By Jamie Hooker

Before I begin, it is important to know that a PR person does not work a nine to five job. Yes, we may go into an office every day and work eight hours, but when we leave to go home, we are by no means “off the clock”. Because of this, “A Day in the Life” can change each day, and we have to be prepared for anything. But that’s the beauty of PR, isn’t it?

An “average” day always begins with coffee and a mini pep talk to prepare you for the millions of emails that will flood your inbox when you open it. After replying to necessary emails and deleting unnecessary ones, you take a look at your to-do list for the day. More likely than not, this list is very long, but you can handle it because you’re a PR ninja. Following up with any reporters or media you have pitched is something you probably do daily. There’s always some pitch out there that the media should be reminded of. With most pitches comes writing a news release, which is also something you do frequently, and crafting it to have the perfect wording is an art. If a pitch and release gets a reporter’s attention, you’ll spend part of your day coordinating interviews, sharing photos, or organizing whatever the reporter needs for the placement. After all, placements are what we want and we hope that sharing new ones with clients is part of every day, too.

With the end of the year quickly approaching, 2016 plans are being put into place for clients. Meetings and phone calls with clients are in the mix to make sure you and them are on the same page.  You may even have a call scheduled with the client to have a mock interview to media train them before appearing on a segment.

Overall, a lot of days consist of writing, client management and media relations, with some fun, unexpected stuff sprinkled in.  It’s important to remember whom you’re working for and to keep them updated on at least a weekly basis. Being a PR professional, you need to be ready for anything. But I guarantee you that’s what most PR people love the most about their job.

By Jenna Oltersdorf

In all my years in public relations, helping clients prepare for interviews has been the most common education I’ve provided. No matter if it’s a first interview or what feels like the millionth, brushing up on media training can be a smart move. During media training we typically spend a few hours sharing guidelines and doing mock interviews and, from those sessions, I’ve identified my top six tips for interviewing with a reporter.

Tip 1: Come prepared.
Know the reporter’s background. Spend some time getting familiar with what they’ve been covering recently and how your interview will help them as they prepare to write your story.

Have an idea of the questions you’ll be asked. It’s entirely okay to ask if the reporter is willing to share questions in advance of the interview. If they aren’t, then build a list of anticipated questions along with how you would answer.

Speaking of answers, prepare a list of three to five key messages, which you’ll use as often as possible throughout the interview. Think of key messages as sentence-long sound bites that help tell the larger story.

Tip 2: Arrive early.
Whether the interview is in person or over the phone, set aside an extra 15 minutes or so to allow time to gather your thoughts. If you’re headed to a live TV interview, double that extra time to 30 minutes (or more depending on the producer’s ask).

Tip 3: Be concise.
Mention your key messages as often as possible throughout the interview.Answer in a sentence or two where possible and then pause. Allow the reporter to catch up on notes, gather their thoughts, etc. Don’t feel the need to fill silence.

Tip 4: Never say “no comment”.
There is no other phrase on the planet that sounds more incriminating as “no comment”. If you don’t know the answer, say so. Offer to get back to the reporter with the facts they seek.

Tip 5: Don’t be nervous.
From swinging around in a chair to clicking a ballpoint pen, we all have nervous habits. Have a friend grab video of you giving a presentation to identify how you handle nerves … and then work to squash those habits.

Watch bridge words like “uh” and “so”. It’s okay to use them here and there, but not after every pause in a sentence.

Tip 6: Be helpful.
At the end of an interview, the reporter usually asks if there is anything else you’d like to add. This is a great time to bring your key message back into play.

Follow up after the interview to thank the reporter, but also offer additional facts, figures or information.

By Jenna Oltersdorf

In any situation, it’s all about perspective, right?

As a fresh-out-college assistant account executive (AAE), I remember many of the challenges I faced. Learning a new craft, working towards another raise and promotion and trying to navigate office life (because let’s face it: office life is its own unique snowflake). Being an AAE was one of the hardest roles in my career.

Fast forward to today and, as I lead our Snackbox team, I’m working to select and groom the next generation of AAEs. There are so many lessons that will shape the rest of their careers. As a 20-something, sometimes its hard to understand the dues you have to pay in order to gain the wisdom to prepare for your future role as senior vice president.

