One of the most frustrating things as a journalist – aside from people not answering their phone when you need to interview them – is being overwhelmed by an inbox full of bad pitches. I thought it was about time I shared why a journalist isn’t calling you back or responding to your emails after […]
How can you create a press release for media outlets when you don’t have a news hook?
A local businessman once rang through wanting me to do a story on his business for the newspaper. When I asked what the story was there was complete silence on the other end of the phone. He thought I could just write a “nice piece about my business’’. Ah, not quite! Finding your news hook […]
Baby it’s cold outside – so pitch the media
The conversation in our house this week has been centred on one thing – how cold it is here in Tasmania. When I was in the newsroom, a change in weather or seasons marked a reason for a story. And it’s a reason for you to pitch the media. Seriously, weather stories in newspapers, on […]
The secret behind customer personas and your PR campaign
When it comes to business – not just public relations – you need to know who you’re targeting by creating your ideal customer profile. Otherwise you end up targeting everyone and hitting no one. Sound familiar? You spend so much time crafting blog posts that no one reads, pitching media stories that never receive a […]
How to run a PR campaign
I was chatting to a business owner last month who said she’d tried PR and it hadn’t worked for her. Delving a little deeper, I learnt she’d pitched the media once, with one press release, and determined that as a failure. What you need to know about public relations is it’s a marathon, not a […]