sour grapes on ZL’s part because they didn’t get the ranking they wanted? Probably. Gartner uses a number of factors in handicapping vendors in any market, including how deep their pockets are (i.e. will they be around tomorrow to service what they sell), and how good their marketing and sales strategy is (which helps assure they will be around to service what they sell). That’s part of the reason that it’s hard for start-ups to rate well in analyst comparison reports, no matter how innovative their technology.

So from the e-mail I received this week, it strikes me that ZL is using this lawsuit as a focal point for its marketing program. I am sure they are getting a lot of attention from the lawsuit, but I doubt that they are selling much e-mail archiving software as a result.

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Is it Who You Know or What You Know?

How important are personal relationship in public relations? I can’t recall how many new business pitches seem to hinge on the quality of your Rolodex (or for you younger readers, your database). If you can name drop that you just had lunch with Walt Mossberg, or you just had coffee with the producer who handles bookings for Oprah, then people will generally say “Oooh, Ahhh” and be sufficiently impressed. But do those kinds of connections really help your clients tell a mediocre story?

Naturally, prospects want to make sure you know something about their business. You need to be able to demonstrate you understand what their company and its products offer, how they fit in their market, the value they offer target customers, and how to effectively differentiate their brand. The objective of every marketing campaign differs. Some are about brand building, others are focused on thought leadership, and others are to support sales. In fact, most PR campaigns measure success on multiple levels, but never by who you know.

So when I am pitching prospect or talking to a client and asked, “Do you know So-and-so?” or “Who do you know at this Trade Journal Weeky?” I usually respond, “Who do I need to know?” Granted, relationships are built and maintained over time, and I have a number of established and respected journalists that I consider friends as well as professional contacts. I also can name reporters at various technology trade magazines, and even have a lot of history with most of them. I reconnected with a former CMP editor who is now a freelance analyst, and we remembered each other from past stories and pitches.

So it turns out I do know a few journalists. But that doesn’t mean I can pick up the phone to pitch them a bad story. Without the solid foundation of strategy, storytelling, and an understanding of what editors need to make a good story for their readers, it doesn’t matter who you know.

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Free News Release Wire Services Are Worth What You Pay for Them

free-stuffI have been using newswire services for as long as I have been doing public relations. I have used BusinessWire, PR Newswire, MarketWire (formerly Internet Wire), and PR Web and have had good results with each in turn, depending on the media and marketing strategy. There are any number of discussion threads among my LinkedIn PR groups asking which is the best service? The answer is, of course, it depends.

One of the real advantages of using wire services is Web distribution and online exposure. The wire services give you reach you can’t get with conventional outreach, including social media. Of course, wire drops can be expensive. The national circuit for the mainstream wire services can be $1,000 or more for a single press release, which is beyond the budget of many smaller companies and start-ups that want the reach but can’t afford it. I advise clients looking to penetrate vertical markets to use a narrower geographic target in order to gain access to the vertical media circuits offered by PRNewswire, BusinessWire, and MarketWire. This can save a lot of money and gives them both media outreach and Web exposure for search engine optimization.

And then there are the clients who can’t afford to make paid wire services a consistent part of their program. I have been working on an alternative strategy with one client who new press announcements on a weekly basis. Paid wire services would break their budget, so we rely on direct media outreach and posts to a number of free wire services like PR.com, i-Newswire, PR-Inside.com, and a host of others. These services have helped with both media and Web exposure, but they come with risks.

A number of these free sites are powered by advertising. Recently, I have had one or two clients come to me asking about the ads that are associated with their news releases. Apparently, some sites are less discriminating than others about the types of ads they will accept, so my clients’ new products may run with an ad for male enhancement solutions or something else unexpected and undesirable. You have to continuously monitor your free news site strategy because terms and conditions are changing all the time. For example, one of my favorite free release sites recently eliminated its free option and now only accepts paid press release distribution.

As with most things, you get what you pay for, so you can’t expect much from a free press release site. However, there are some criteria you can apply to give you greater confidence that you are controlling how your news is seen on the Web. Check to see what the site’s advertising policy is and see what kinds of ads are associated with similar news announcements. See how much control you get over your free news release account, e.g. does it archive your news announcements and give you hit counts and statistics? And monitor your coverage! Be sure you are tracking how your releases are propagating on the Web. When you find that some of your free sites are posting inappropriate ads or your news is appearing on the wrong kinds of Web sites, scratch those free sites from your list.

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Media Training Shows that a Good Interview is About Good Storytelling

Effective media training promotes good storytelling
Effective media training promotes good storytelling

I have been working on one or two new product launches over the past few weeks, and that means putting CEOs and senior managers in front of reporters and analysts to tell a story. It’s amazing how many executives are bad at storytelling. They are confident speaking to managers, their board of directors, even venture capitalists, but when it comes to telling a compelling story to editors many seem at a loss.

Effective media training can address a number of these problems and actually show senior executives how to think like a reporter. It can show managers what is really newsworthy and printable, and help them tell a story. I want to direct you to a new white paper by seasoned freelance writer Mark Halper and offered by Johnson King. (In the interest of full disclosure, I have known Mike King for many years, and can’t recommend a better high-tech PR firm if you are looking to break into the EMEA market.)

Mark had some interesting observations in his white paper; observations from which all executives can benefit. I suggest you read Mark’s comments for yourself, but here are some highlights.

  1. Know your audience. I prepare briefing documents for all my clients. In those briefing sheets are insights about the reporter, his publication, its audience, and likely topics of interest and questions that might be asked. From the interviews that follow from those briefing sheets, I have to wonder if the clients actually read them. In order to get coverage, you have to offer information that is informative and relevant to the editor. (And by the way, Mark’s penguin analogy is much more colorful than my insights here.) Today, for example, I had an interview with Skype Journal about a client’s new product. Fortunately, most of the conversation focused on Skype but it could easily have taken a left turn, focusing on other non-Skype-related product features that would have been irrelevant to the story. Too often clients become so focused on their own script that they neglect the human element – connecting with the reporter and asking him what he needs to file his story.
  2. There is no such thing as “off the record.” This is a common failing that I have seen the most experienced executives make. They are so busy trying to establish a rapport with a reporter that they forget the rules of engagement. You need to know when to reveal information and when to withhold it, and you need to know that there really is no such thing as “off the record.”
  3. Make it colorful. Anecdotes are incredibly useful. The right story or key phrase can stick in the mind of the reporter and make you look larger than life. Remember that no matter who the reporter is writing for, readers are always people and they gravitate toward interesting stories and anecdotes.
  4. Not just the facts, tell a story! In order to make their articles interesting, reporters must be storytellers. In the world of high-tech, reporters always ask for analyst and customer references, not just to validate new technology but because third parties add color. I recently landed an interview for a client with the San Francisco Chronicle about corporations adopting social media strategies. The quotes that made print were the colorful anecdotes about customer observations and trends that put a human face and connection on the story.

As Mark states, “Executives should not underestimate the storytelling aspect of journalism.” Media training can not only teach executives how to control an interview, but how to “keep it real” and give the interviewee the kind of color commentary that makes a compelling story that goes deeper than the facts.