So what are the most important skills you can have as an AAE in public relations?

1.     Knowledge of Media: It’s one thing to be able to run a search in Cision, but what makes a great PR person is taking that media list and researching the reporters to make sure your pitch is spot on. So many trust their research in Cision as the final step in the pitching process. Not true.

Further, understanding lead times is key to success. There’s a difference between pitching a blogger and a national magazine.

2.     Relationships: Keeping a list of your favorite reporters is one of the smartest things you can do as an AAE. Connect with them on LinkedIn, watch them as their careers grow. And always look for pitch angles they can use.  When you start valuing the individual relationships you create, you become a more valued PR person.

Most AAEs won’t be leading teams at this level; however, if you do have any client contact at all, begin understanding your client’s personality, their motivations and how they think. In my opinion, the best PR person anticipates their clients questions and needs in advance of them even having to ask. The better you know your client, the better you’re able to serve their needs and the more valuable your firm is to them.

3.     Creativity: It’s an underrated skill in PR and yet I put tremendous emphasis on it at Snackbox. Creativity is key to a successful pitch campaign and the more “out there” we can get, the happier I am! It may seem like creativity comes easily to some colleagues, while others just don’t get it.  Change your perspective and start working at creativity.

Your brain is a muscle, so exercise it. Write multiple headlines for a news release, find inspiration on Pinterest, push yourself to think beyond the first idea. The more you push yourself to be creative, the more you’ll grow as a PR pro.

4.     Evaluations: Whether your employer has a formal evaluation process or nothing at all, it’s important to be able to objectively evaluate your work performance. Keep a document that outlines your successes and failures, but more importantly, keep track of what made that situation so great (or so terrible). Learn from your experiences and be prepared to talk with your supervisor about them.

Knowledge of media, relationships and creativity are the basics of our craft and consistently evaluating yourself (be honest!) will challenge you to become the best you can be.

By Dana Sotoodeh

You have an awesome client and an awesome product or event and you want everyone be informed enough to want to cover it—Enter the news release.

A news release is extremely important in PR, and to run a good campaign and PR strategy your news release has to be effective. You know the basics about what should be included but writing a news release has been narrowed down to a fine science. Team Snackbox is here to focus on the small things that matter most—writing and formatting tips to make your press release stand out.

Writing:

1. Keep your news release written in third person—It’s important not to sound personal in your news releases. News releases aren’t meant to be personalized since they are going out to the masses. Make sure you use third person and include all of the basic facts such as who, what, when, where, and why.
2. Don’t sound like a sales person: Although news releases are mostly informative, making a news release sounds sales-like will never get anyone’s attention. No one likes to read sales sounding documents so stray away from sounding too pushy. Make sure the news release is solely informative.
3. Proofread– Proofreading is key to succeeding in any business but especially in PR! Nothing sounds less credible than a widely distributed document full of spelling and grammar errors. Check once, check twice and check a third time. You can never be too careful!

Formatting:

1. Headlines and Subheads: All news releases need a headline and sometimes a subhead depending on what you are releasing. All headlines should always be bolded and larger than the font that makes up the whole news release. Usually 14 or 16 pt font works for the headline, and the font size under the headline works for the subhead. Make sure your headlines are attention grabbing and they make a reader want to know more.
2. Media Contact Information: News Releases NEED media contact information and that information usually pertains to the person writing the news release. Without this information media has no idea who to contact if they want to move forward—and that’s important! Media contact information usually includes a name, the company name, and either an email, phone number, or both.  These are usually writing at the top right corner of the news release and they often look similar to a header. Keeping the media contact information at the top  provides media with an easy place to find any information they may need.
3. Date: Each news release starts with the date the news release is going out and the city in which the event is happening. Most places format their dateline the same way. The body of the news release begins directly after the date listed. An example of a dateline would look something similar to this:

Austin, Texas (February 28,2015) – Start paragraph here

1. Introduction and Body

The next paragraph is the body. The body should answer the 5 W’s and cut straight to the point. Remember, that the point of providing your media contact information is so if anyone has any other questions not answered in the news release, they can contact you for information. The body should be four sentences tops.

