This is an archived blog from when I ran Conscious Public Relations Inc. from 2008-2018. Excuse the potential outdated-ness!
At the beginning of February I wrote my first blog post on the new WordPress site entitled “New site, new blog post: The release is DEAD.”
I made four promises to myself that I said I would try to do this year in light of the many news releases that STILL continue to be written in virtually every industry. People are also still calling them “press releases” everywhere I go, including CNW (Canada Newswire). Ugh.
- “I will avoid the news release. If I must do one, I will not send it to everyone.”
So this year I wrote a total of four releases. Three of them were one-off projects, meaning that I was hired to write the release, but not disseminate. So I’ll forgive myself for those ones. I’m also making a concerted effort to tell people I DON’T like writing them, but I will if it’s necessary. Some people just like having that “News Release” PDF up on their website. If they want to pay me for peace of mind, so be it.
The one I did for my steady client I used, but I didn’t send it out to everyone, rather included the link to it in my emails. And I’m pretty sure the event didn’t get coverage because of the news release.
- “I will link to photos, videos, and other information on my client rather than putting it ALL in one email.”
I LOVE links. Moreover, I love Flickr. By putting my clients’ photos in a set, I can include a link to the set in an email, and quite a few media have been able to download photos from there. Diddo for links to YouTube vids.
- “I will keep my emails to 200 words or less.”
This one, I gotta say is hard. 100 words goes by like *that* and then it’s another 100 just to tell someone how to find the client. If there’s one thing I can improve on this year, it’s making my messages even more concise. So there you are, my PR resolution for 2011 – to cut down on the essay-type emails and send pitches that are only two paragraphs long + links!
- “I will not send attachments, especially not PDFs.”
No big attachments this year! Most attachments I sent were photos by request. No PDFs. It does amaze me however, when I send something 1MB and someone still asks for something bigger. So the original 6MB one suffices.
Have you been a good person to the media this year?
Or, if you’re a media person, what do you wish we would improve on in the new year?
