The “Secrets” of Public Relations – Revealed

Ever wonder what really goes on in the backrooms of PR agencies? Are “secret” incantations recited from antique scrolls or do server farms yield the magic of 21st century client promotion? Well, from a review of some recently published “secrets of PR,” it seems there’s not much new under the sun to be found among Google’s 110 million citations and 5.9 million blog posts.

A quick stroll through some of the so-called “secrets” reveals that old myths are alive and kicking while new thinking remains, alas, in short supply.

The New PR Secret – Turning Fans into Evangelists

The challenge is no longer if can you grab their attention — it's if you can keep it. And can you keep their attention long enough to get them interested in your message, business, brand or product to turn contacts into evangelists?

It's not enough to get mentioned in the news. While it's great, that alone won't sell your stuff. You have to get in front of enough people in a very interesting and unique way. You have to get them to fall in love with your message so much that they'll talk about you, tweet about you and tell all their friends to go buy whatever it is that you're selling. The new PR is really about the consumers and the message.

10 PR Secrets No One Will Ever Tell You

If you want to get into publications like The Washington Post or Newsweek, don’t pitch them — blog on them. Both of these publications have added a new "Blog Round Up” box on their sites. It reports on people who have blogged on their stories. All techie babble aside, here’s what you do: blog on one of the articles on their site, link it using a trackback link and submit this to Technorati.com. This site will report back to these publications and they’ll link to you (and your site) and voila! A feature on Newsweek or whichever publication you chose!

PR Secrets Number 1 – How to Find a Newsworthy Story Angle

1. Think about what’s happening in the news right now. How can you become a part of the story?

2. Think about current consumer trends. Where are consumers heading?

3. Provide a comment. If there’s a story in the news that effects your business, make the news yourself. If you have a decent-sized database, run a regular poll of your clients on issues that relate to your business.

6 PR Secrets To Maximizing A Media Interview

Once your public relations firm has landed an interview for you, it’s your turn to spin the media opportunity into gold. The following are some media relations tips to ensure you maximize your media interviews:

1. Know Your Topic

2. Warm Up

3. It’s Your Event

4. Show Passion

5. Look to the Problem

6. Believe in Your Message

PR Secrets: 3 Tips for Getting Media Coverage

If you are rolling out a new product or service, here are three quick tips to generating media buzz with your press release:

1. Find the Hook
2. Look for Lulls
3. Pick up the Phone

Secrets to Phone Pitching

A pitch that’s going to warrant a great in-depth story is going to require a great in-depth pitch, and email just isn’t always the way to go.

First ask yourself: Is a phone conversation even going to do it? If not, ask the media person to drinks, coffee, lunch or a desk-side appointment. Face-to-face time is wildly more valuable and wildly more productive.

If a phone call will do, make your call wisely.

Remain calm and cool.

Talk slowly.

Entice him or her to respond.

Try calling on Fridays.

Keep in mind deadlines for different outlets.

My rule of thumb is to always imagine that you’re sitting across the table from the person, enjoying a coffee. Your phone call should feel like a respectable and succinct conversation.

PR Secrets – How to Write a Media Release

Here’s my 10-step plan to writing a good media release:

1. Get the layout right.

10. Send it out! Develop a list of targeted media outlets, and don’t overlook online PR release sites such as www.free-press-release.com and www.prweb.com.

No More Secrets, Please

The quoted columns deal with core PR tactics and techniques that every front-line practitioner must master. I do not endorse or necessarily practice any of these “secrets.” I simply and humbly offer them up as an overview of typical PR insights as a guide that may prove helpful in cutting through when you are in the market for a new PR agency.