Boilerplate: A boilerplate is a basic staple of a news release that should always be included. A boilerplate gives a brief description of the company or business that is issuing the news release so that media has a better idea on what they do and what their mission is. As PR Pros, you will have the opportunity to write boilerplates for clients that are lacking them, or have the ability to use ones they already have approved. The boilerplate always is the last thing on the news release underneath your last paragraph. Usually it is introduced with the words

About ______ :

in bold, so there is a clear distinction between the conclusion and the plate.

Pound signs:  In the PR and marketing world, three centered pound symbols at the bottom of a news release signals that the news release has come to an end. Make sure to include these at the very end when you are triple checking your release!

By Dana Sotoodeh

If you want to succeed in PR, it’s imperative that you know the best practices for pitching media. It seems simple, but anyone who works in media is extremely busy and doesn’t have time to deal with their overly crowded inbox.

What’s the trick? Get in the mindset of a journalist or a reporter and follow these 10 practices for successful media pitching.

1.)  Research your reporter: Take the time to know who you’re pitching. Pitch a sports pitch to a sports reporter. Pitch a beauty pitch to a beauty blogger. A little research always goes a long way.

2.)  Don’t clutter inboxes: As stated before, and will be stated again, media is extremely busy—just as busy as you. Although you’re on pins and needles about that perfect pitch you wrote—give it a couple of days. Often times, media is so busy gathering other research or building other stories, that they simply haven’t gotten to it. Give it anywhere between five days or a week before you follow-up. With that being said, make sure you pitches are planned in a timely manner, so that media has enough time to answer and act on them.

3.)  Don’t use attachments: Depending on what e-mail service or type of computer your media contact has, attachments aren’t always dependable. Although attaching a media alert or fact sheet seems easy, go with pasting it underneath your e-mail signature. This not only ensures that they receive it, but ensures that they don’t have to click elsewhere to access it. One simple scroll is all it will take for them to get to your awesome release.

4.)  Use Social Media- Did you just see a journalist that you follow on Twitter cover a tech beat similar to your tech client? Good! Use their work as a conversation starter. This not only builds rapport with them, but allows you to informally pitch them another idea you may have that’s somewhere along those lines.

5.)  Tell stories: Pitches aren’t supposed to be boring. Yes, they are supposed to provide information, but save the piled on facts for your press release. With thousands of emails in the media’s mailbox, a boring intro line isn’t going to catch anyone’s attention. Make your pitch something that you would respond to.  Journalists want stories. What’s the point here? Think like a journalist.

6.)  Find angles: Your job as a publisict is to always work every angle. Coming up with five to six pitch angles for one new product launch is the best thing you can do. One of those angles may work for a magazine, and not for a newspaper. The more options you have—the better off you are.

7.)  Offer an exclusive: Media outlets like to feel special. If you know that your pitch would work perfectly for one certain outlet, there’s nothing wrong with offering them an exclusive. If your client gets a spot in an outlet that’s beneficial to their product, it ends up being better for them in the long run.

8.)  Be reasonable: Sometimes a better angle to take when it comes to offering an interview, bylined, or Q&A is to not always offer the biggest boss around. Although it makes an article look credible, journalists also like to get personal and be able to tell stories. Sharing a story of someone who is a huge advocate of the product often works just as well and it’s usually easier to get in contact with them. Never limit your interview options to only CEO’s and upper-level management. Consider all of your possible options.

9.)  Know the answers before they ask them: Media’s time is valuable. The best thing you can do as a PR pro is be fast at answering any inquires from the media you may receive. Often times, media doesn’t say “yes” right off the bat. They usually want to ask a couple of questions about the client or spokesperson available. Make sure you are completely familiar with what you are pitching in order to avoid the media losing interest. A quick and thorough response is the best response.

10.) Be personal: You know all of that networking you have been doing? This is when it pays off. If you have a good history with a reporter or journalist, make sure you personalize your pitch to let them know you’re thinking of them. Weather you call them by their name, or tell them that this pitch reminded you of them, the personal touch will always go a long way.