Talking to the Media

Shhhh! You Don't Need a Press Release

I know of a lot of businesses that spend more time writing press releases than they do pitching them to journalists.

This is because writing a press release isn’t something most small businesses do very often. As a result they can spends weeks and months going backwards and forwards over what to write, how to write it, getting it proofed, changing things and making a pretty PDF.

They then email it to a handful of generic mailboxes at a handful of media outlets, dust off their hands and think their work is done.

This is a huge mistake.

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Exclusive! You’ve Got An Amazing Story But How Do You Maximise Value For Your Business?

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Every journalist wants to be the first to cover a great story.

Securing an ‘exclusive’ is the best way to spike sales or views, so media organisations put a premium on this content. They can get very competitive to land one, and when then do, it gets more prominence and column inches than other stories.

So if you’ve got an ‘exclusive’, you’re sitting on valuable content. Make the most of this rare opportunity!

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Media Jargon Explained: Know Your Aston From Your Elbow

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There’s a bewildering variety of jargon used in the media industry. For anyone new to this world, it’s very easy to confuse your aston with your elbow.

If you’re not careful a simple mistake or misunderstanding can cost you an amazing opportunity to profile yourself or your products to the world.

Thankfully, I’ve translated some of the most common terms so you can blend in and sound like an expert and avoid any blunders. But if you’re ever in doubt about a term, always ask.

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How to Handle Difficult Questions from the Press

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We have all seen car crash interviews where someone has refused to answer the question.

If you want a reminder of some of the best ones (worst ones?) then click here, grab your popcorn and wait until you start hiding behind it.

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How to speak to Journalists

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Any public relations consultant will tell you that the thing that scares business owners the most is a call from a journalist.

As a PR consultant I have learnt that the prospect of spending time with a journalist will either fill you and your c-suite with excitement at the idea of some great brand building media coverage Or it will feel them with sheer terror!

Normally any concerns will go away if you work with your public relations team or PR agency to focus on three key things.

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Shhhh, whisper it, but what is PR?

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There is no shame in not knowing what something is. The shame comes from not acknowledging it.

In my experience, unless you are in the industry, virtually no one knows what it is. It’s what the girls from The Hills wanted to do, right? What Olivia Pope does? What Patsy and Eddie do?