Advice On Concise Writing
I had a feature writing professor at Western Washington University who started every class with a lesson on avoiding hoopdidoodle in our writing. He defines hoopdidoodle as useless, extra wording that doesn’t add any meaning to our writing. It’s surprising how much of that we do, thinking we’re including necessary details when in reality these […]
Emotional Intelligence: Why it Matters to PR Pros
Our increasingly distracting digital society has created relentless competition for attention, and as a result, the emotional appeal of a pitch can often be the determining factor of who gets coverage and who doesn’t. “With the current state of the media industry (less people doing more jobs), the competition for media attention is tight,” says […]
Newsjacking: The Do’s, Don’ts, and Definitely Don’ts
With so much going on in the news right now, from Pride Month to the World Cup, there are many opportunities for PR professionals to jump on the bandwagon and promote their brand, aka the newsjack. I’m not going to go into depth explaining the term since it has been around since 2012 when David […]
Securing a PR Partner: What You Need to Know
In today’s world of online dating, many people have had the experience of connecting with someone that looks great “on paper” and spending time texting and engaging with them online, only to meet them in real life and immediately know the match is not meant to be. Finding a PR partner can be somewhat similar. […]
Key Takeaways From Muck Rack’s State of Journalism Report
Last month, Muck Rack released a report in which they surveyed more than 500 journalists across the U.S. and world to understand their perspectives on the state of journalism. The survey covered topics such as objectivity, reporting in the current political climate, social media and shareability, data and analytics and the use of press releases. […]
AP Refresh: 10 Updates to the 2018 AP Stylebook
The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook, or more commonly known as the bible around PR agencies and newsrooms, has released its latest edition. The new 2018 issue, which became available in May, has more than 200 new entries to help guide journalists and other commutators accurately cover the changing social, political and cultural arenas. For […]
The New Strategic Selling (Part 2): Examining Buying Roles
In my last blog post, I provided my initial takeaways from The New Strategic Selling, by Robert B. Miller and Stephen E. Heiman, and how its approach to complex sales cycles can be replicated when advising our PR and communications clients about their businesses. In this post, I’ll examine the various “buying roles” involved with […]
Pitching an Op-Ed Piece to The New York Times
Founded in 1851, The New York Times (NYT) is considered one of the leading newspapers in the world. Winning 125 Pulitzer Prize awards for excellence in journalism, Yale University noted that The Times has earned itself a “worldwide reputation of thoroughness.” Although no easy feat, securing coverage on behalf of a client in the NYT […]
Psychological Safety and Team Communication
In November 2017, I blogged about building motivation as a learned skill and applying it to the PR industry, based on Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg. I have now finally finished the book and must say I truly enjoyed it. I found the information in the book interesting, and applicable to my work as […]
3 PR Lessons From Starbucks’ Public Bathroom Crisis
After two African American men were arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks for asking to use the restroom without purchasing something, the nation wondered how the giant conglomerate would handle such a polarizing crisis. Not long after the video of the confrontation with police and hashtags to boycott the coffeeshop went viral, Starbucks rolled out an […]