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Again, boil your message down into one simple sentence. Avoid temptation to hit more than one target. Focus, focus, focus.
4. Target journalist or media outlet that can best deliver you message to your audience.
The whole point of PR is to get your message to your audience through a credible third party. In this case, third party is news media. Forget general press release.
Focus instead on proposals that aimed to convince one particular reporter to write one particular story. Figure out which reporter is most influential with audience you want to influence, then pour all your energy into devising a proposal that will appeal to that reporter or to that reporter’s editor.
Study reporter’s past stories to discover that reporter’s tendencies. Fit your story to reporter’s needs.
5. Create a proposal that hits bull’s eye.
Make your case in just one page. No nonsense. Get right to point. Give reporter at least three good reasons to do story, each of which strongly appeals to reporter’s needs and tendencies.
Put your proposal in writing, send it by overnight delivery and then follow up in two days with a phone call. If reporter says no, don’t argue. If you missed, you missed. Time to reload. Listen carefully. Often reporter will tell you how to hit target next time.
Above all, don’t get frustrated. Most story ideas end up in trash, no matter who comes up with them. Don’t resort to scattergun. That’s for amateurs. Be a professional and learn to shoot with a PR rifle.
Copyright 2003 by W.O. Cawley Jr.
Rusty Cawley is a veteran journalist who now coaches executives on using the news media to attract customers. For your free copy of the hot new ebook “PR Rainmaker,” visit www.prrainmaker.com right now.